CLEVELAND – A federal judge has denied a request for another trial for a man twice convicted of killing a woman and eight children at a sleepover in Cleveland's deadliest arson fire.
The judge Thursday also denied a motion seeking dismissal of the arson charge. Defendant Antun (AN'-ton) Lewis is scheduled for sentencing Tuesday in U.S. District Court.
Defense attorney Timothy Ivey says he's disappointed in Judge Solomon Oliver's decision. He says the 30-year-old Lewis maintains his innocence and has passed two lie-detector tests.
Lewis' conviction in the first trial was dismissed after the judge ruled jailhouse informants used by prosecutors were unreliable.
Lewis was deemed ineligible for the death penalty because of a mental disability.
The 2005 fire killed the woman, four of her children and four other youngsters attending a birthday sleepover.
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