November 19, 2009 in City

Poison conviction contested

Expert witness in ricin trial was later fired

Jim Camden The Spokesman-Review

Tags: Arnold Melnikoff Kenneth Olsen ricin

A Spokane Valley man serving 10 years in federal prison for making a deadly chemical poison is asking to have his conviction overturned because one of the government’s expert witnesses was later fired for misconduct in other criminal cases.

Kenneth Olsen, a former computer programmer and part-time massage therapist, is scheduled for a Jan. 29 hearing on his request to set aside his 2003 jury conviction for making ricin. The conviction has been upheld by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, although his original sentence was remanded and reduced.

After ricin was found at Olsen’s work station at Agilent …

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