By David in TN
Judge Walter Kurtz today rejected a bid by the "alleged" ringleader of the Knoxville Horror to have his death sentence overturned because jurors sang Christian songs on their "downtime."
Judge Kurtz ruled that Davidson and his attorney failed to show jurors were influenced by religion in their decision to convict and sentence him to death in the 2009 trial for the January 2007 gang-rape-torture-murders of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom.
Juror Chris Baber testified that he took his guitar and sang Christian songs one night during the trial. Other jurors sang along and one read a bible verse.
Baber said he sought permission from court staff beforehand. None of this took place during deliberations.
An anonymous commenter at a blog wrote that the jurors sang hymns during death penalty deliberations. Judge Kurtz rejected this as evidence because there was no proof the commenter had been a juror.
Several jurors have said what this unknown person wrote never happened.
"Kurtz said he would issue a written ruling next week on the greater issue in the case-whether Davidson and suspects Letalvis Cobbins and George Thomas should be awarded new trials in the fallout from a drug scandal involving the judge who presided over their original trials."
N.S. There's just no limit to the lengths some individuals will go, to thwart justice.
I guarantee you, we have not heard the last of Lemaricus Davidson. That name will periodically pop up, disturbing us, for the rest of the lives of the parents of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom, David in TN and me, and even of the siblings of the victims and my son, years after the rest of us have gone to meet our Maker. One thing I’ll say, regarding this story: I am pretty sure that Judge Jon Kerry Blackwood would have ruled differently. Judge Blackwood seems to be of the “it-ain’t-over-‘til the black-felon-wins” temperament.
Would it help if they sung songs about ceremonial Deism?
ReplyDelete