Murder Conviction Overruled Man Was Found Guilty In 1981 Of Killing Kimberly Ann Palmer Near Post Falls

A federal judge has overturned the 1981 murder conviction of Thomas Henry Gibson in the slaying a year earlier of a Spokane woman near Post Falls.

U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill ordered the state to set a new trial date for Gibson by May 2 or release him.

Idaho Attorney General Al Lance has made no decision on whether to appeal the ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, spokesman Bob Cooper said.

Gibson, 46, and Donald Manuel Paradis, 49, were convicted of strangling 19-year-old Kimberly Ann Palmer, whose body later was found in a stream in the Idaho Panhandle.

Both Gibson and Paradis have maintained their innocence. Defense attorneys contend whoever killed Palmer did it in Washington, not Idaho, so Idaho has no jurisdiction.

Winmill’s ruling came less than a year after Gov. Phil Batt commuted Paradis’ death sentence to life in prison without possibility of parole. Batt said he believes Palmer was killed in Idaho but that there are enough inconsistencies in the case against Paradis to rule out imposition of the death penalty.

Both Gibson and Paradis, along with two other motorcycle gang members, were acquitted by a Washington jury of killing Palmer’s boyfriend, Scott Currier.

In overturning Gibson’s conviction, Winmill ruled that his court-appointed attorney, Mike Vrable, had failed to adequately dispute the state’s medical experts’ contention that Palmer had been brought alive to Idaho, then strangled and dumped in a gully.

Kootenai County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Douglas said Wednesday that he is ready and intends to retry Gibson.

“We disagree with Judge Winmill’s opinion,” Douglas said. “We … already have set in motion steps to prepare for trial, including the location of witnesses and evidence presented at the trial.”

But the decision to appeal Winmill’s ruling rests with the state because it handles all criminal matters after a conviction.

Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney Jim Sweetser said he would look into whether Gibson could be tried for Palmer’s murder in Washington, if that is where the crime actually occurred.