We’ve discovered that the judge hearing arguments for Kimberly Renee Poole’s recent PCR appeal is linked to the prosecutor of her original trial. The judge assigned to hear arguments is judge Steven H. John. Greg Hembree was the prosecutor in the 1999 trial and stated in 2015 that he considered judge Steven H. John a close personal friend. You can read the article where then State Sen. Greg Hembree* (the former prosecutor at trial in 1999) talks about judge Steven H. John and his close personal friendship with him at https://www.myhorrynews.com/news/crime/series-circuit-court-judge-steven-john-profoundly-impacted-the-heather/article_3464fdcc-d7d9-11e4-8b5f-47437ecefc1b.html

We are very concerned that Kimberly Renee Poole will not receive a fair hearing in the matter.

*Greg Hembree was the solicitor (prosecutor) for Horry County in 1999 and persecuted prosecuted Kimberly Renee Poole for a crime she didn’t commit and had no involvement with. Greg Hembree, as often is the case with prosecutors, used his position as prosecutor as a stepping stone for greater political ambitions. Greg Hembree wrongfully prosecuted Richard Gagnon who was later exonerated by DNA after spending nearly a decade in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Hembree chooses to still maintain that Richard Gagnon is indeed guilty even in the face of irrefutable scientific DNA evidence, rather than admit he was wrong. Read more about Greg Hembree, his sidekick (assistant prosecutor) Fran Humphries and allegations of prosecutorial misconduct in our section Prosecutors with a Past.