Iowa Court of Appeals denies Mason City man’s postconviction relief argument in death of son

DES MOINES — The Iowa Court of Appeals has denied a second application for postconviction relief for a Mason City man convicted of child endangerment resulting in death.

It took a Cerro Gordo County jury only 45 minutes back in September of 2013 to convict 41-year-old Kenneth Adams for the death of his 18-month-old son Owen in October of 2012. Prosecutors said during the trial that the boy head-butted his father, prompting Adams to get angry and hold the child face-down in a pillow, leading to his death.

Adams had a previous application for postconviction relief challenging the admissibility of a medical examiner’s testimony denied by a district court judge.

He then filed a second action, claiming his first postconviction relief counsel was ineffective for failing to properly argue his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to challenge the admissibility of the medical examiner’s testimony.

The Iowa Court of Appeals recently denied Adams’ second application for postconviction relief, stating that he could not establish any of his attorneys breached an essential duty, so his ineffective assistance of counsel claim fails.