Man convicted of triple murder in West Salem will get new trial By John Killen, The Oregonian August 14, 2009, 4:43PM A man convicted 10 years ago of a triple homicide in West Salem has secured the right to a new trial under an agreement with the state attorney general's office. Philip Scott Cannon, 42, has been serving a life sentence for the November 1998 murders of Jason Roger Kinser, his girlfriend, Suzan Renee Osborne and their friend, Celesta Joy Graves. The three were found shot in the back of the head at a trailer home. But Cannon, who has maintained his innocence, was convicted in part with evidence from "comparative bullet lead analysis" -- a technique that was abandoned by the FBI in 2005 due to its unreliability. The state, which faced an upcoming hearing over Cannon's request for a new trial, opted to settle rather than defend the case and the bullet technique, said Tony Green, a spokesman for the attorney general's office. The case now goes back to Polk County, where the crime took place. District Attorney Stan Butterfield said he plans to charge Cannon on information next week and convene a grand jury in the week or two after that to determine whether to indict Cannon. Cannon was "extremely excited" when he heard the news, said his attorney Mark. J. Geiger. "We won the first battle, but we have another one ahead." Geiger said he hopes Butterfield ultimately decides not to retry Cannon. But at this point, Butterfield is prepared to continue. "What I do know is certainly there is reason to believe that a crime was committed and there is some reason to believe that Mr. Cannon committed those crimes." No weapon was found in the crime and no motive was established in the murders. Cannon had testified that he was called out to look at a plumbing problem with the trailer. The three victims were alive when he left, he said. But two witnesses who were on their way to deliver meth to one of the victims said Cannon had acted strangely and stopped them from trying to get inside, according to an Oregonian article about the conviction. The landlord, who lived nearby, saw smoke coming from the trailer and found the bodies. The state plans to look at other cases in which such bullet lead analysis was used as evidence, said Green. It is not believed to be a factor in many cases, he said. "We are always looking for what is the fairest and most just resolution in these cases, with regards to claims of actual innocence and claims to getting a fair trial," he said. -- Helen Jung; helenjung@news.oregonian.com

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