A judge has denied the latest appeal from Wyoming's lone death row inmate, rejecting claims Dale Wayne Eaton's case didn't receive a meaningful review from the state's highest court.

Natrona County District Judge David Park also rejected arguments Eaton lacked an effective appeals attorney and shouldn't be executed because of his mental state.

Park, who served as Eaton's trial judge, announced his findings in a 19-page decision letter released Thursday. The ruling came in response to a June petition by Eaton's attorney that asked for a review of alleged constitutional errors.

Eaton has been on death row since 2004, when a jury concluded he should die for the kidnapping, rape and murder of Lisa Marie Kimmell. He hit the 18-year-old in the head and stabbed her multiple times before throwing her body from Government Bridge west of Casper.

In the petition, Cheyenne attorney Michael Reese called the Wyoming Supreme Court review of Eaton's case "so undefined, so murky and in general so unanalyzed" that it would hurt his chances in future federal appeals. Such an assertion, Park wrote, didn't merit much discussion.

"Suffice it to say this issue clearly has nothing to do with the proceedings that resulted in Eaton's conviction, and it would be highly inappropriate, to say the least, for the court to presume to issue any directions or ruling to the supreme court," Park wrote.

The supreme court rejected Eaton's appeal last year. In their ruling, the justices said they were satisfied the evidence in the case supported the jury's verdict.

Reese also argued Eaton's mental status should make him ineligible for execution. At a hearing last month, Reese said his client's deteriorating mental condition prevented him from helping in his own defense.

In response, Park noted Reese hadn't supplied affidavits, records or other documentation to back his claims.

"If the question is Eaton's current mental status, [Reese] has done nothing to support a contention that Eaton is currently incompetent," the judge wrote.

Park further noted such claims were outside the scope of the petition, which is supposed to focus on constitutional issues that arose from Eaton's court proceedings.

An execution date for Eaton has not been set. The Wyoming Supreme Court in March ordered his execution to remain on hold pending further appeals.

The next step in Eaton's appeal process wasn't clear. Reese did not immediately return a message left Friday seeking comment.

Earlier this year, Natrona County District Attorney Michael Blonigen, who prosecuted the case, said he didn't expect Eaton would be put to death soon.

Kimmell disappeared in 1988 while driving from Denver to Billings, Mont. Eight days after she vanished, fishermen found her body floating in the North Platte River.

Prosecutors, with the help of DNA evidence, charged Eaton with the killing in 2003. Authorities found her car on property Eaton owned near Moneta.

At trial, Eaton's trial attorney did not contest his guilt in Kimmell's murder. But he asserted the killing was not premeditated and that a second-degree murder conviction was more appropriate.

Reach crime reporter Joshua Wolfson at (307) 266-0582 or at josh.wolfson@trib.com. Visit tribtown.trib.com/JoshuaWolfson/blog to read his blog.