Earlier this month, I covered the first murder trial of my journalism career with the prosecution of Selena Roberts, who was convicted of the fatal stabbing of her boyfriend, Danny Brown in 2016.
I had covered homicides while I was the news editor at the Delta Democrat-Times in Greenville, which is certainly no stranger to crime, but I had never had the opportunity to sit in a courtroom and see a criminal trial from beginning to end.
If your o
nly knowledge of trials comes from watching reruns of “Law and Order” (much like myself before this month), then your view of how the justice system works is probably a bit off.
While it can take a long time for criminal cases to come to court if the defendant pleads not guilty, when the trial finally takes place, it is often over in a single day, including the jury selection, testimony and jury deliberations. On L&O, trials would usually take place over several weeks and this does sometimes happen in high profile cases like the O.J. Simpson and Casey Anthony trials.
While I can’t reveal all the details and accusations that came to light during the Roberts trial, I can say that it definitely would have made for an interesting hour or two of television. The Roberts trial was over in a single day and she was sentenced two days later. However, things didn’t go so smoothly in the next homicide trial that was scheduled for that week.
Jordan Myers went on trial as one of nine defendants that are charged in the planning and fatal shooting of Jamarcus Townsend last spring in Newton.
After nearly an entire day of testimony, several members of the jury became concerned that members of the audience were taking photos of them and that they could be targeted for retaliation. Because the shooting of Townsends is thought to have been gang-related, Eighth District Circuit Court Judge Chris Collins decided that their fears could be valid and granted Public Defender Mitch Thomas’ motion for a mistrial. District Attorney Steven Kilgore will try the case again during the next session of Circuit Court.
I certainly did not expect such surprises during the week but there were definitely some unexpected turns during this recent court session.
Our justice system sometimes has a few hiccups and it might take longer than some would like, but it is the best possible system we could have.
Contact Demetrius at dthompson@newtoncountyappeal.com.
