The video that emerged of the shooting death of Walter Scott seemed pretty clear.
On April 4, 2015 in North Charleston, South Carolina, police officer Michael Slager pulled Scott over for a broken taillight. At some point, an altercation ensued, and police said that Scott attempted to wrestle Slager's stun gun from him. The incident ended with Slager fatally shooting Scott--an unarmed man--in the back as he ran away.
Because of the damning video evidence, Slager was fired from the North Charleston Police Department and charged with murder. At his trial, however, a judge also allowed the jury to consider a charge of voluntary manslaughter.
It seemed almost like a slam-dunk case: remember, there is video evidence of Slager shooting Scott as he ran away.
But instead of returning a guilty verdict, the jury could not reach a decision in the case. On Monday, a judge declared a mistrial.
Prosecutors are calling the act "delayed justice," but they say that justice will be served. An attorney for the Scott family said Slager "dodged it by a hair, and he's not dodging it again."
South Carolina governor Nikki Haley issued a statement after the mistrial was announced, saying that justice "is not always immediate, but we must all have faith that it will be served."
Her sentiment is mirrored by National Action Network South Carolina President James Johnson, who urged patience despite the disappointing outcome:
"I urge the people to let the justice system take its course. Let's wait on the next trial before we decide to do anything stupid. We've got to live here. We don't want people coming from outside of Charleston [to protest]."
The 12-person jury was deadlocked by a single dissenter who wrote a letterto the court saying, "I cannot in good conscience consider a guilty verdict," against Michael Slager. The letter continued, "I cannot and will notchange my mind."
The foreperson for the jury told the judge that only that one juror was "having issues." When the judge offered to let the jury hear audio of the testimony in the case, jurors declined, saying that they didn't believe it would change anything and that they could not come to a unanimous decision for conviction.
As for when Michael Slager will again be tried for the shooting of Walter Scott,Governor Haley said, "It is my understanding that there will be, as quickly as possible, a new trial where the Scott family and all of South Carolina will hopefully receive the closure that a verdict brings."
Image credit: Beth Cortez-Neavel
A Skiatook man convicted in October for the murders of a pregnant Blanchard woman and her unborn child was sentenced Friday in Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma County District Judge Cindy Truong followed the jury's recommendation in sentencing Joseph Richard Cyr, 35, for his convictions of first degree murder in the stabbing of Jaymie Adams, 25, and her unborn child. Cyr is sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Adams was working as a Craigslist prostitute in December 2011 when she disappeared.
After her husband, Justin Adams, reported her missing, he quickly became a suspect in the case. Suspicion turned to him after several discrepancies in his story. After Jaymie's body--riddled with 29 stab wounds to her head, neck, and torso, and a broken jaw--was found in January 2012 Justin Adams was charged with murder
However, DNA evidence found on Jaymie Adams's body led police to a new suspect--Joseph Cyr. It soon became apparent that Justin Adams's suspicious stories were not an attempt to cover up a murder, but rather an attempt to cover up a sordid life of swinging and prostitution carried out through Craigslist.
Cyr was charged with two counts of first degree murder for the killings of Jaymie Adams and her fetus, but Justin Adams wasn't off the hook. He was charged with first degree manslaughter for facilitating the prostitution that led to his wife's death. Adams, having already spent significant time in jail and growing distrustful of the justice system, did not want to take his chances before a jury. Instead, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 years of probation.
Joseph Cyr initially admitted that he had contacted Jaymie Adams on Craigslist, but told police he never actually went to meet her. After DNA evidence confirmed that Cyr had sex with the woman, he admitted to sexual intercourse, but denied killing her.
In October, a jury failed to believe Cyr's claims of innocence and convicted him of two counts of first degree murder. They recommended a sentence that will effectively ensure he is in prison for the rest of his life.
Jaymie Adams's family says they still want to know what happened the night of her death.
Image credit: Clyde Robinson
An Oklahoma City police officer who was fired following allegations that he abused his 7-month-old foster daughter has been sentenced in the case.
Jeremiah Thompson, 33, of Edmond, was accused of shaking the baby girl, who presented to a local hospital in November 2014 with injuries including brain bleeding and retinal hemorrhaging--injuries consistent with Shaken Baby Syndrome. Thompson denied abusing the child, but said that he accidentally dropped her from a height of about 3 or 4 feet onto padded carpeting.
Medical professionals testified that the baby's injuries were not consistent with a fall, which would have induced head trauma, but were rather consistent with being shaken. Thompson's attorney, however, told the court that the fall exacerbated an underlying condition, causing the hemorrhaging in the brain and eyes.
After the allegations of child abuse came to light, Thompson was put on paid administrative leave from the Oklahoma City Police Department. In January 2015, two months after the baby sustained her injuries, Thompson was charged with child abuse.
He was fired from the OCPD in July, and in September, he entered an Alford plea in the case. An Alford plea is a type of plea in which the defendant does not admit guilt, but rather acknowledges that there is sufficient evidence to convict if the case were to go to trial. His plea paperwork stated, " The state has evidence sufficient to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant, Jeremiah Thompson, used excessive and unreasonable force upon a 7-month-old child.”
As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors asked for a suspended sentence for Thompson. A suspended sentence allows the defendant to serve probation instead of a prison term, but leaves him or her with a criminal conviction. Thompson's defense attorney instead asked for a deferred sentence, which would also allow probation instead of prison, but would also allow the charge to be dismissed if the defendant successfully completed probation.
Oklahoma County District Judge Ray C. Elliott chose a five-year suspended sentence for the former police officer. He will serve 5 years of probation for injuring the child, and he will be a convicted felon as a result.
Under Oklahoma law, the maximum penalty for felony child abuse is life in prison.
Image credit: Rachelle
An Oklahoma man accused of shooting to death his estranged wife before turning the gun on himself has pleaded guilty to first degree murder in the case.
Lanne Emet Baldwin, 25, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of first degree murder in the shooting of Cassandra Baldwin at her Dewey County home. In exchange for his guilty plea, Judge Rick Bozarth sentenced Baldwin to life in prison, with all but 25 years suspended.
The case against Baldwin began with a 9-1-1 call in the early morning hours of January 6. At approximately 4:00 a.m., the Dewey County Sheriff's Office received a 9-1-1 call from a number identified as "Cassie Baldwin." Dispatchers heard a woman screaming and phone buttons being pressed before the call disconnected.
Approximately 45 minutes later, authorities received another call, this one from Lanne Baldwin's mother. She told dispatchers that two people--her son and his wife--had been shot at a property in Taloga.
Baldwin's mother called again about 10 minutes after that, saying her son had called her back and he needed an ambulance.
When law enforcement arrived at the Taloga home, they found Lanne Baldwin lying just inside the back door of the home with a gunshot wound to the face. They found Cassandra Baldwin lying dead of a gunshot wound in another area of the home.
Lanne Baldwin was transported to Clinton Regional Hospital, where he was found to have amphetamines, benzodiazepines, propoxyphene, methamphetamine, and cannabinoids in his system, as well has having a blood alcohol concentration of "<10." He was soon transported to OU Trauma Center in Oklahoma City.
On January 10, four days after the shooting, Baldwin was arrested and charged with first degree murder.
The maximum penalty for first degree murder is death; however, the death penalty may only be given under certain aggravating circumstances. In general, first degree murder is punishable by life in prison or life without parole.
First degree murder is an 85 Percent Crime, which means that those who are sentenced to life with the possibility of parole must serve 85 percent of the sentence before achieving parole eligibility. For the purpose of parole, a life sentence is calculated at 45 years, which means a person may be eligible for parole after 38 years and 3 months.
Because much of Baldwin's sentence is suspended, he will likely serve less than 25 years in prison for killing his estranged wife.
An Oklahoma task force on criminal justice reform is considering modifying the "85 percent rule" as it pertains to drug offenders in a way to reduce the prison population. Task force members are telling the media that any changes would only apply to drug crimes, and not to violent felonies that are considered "85 percent crimes. However, such a change would be likely to have little impact, as the only drug crime on the list of 85 percent crimes is aggravated drug trafficking. All other 85 percent crimes are violent crimes.
So what is an 85 percent crime, and which criminal offenses make the list?
When a person is sentenced for a crime, he or she rarely serves the full prison sentence handed down by a judge. Instead, the person is typically released early through parole or "good behavior" credits. Some crimes, however, are considered to be more egregious than others, and legislators want people convicted of violent felony offenses to remain in bars longer than their nonviolent fellow inmates.
In 21 O.S. § 13.1, Oklahoma law stipulates the "85 percent rule." Anyone convicted of the crimes listed in that statute "shall be required to serve not less than eighty-five percent (85%) of any sentence of imprisonment imposed by the judicial system prior to becoming eligible for consideration for parole." The law further states that a person convicted of an 85 percent crime is not eligible for "earned credits or
any other type of credits which have the effect of reducing the length of the sentence to less than eighty-five percent (85%) of the sentence imposed."
So if a person is sentenced to 25 years in prison for an 85 percent crime, he or she would not be eligible for parole until he or she had served 21 years and three months in prison--85 percent of the 25 year sentence. Life sentences are calculated at 45 years for the purpose of parole, and so a person sentenced to life in prison for an 85 percent crime could become parole eligible after 38 years and 3 months in prison.
There are 22 crimes designated as 85 percent crimes:
Read more about violent crime defense and Oklahoma violent crime laws here, or call (405) 417-4832 for a free review of your case.
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An Oklahoma death row inmate made headlines last week when he asked to be transported to the Pittsburg County Courthouse to obtain a marriage license. The case prompted outrage from citizens and from the families of his victims, but now Governor Mary Fallin has stepped in and said that the man will not leave the walls of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary.
Gilbert Ray Postelle, 30, has been on Oklahoma's death row since his conviction for the murders of four people on Memorial Day 2005. Postelle and his brother reportedly blamed James “Donnie” Swindle Jr. for a motorcycle accident that left their father permanently disabled. The two were convicted after going to a Del City trailer home and herding Swindle and three others out of the home before firing upon them and killing all four people.
Postelle was sentenced to death for two of the murders and life without parole for the other two murders. His brother was sentenced to life without parole in all four deaths.
Now, the death row inmate has decided to marry an Oklahoma City woman, identified as Vera Ward, 41. Under Oklahoma law, inmates cannot be deprived of their civil rights, and so Postelle has the legal right to marry the woman.
The catch is that state law says he must appear in person to receive his marriage license. Pittsburg Court Clerk Cindy Ledford said she did not want to travel to the prison to issue the marriage license, and asked legal counsel whether she would be required to do so. Ledford said, "If I do it for one inmate, then I will have do it for all of them and I'll be at the prison all the time doing marriage licenses."
For a while, it appeared as if Postelle would get his way through Corrections Department officials transporting the heavily guarded man to the courthouse. However, Swindle's sister, Shelli Milner, asked Governor Mary Fallin to intervene, saying that the dangerous felon should never leave the prison walls.
Governor Fallin issued a statement Friday emphatically insisting that Postelle will not be transported from the prison in order to obtain a marriage license:
"Inmate Postelle will not be transported. We are discussing alternatives with the parties. But he will not be transported from the prison."
One such alternative may be the allowance of Postelle to "appear" by video. In 2014, the Oklahoma Supreme Court issued a 7-2 ruling allowing an inmate to appear by video in order to seek a legal name change. In the ruling, the Court said, "Prison inmates have a right of access to the courts of Oklahoma civil matters, although they do not have the right to appear personally."
The majority opinion furthered:
"Inmate testimony in a civil case by telephone, video conference or other electronic means is used in many jurisdictions to ensure both appropriate inmate access to courts and the timely resolution of cases. The use of alternative methods of inmate testimony is no longer unusual. Such procedures are so commonplace that they must always be considered as alternative methods of testimony in any civil case where an inmate is a litigant."
It certainly seems to be a more cost-effective method than transporting a prisoner to the courthouse under heavy guard.
The reported bride-to-be has not responded to media requests for comment.
Image credit: Oklahoma Department of Corrections
The Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City was placed on lockdown after a shooting, but reports now indicate that the shooting was not at random, and the gunman had intended to take vengeance on a supervisor before killing himself.
According to reports, suspected shooter Lloyd Buie had worked for Southwest Airlines from 1999 until April 2015, when he showed up for work apparently under the influence of alcohol. Supervisors requested Buie to take an alcohol test, but the man refused to submit to testing and immediately resigned.
Since then, Buie, who served in the Army prior to working for Southwest Airlines, has had numerous difficulties. Reports say he was suffering from health issues, and he filed for bankruptcy in September.
On Tuesday, emergency personnel responded to the airport after receiving calls reporting gunshots outside the airport. They found a wounded man in the parking lot and rushed him to the hospital, where he died of a gunshot wound. The man was identified as 52-year-old Michael Winchester, a Southwest Airlines supervisor and former OU Sooners football player.
The shooting launched a manhunt for the suspect, who was later found dead in his vehicle in the airport parking lot. It appears that Buie died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Oklahoma City Police Capt. Paco Balderrama said the shooting was not random, but it was unclear if Winchester was the intended victim or if Buie was looking for any Southwest Airlines supervisor. Reports say he was angry with a number of supervisors because of the events leading up to his termination with the airline.
Police say Buie armed himself with a rifle with the intention of going to the airport and killing someone. According to parking records, it seems that the suspect may have lain in wait for days prior to killing the supervisor.
Investigators believe that Buie shot Winchester with a rifle from the second floor of the parking garage, which was about 50 yards away from where the victim was found. Capt. Balderrama notes the suspect's military history as a reason for his ability with the rifle, saying the shooting "would definitely require familiarity with a rifle. You don't have to be an expert marksman to hit a 50 yard shot, but it's not an easy shot either."
Image credit: redlegsfan21
One woman is injured and one man is in jail following a late night hit and run accident involving a Tulsa Police Department patrol car.
Reports say a Tulsa police officer conducted a traffic stop in the 8500 block of East Skelly at approximately 11:30 p.m. Sunday night. During the stop, a pickup truck carrying a box trailer slammed into the back of the patrol vehicle. The accident pinned a woman involved in the traffic stop between the police vehicle and her vehicle.
The driver of the pick up fled the scene, but police followed a trail of oil which led them to the home of Johnnie Hunter. After reportedly finding his truck hidden near a neighbor's house, Police arrested Hunter on complaints of leaving the scene of an injury accident, interfering with emergency personnel and failure to stop.
The injured woman was transported to a local hospital for treatment of a broken leg and a possible broken pelvis.
Oklahoma law requires those involved in a motor vehicle accident to remain at the scene of the accident, provide accurate identification, and render aid to anyone injured in the accident (47 O.S. § 10-104). In accidents involving great bodily injury or death, a driver will be required to submit to blood alcohol testing. Leaving the scene of the accident is a crime, and providing false identification is prosecuted the same as hit and run.
The penalties a driver faces for hit and run depend upon whether the accident involved only property damage or whether it resulted in personal injury or death.
In general, a person who leaves the scene of an accident does so out of fear: he or she may have been drinking or may be under the influence of drugs, he or she may have been distracted by a cell phone or other device, or he or she may have outstanding warrants. Regardless of the source of fear, leaving the scene of an accident almost always makes the situation worse. Hit and run drivers rarely escape detection and prosecution. If you or someone you love needs criminal defense representation after a car accident, call attorney Ryan Coventon at (405) 417-3842.
Oklahoma voters last night approved two criminal justice reform bills intended to alleviate jail overcrowding and to prevent unnecessarily harsh penalties for nonviolent crimes.
The two state questions pertaining to criminal justice reform were SQ 780, which would reduce some drug possession and property crimes from felonies to misdemeanors, and SQ 781, which would help fund community rehabilitation programs with the money saved if SQ 780 were to pass.
Oklahomans voted to pass SQ 780 with nearly 70% in favor of the proposition and approximately 30% opposed. The companion question, SQ 781, passed 66.42% to 33.58%.
Previously in Oklahoma, simple drug possession, which means the possession of a drug for personal use rather than for distribution, sale, or trafficking, has been designated a felony drug crime (marijuana possession was a misdemeanor on the first offense but a felony for subsequent offenses). With the approval of the state question, drug possession now becomes a misdemeanor.
Additionally, certain property crimes are reduced from felonies to misdemeanors under this law. Previously, property crimes including larceny and grand larceny, forgery, bogus checks, false declaration to a pawn broker, poaching, receiving or concealing stolen property, and fraud were prosecuted as felonies if the value of the property involved was $500 or greater. New law raises the threshold from $500 to $1,000 for felony prosecution.
Many of these issues were already addressed when the state legislature passed HB 2751; however, SQ 781, intended to divert saved funds into rehabilitation services, hinged up on the approval of SQ 780.
According to Ballotpedia.org, "State Question 781 was designed to allocate the funds made available by the prison cost savings to counties in proportion to their population and could be claimed by privately-run rehabilitative organizations that provide drug and mental health treatment, job training, and education programs."
Continuing to increase Oklahoma's incarceration rate has done nothing to deter crime, reduce substance abuse, or provide rehabilitation for those in the criminal justice system. Hopefully, voters are now taking a "smart on crime" approach that will benefit all Oklahomans.
Yet another Oklahoma law enforcement officer is accused of a sex crime. This time, the accused man is an Oklahoma County sheriff's deputy--or rather, he was until the agency learned of his arrest by Oklahoma City police and fired him.
Oklahoma City police report that a woman came into the police station Saturday morning and reported that an off-duty Oklahoma County deputy had raped her at her apartment Thursday night.
According to the woman, she and former deputy Euitt A. Sharp III, 30, had known each other for more than a year and had previously been involved in a consensual relationship. She told police that she and Sharp were no longer intimate, having agreed to remain "just friends." However, on Thursday night, the woman reports, Sharp came over to her apartment to talk, but eventually forced himself on her and raped her, despite her telling him no and trying to push her off.
The woman says that after the encounter, she told Sharp, "You just raped me." He reportedly replied, "What are you going to do? Call County?" before leaving the woman's apartment.
Two days later, she walked into an Oklahoma City police station to file a rape report.
Oklahoma City police questioned Sharp that day and determined that there was sufficient evidence to arrest him on a first degree rape complaint. They say that Sharp admitted to the sexual assault as they questioned him, and he was arrested while on duty at the
Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office substation at Quail Springs Mall. He was booked into jail and released on $25,000 bond.
Sharp worked as a detention officer at the Oklahoma County Jail in 2014 before becoming a deputy sheriff within a few months of his hire by the Sheriff's Office. Until he was fired, he worked as a School Resource Officer at Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School in Edmond.
Sheriff John Whetsel said of his deputy's arrest, "We placed a lot of faith and trust in him when we sent him to the academy and when he pinned the badge on. And he let not only me down but he let every member of this agency down and every member of law enforcement. . . . An act of violence against anyone is not acceptable, and . . . we won't tolerate it."
If ultimately charged and convicted of first degree rape, the former deputy faces 5 years to life in prison and lifetime sex offender registration.
Image credit: Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office
