The state plans to seek the death penalty if a man accused of killing an 18-month-old in 2016 is convicted at jury trial.

The Minnehaha County State's Attorney's Office filed a notice of intent this week saying the state intends to seek a jury recommendation of a death sentence if Keith Andrew Cornett is found guilty at trial.

Cornett, 38, was charged in December 2016 with first- and second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter and abuse or cruelty to a minor after his 18-month-old stepson was found unresponsive in his Dell Rapids home.

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Should a jury find Cornett guilty of first-degree murder, the state will have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the "aggravating circumstances" of a death penalty case are met, and it will be up to the jury to impose the sentence.

Those aggravating circumstances are that the offense was "outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman in that it involved torture, depravity of mind, or an aggravated battery to the victim"; that the victim of the offense was less than 13 years old; and that the offense was committed by a person who has a felony conviction for a crime of violence.

Cornett has wanted his case to go to a jury trial from the beginning.

At a June hearing, Cornett pleaded with Second Circuit Court Judge Bradley Zell to give him new attorneys. He felt the ones he had from the Public Advocates Office were unprofessional and using his faith to manipulate him into taking a plea deal rather than go to a jury trial.

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He requested new representation and said he'd rather represent himself than continue with his current attorneys.

"I want the truth to come out in this, and that's why I want to go to trial," Cornett said.

The court denied Cornett's request to represent himself knowing the state plans to seek the death penalty if he's found guilty. The court assigned Michael Butler and Clint Sargent, who have death penalty and murder trial experience, respectively, to represent Cornett.

A motions hearing for the case is scheduled in November. Jury trial is as of this week set to start in March 2019. Trial dates may change.