Thursday, October 30, 1997
Coleman murder indictments thrown out
By ROY A. JONES II / Abilene Reporter-News
COLEMAN -- The capital murder indictments against two men charged
in a three-fatality fire were thrown out Wednesday because of
grand jury improprieties.
The defendants did not go free, however, and District Attorney
Ross Jones said he will present the charges to a different grand
jury as soon as possible.
District Judge John Weeks of Abilene quashed the indictments
against Tommy Monroe Thurman and Denis Martin Aiken, both 27,
after a seven-minute hearing in which Aiken's attorneys asked
him to consider the same objections that Thurman's attorney presented
last week.
Weeks immediately granted defense motions quashing the indictment
in each case because persons other than the attorney representing
the state were allowed to question witnesses before the grand
jury, in violation of state law.
Attorneys had presented the judge with written stipulations
that four persons who are not attorneys questioned witnesses before
the grand jury, asking as many as 200 questions.
Jones contended those persons -- Coleman County Sheriff Wade
Turner, Deputy Dan Brixey, Marty Baker of the Coleman County Law
Enforcement Task Force, and Jeff Bishop of the attorney general's
office -- were representing the state when they assisted him in
questioning witnesses. He said he asked 90 percent of the questions
of witnesses.
Defense attorneys argued, however, that state law regarding
grand jury procedures is clear: No one but the attorney representing
the state or a grand juror may question a witness before the grand
jury. They claimed the indictments were "fatally defective,"
and the judge agreed.
The action does not dismiss the charges, but means another
grand jury must consider the cases and determine if there is sufficient
evidence against the men to warrant trial by a jury.
At the same time, Weeks ordered Aiken to be held in the Coleman
County Jail pending action by another grand jury. Thurman is being
held in the Taylor County Jail in Abilene on a motion to revoke
his probation on a previous conviction.
Thurman and Aiken have been in custody since shortly after
the bodies of Cari Lin Harrison, 26, and her two young sons were
found in the charred debris of their home just east of Coleman
on Jan. 12, 1966.
Attorneys Bobby Clark and Mike Fouts of Abilene are representing
Monroe, while Don Wilson of Abilene and John Young of Sweetwater
are representing Aiken, all by court appointment.
(Correspondent Billie Mercer contributed to this story.)
Send a Letter to the Editor about This
Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
Send the URL (Address) of This Story
to A Friend:
Copyright ©1997,
Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
|
