Post by KC on Nov 19, 2006 22:49:32 GMT -5
College Station, Texas - A College Station man who has spent the past 2 1/2 years in prison for a fatal stabbing at Hurricane Harry's nightclub could be released following a reversal of his conviction this week.
The 10th Court of Appeals handed down the rare reversal for Roger Guy Russell's murder conviction Wednesday. In a 2-1 decision, the panel ordered a new trial because of "the innocent misconduct of police and the state's reliance on [an] unconstitutionally obtained confession in trial."
Russell, now 26, was arrested in April 2003 after a parking lot scuffle that led to the death of 27-year-old Jarrell resident James Ray Davidson Jr., who had traveled to the area with friends to attend Chilifest the following day.
Words had been exchanged between the strangers, and Davidson had punched Russell in the face through the window of his van moments earlier, according to testimony during the May 2004 trial.
Russell claimed self-defense but was ultimately found guilty by a jury and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Justices conceded in their ruling that prosecutors presented "ample evidence of Russell's guilt." But they also referred repeatedly to a confession made on the same night of the killing that the defense had argued was not admissible.
Minutes after the stabbing occurred, Russell had told the arresting officer he wanted his cell phone so he could call his attorney. The officer said he didn't intend to ask any questions and declined the request.
The officer's actions were not improper, the justices wrote. But when an investigator sat down with Russell an hour later for an interview - eventually obtaining a confession - the suspect's earlier request should still have been considered valid and pending, defense attorneys Travis Bryan and Craig Greaves argued.
"A suspect's effective invocation of his right to counsel must be scrupulously honored," they said in an opinion authored by Justice Felipe Reyna.
In a dissenting opinion, Chief Justice Tom Gray wrote that even if 361st District Court Judge Steve Smith did err in allowing prosecutors to use the confession, it was "harmless."
"The evidence of Russell's guilt, without regard to the evidence of his statement, was overwhelming; and the evidence of self-defense, even with Russell's statement, paltry," he wrote. "Russell's case was prejudiced by the lack of favorable evidence, not by the admission of his statement."
Bryan and Greaves said Thursday they were pleased with the decision and planned to start working immediately to get Russell released on bond while awaiting a new trial.
Prosecutors, however, said they planned to appeal the decision to a higher court and would fight any temporary release from custody.
"We respectfully disagree with the court's opinion," said Assistant District Attorney Shane Phelps, who was the lead prosecutor on the case in 2004. "We're really not thinking about . We're going to pursue all our avenues. We feel pretty confident we have a pretty strong argument [for appeal]."
Phelps pointed out that the justices ruled out "police coercion" - instead characterizing the situation as an "error" and "innocent misconduct." <<<=== BULLSHIT!
Even though appeals court reversals are rare - particularly in murder cases - Bryan said Thursday he wasn't surprised by the ruling. The decision the justices had to make seemed pretty "clear cut" given the law, he said.
He blamed the reversal on impatience by the prosecutors. Had they waited for his client to take the witness stand - something that was inevitable given his claim of self-defense - before introducing the confession, it all would have been legal, he said.
"There was a way to do it without putting the confession up front," he said. "They could have tried it a different way, had all the same evidence in front of a jury and not had a reversal."
Murder is generally a first-degree felony punishable by up to 99 years or life in prison. However, Russell faced a maximum 20-year sentence after jurors ruled the stabbing was the result of "sudden passion."
If the case is brought before a jury again, double jeopardy rules should prevent him from being sentenced to more than 20 years, his lawyers contended Thursday. No further hearing dates have been set, and prosecutors have not yet filed an appeal to the decision.
www.theeagle.com/stories/111706/local_20061117008.php
The 10th Court of Appeals handed down the rare reversal for Roger Guy Russell's murder conviction Wednesday. In a 2-1 decision, the panel ordered a new trial because of "the innocent misconduct of police and the state's reliance on [an] unconstitutionally obtained confession in trial."
Russell, now 26, was arrested in April 2003 after a parking lot scuffle that led to the death of 27-year-old Jarrell resident James Ray Davidson Jr., who had traveled to the area with friends to attend Chilifest the following day.
Words had been exchanged between the strangers, and Davidson had punched Russell in the face through the window of his van moments earlier, according to testimony during the May 2004 trial.
Russell claimed self-defense but was ultimately found guilty by a jury and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Justices conceded in their ruling that prosecutors presented "ample evidence of Russell's guilt." But they also referred repeatedly to a confession made on the same night of the killing that the defense had argued was not admissible.
Minutes after the stabbing occurred, Russell had told the arresting officer he wanted his cell phone so he could call his attorney. The officer said he didn't intend to ask any questions and declined the request.
The officer's actions were not improper, the justices wrote. But when an investigator sat down with Russell an hour later for an interview - eventually obtaining a confession - the suspect's earlier request should still have been considered valid and pending, defense attorneys Travis Bryan and Craig Greaves argued.
"That's not how it works," Greaves said Thursday, explaining that once a lawyer is asked for, "That's it. It's hands off after that."
The law is written that way and is important, he said, to prevent police coercion. The justices agreed.
"A suspect's effective invocation of his right to counsel must be scrupulously honored," they said in an opinion authored by Justice Felipe Reyna.
"Russell's statement that he needed his cell phone to call his lawyer was a clear and unequivocal invocation of his right to counsel. No magic words are required to invoke this right."
In a dissenting opinion, Chief Justice Tom Gray wrote that even if 361st District Court Judge Steve Smith did err in allowing prosecutors to use the confession, it was "harmless."
"The evidence of Russell's guilt, without regard to the evidence of his statement, was overwhelming; and the evidence of self-defense, even with Russell's statement, paltry," he wrote. "Russell's case was prejudiced by the lack of favorable evidence, not by the admission of his statement."
Bryan and Greaves said Thursday they were pleased with the decision and planned to start working immediately to get Russell released on bond while awaiting a new trial.
Prosecutors, however, said they planned to appeal the decision to a higher court and would fight any temporary release from custody.
"We respectfully disagree with the court's opinion," said Assistant District Attorney Shane Phelps, who was the lead prosecutor on the case in 2004. "We're really not thinking about . We're going to pursue all our avenues. We feel pretty confident we have a pretty strong argument [for appeal]."
Phelps pointed out that the justices ruled out "police coercion" - instead characterizing the situation as an "error" and "innocent misconduct." <<<=== BULLSHIT!
Even though appeals court reversals are rare - particularly in murder cases - Bryan said Thursday he wasn't surprised by the ruling. The decision the justices had to make seemed pretty "clear cut" given the law, he said.
He blamed the reversal on impatience by the prosecutors. Had they waited for his client to take the witness stand - something that was inevitable given his claim of self-defense - before introducing the confession, it all would have been legal, he said.
"There was a way to do it without putting the confession up front," he said. "They could have tried it a different way, had all the same evidence in front of a jury and not had a reversal."
Murder is generally a first-degree felony punishable by up to 99 years or life in prison. However, Russell faced a maximum 20-year sentence after jurors ruled the stabbing was the result of "sudden passion."
If the case is brought before a jury again, double jeopardy rules should prevent him from being sentenced to more than 20 years, his lawyers contended Thursday. No further hearing dates have been set, and prosecutors have not yet filed an appeal to the decision.
www.theeagle.com/stories/111706/local_20061117008.php
