Jamie Weis is escorted back to the Pike County jail after a recent court hearing.
Wheels on Weis case finally moving
Former Superior Court Judge Johnny Caldwell and district attorney Scott Ballard took the stand in a local death penalty case that has been all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The session Nov. 30 was part of a motions hearing.
Several witnesses took the stand during the all-day hearing. Details of accused murderer Jamie Weis’ childhood and his recent suicide attempts in jail were revealed. The defense calls the four-year delay due to a lack of funding a violation of speedy trial rights and appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Court. Both courts ruled by a 4-3 decision that Weis’ rights have not been violated.
Weis is charged with the murder of his 73-year-old neighbor Catherine King at her home during a 2006 robbery. Defense attorneys filed five motions before presiding Judge Tommy Hank-inson. Motions were to disqualify the district attorney, proportionality, a speedy trial, to preclude the death penalty because of violations of united appeal and a new jury panel – which was the only one granted by Judge Hankinson. The judge will rule on the other motions at a Dec. 17 hearing when he will hear from a final witness.
For more on this story, read the Dec. 8 print/e-edition of the Pike County Journal Reporter.
To subscribe, click here.
Weis is charged with the murder of his 73-year-old neighbor Catherine King at her home during a 2006 robbery. Defense attorneys filed five motions before presiding Judge Tommy Hank-inson. Motions were to disqualify the district attorney, proportionality, a speedy trial, to preclude the death penalty because of violations of united appeal and a new jury panel – which was the only one granted by Judge Hankinson. The judge will rule on the other motions at a Dec. 17 hearing when he will hear from a final witness.
For more on this story, read the Dec. 8 print/e-edition of the Pike County Journal Reporter.
To subscribe, click here.
I wonder if his public defenders have considered that.
Looking at him now, he looks healthy, hearty and hale. Not diminished at all. A juror might look at this big, hulking man now and decide he is capable of anything, and award the death penalty.
Definition: Incident=something that occurs casually in connection with something else.
Do we have a CASUAL cold bloodied murder here?
I do not doubt that will be the next trick the defense tries. "He didn't mean to kill the elderly lady, his neighbor, by the way...she was just at home when he wanted to rob her."
A good old DA can plead this down to "intent to steal."
Does anyone out there in Readerland have any sympathy for victims any longer?
If I were innocent I would have really wanted a quick trial, not a fake one, in which I caused the delay.