Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Manslaughter in Chris Martin Trial: Right Verdict?


Campbell's Madison County Mug Shot
We haven't commented on the Chris Martin trial until now. The verdict came in today, and Chris has been found guilty of manslaughter. We feel this is the right verdict. Why?

Chris shot Campbell six times--that's a lot. We feel safe to state that Chris was also drinking and his thought processes were not what they should have been.

Why wasn't it murder? Grant Campbell had a .26 BAC reading. He may also have had other drugs in his system--he was awaiting trial in Madison County on three serious drug charges. Could he also have had some prescription drugs in his system that didn't mix well with alcohol? It's entirely possible. News reports indicated that Campbell had been dishonorably discharged from the military for theft. There were also numerous reports that he had been diagnosed with a "thought disorder" involving women. You'll notice that there were three couples at the party that night, but Campbell was alone.

We're sure the jury took all this into consideration. Since Martin used a gun, he faces a possible 20 year sentence.

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We notice Tom Smith of the TimesDaily has done his usual story on Hershel Graham--three witnesses said David Andrasik pushed Graham. Since all three of these witnesses were related to Graham, why doesn't Smith report that three other witnesses (one a Red Bay teacher who was just passing by) not related to the rotund retired wrestler stated that David was called back when he attempted to leave and that Graham's use of a gun was totally unprovoked?

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We wish to thank a Sheffield Utilities employee for responding to comments from a Sheffield reader. If any Sheffield customers witness non-functioning street lights, please call 256-389-2000, then select Engineering & Operations to report the problem.

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We recently linked a news report on the newest arrest for Quittney Nichols. One of our readers suggested she start a band called Quittney & the Repeaters. They could book UNA frat parties and football games.

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A reader also asked about the geographic locations of our current blogging team. We have four bloggers: three who live in Lauderdale County and one who lives in Colbert. We welcome comments from Colbert, Franklin, and other surrounding areas.



Shoalanda

3 comments:

  1. If my life was being threatened , and i am not a regular shooter, i would fire off several times in a panic. Pstd. . Chris was calculating , he was reacting to a threayening situation and well aware of his friend, grant campbells,capabilities chris martin acted in fear. And bryce graham told tim case chris' lawyer lives would get hurt if he went free. Come on DA play by the rules. Bryce graham exonerate chris martin on civil liberty violation, we wont fault you for it i would applaud an ethical move such as that but to continue denying him justice is very unethical and i would hate for an ethic board to look into this case. Refer to canon of judicial ethics

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  2. Manslaughter was not the correct verdict. He either acted in self defense or it was murder. There is no middle ground here. Your justification for a manslaughter verdict is that Chris was drinking? So, you forfeit your right to defend yourself because you had a few drinks? Come on now. You're smarter than that... at least I hope so.

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  3. So, you forfeit you're right to defend yourself and others because you had a few drinks? Come on now... you're smarter than that. At least I hope you are.

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