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Jesse Ray Mathews, who is accused of shooting and killing Chattanooga police Sgt. Tim Chapin during a botched robbery, leaves the courtroom after appearing before Judge Barry Steelman.Photo by Jake Daniels.
A Hamilton County Criminal Court judge will consider bringing a jury from outside the county to hear the case against an accused cop killer.
Judge Barry Steelman said this afternoon he will consider the request from defense attorney Lee Davis in the case against Jesse Mathews, who is charged with first-degree murder in the April 2 shooting death of Chattanooga police Sgt. Tim Chapin.
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Todd South covers courts, poverty, technology, military and veterans for the Times Free Press. He has worked at the paper since 2008 and previously covered crime and safety in Southeast Tennessee and North Georgia. Todd’s hometown is Dodge City, Kan. He served five years in the U.S. Marine Corps and deployed to Iraq before returning to school for his journalism degree from the University of Georgia. Todd previously worked at the Anniston (Ala.) Star. Contact ...
They should just take him to the back and club him in the head. Tax dollars saved.
While I personally agree with tomatoketchup in order to ensure a fair trial a jury should be brought in from outside Hamilton County. We are all bias because we all KNOW he did and he should be punished to the fullest extent of law but everyone also has the right to a fair trial....unfortunately.
And to think this scumbucket is going to cost taxpayers millions of dollars once convicted and sitting on death row for ten years or longer while filing numerous appeals, makes one question the sanity of our justice system.
frayne, I'd rather see a guilty man sitting on deathrow for 10 years at my tax dollars expense than for America to ever gain chance executing again some other innocent individual did not commit the crime for which they were charged.
Mac, I agree 100%, that said when there is no doubt and the crime is witnessed by others, give the perp a fair trial and if found guilty, move him to the head of the line.
The lawyer must be feeling happy that an external jury is brought into the case, but I think with all the buzz going around the case, it would be difficult for the jury to be not affected by opinion, but it is still a shot.
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