Judge refuses probation for Harrodsburg doctor convicted in wife's death

DANVILLE — A judge on Tuesday sentenced a Harrodsburg doctor to five years in prison and denied probation for him in the 2009 death of his wife.

Dr. Steven Hall, 48, was convicted in August of second-degree manslaughter in the death of Isabel Hall, 49. Boyle Circuit Court Judge Darren Peckler sentenced Hall.

Isabel Hall died after she was struck by a pontoon boat piloted by her husband on Herrington Lake. The defense maintained her death was an accident.

Defense attorney Steve Romines said judges "rarely have an individual more appropriate for probation" than Hall. Romines asked that Peckler release Hall immediately on probation.

Romines cited Hall's lack of previous criminal record and his education.

But Peckler said a death occurred and denied probation because "it would not be appropriate."

Romines said Hall had hoped to receive probation so he could be with his sons. One is staying with a family friend, and the other is in London at a psychiatric center for teenage boys with behavioral problems.

After the sentencing, Romines said he would file a notice of appeal Tuesday in Boyle Circuit Court.

The grounds for the appeal, Romines said, will be that the trial should have been moved to another county because of pre-trial publicity; that testimony that Hall had become infatuated with a file clerk in his office should have been excluded; and that the judge should have allowed testimony from a defense witness who would have questioned a detective's interrogation techniques.

In August, the jury recommended a five-year sentence, the lightest penalty for the crime, which carries a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison.

Under probation and parole guidelines, a person sentenced to five years is eligible for parole in one year.

Hall has served 16 months in the Boyle County jail, so he will be eligible for parole after he has been processed by the state Department of Corrections. Romines said Hall's first appearance before the parole board might happen in three to six weeks.

Within a week or so, Hall will probably go to Luther Luckett Correctional Complex in LaGrange, Romines said.

This story was originally published October 6, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Judge refuses probation for Harrodsburg doctor convicted in wife's death."