Circuit Court Judge Mike Pemberton denied a request this week for a new trial for 34-year-old Matthew Dotson. The judge heard from Dotson’s attorney petitioning for a new trial in a Morgan County courtroom. Dotson is currently service a life sentence without the possibility of parole for starving his 2-year-old son to death. An autopsy showed little Clifford Dotson weighed only 12 pounds when he died. He had spent most of his life in a car seat and was said to have been fed only once a day. Dotson was found guilty by a jury early this year. Dotson’s estranged wife, Amanda Dotson, plead guilty to facilitation of murder and is serving a 40-year prison term.