Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 24, 2006 5:01:30 GMT -5
Convicted killer escapes death penalty
By Jason Morton
Staff Writer
TUSCALOOSA | After two weeks of criminal proceedings, a jury on Friday convicted the man who shot and killed his 15-year-old stepdaughter more than two years ago.
But the same jury that convicted James Lee Bester Jr., saved him from death by failing to reach a verdict on two of the capital murder charges and downgrading the third to murder, a non-capital offense.
Tuscaloosa County Circuit Judge John H. England declared a mistrial for the capital murder charges that the jury could not reach a decision on.
Bester, 45, was facing the death penalty on multiple capital murder crimes.
It remained unclear late Friday what prosecutors intend to do regarding the unresolved capital murder charges because Tuscaloosa County Chief Assistant District Attorney Chris Hargett declined to comment.
He declined on the basis of the pending allegations, which accuse Bester of killing Shannon Marie McGuire during the commission of a burglary in the first- or second-degree.
The partial conviction affirms what Bester never has contested -- that he killed the Holt High School freshman Aug. 30, 2004 at their home. Bester’s attorneys had challenged the state’s assertion that his actions warranted the death penalty.
In all, Bester escaped four capital murder charges, all of which could have brought a sentence of death.
England tossed out one of the capital murder charges, the one that alleged he killed Shannon during a kidnapping, last week following the conclusion of the state’s presentation of evidence.
The jury’s verdict downgraded another capital charge. It found that Bester did not kill Shannon because she was a witness in a criminal matter against him.
In addition to murder, the jury found Bester, 45, guilty of third-degree domestic violence, violating a protective order and the attempted murder of his former wife, Barbara Bester, Shannon’s mother.
He was exonerated of another attempted murder charge he faced for firing at his neighbor, Donald Lankford.
When Bester kicked in the door of the Holt-Peterson Road residence and fired once at some pillows near his sleeping wife, she ran to the nearby home of Donald and Billie Ruth Lankford, after he emptied his gun firing at Shannon.
Two of those four bullets struck Shannon in the back of the right leg but did not kill her. Her death came later, when Bester fired a single shot from the .38-caliber pistol into her head.
Donald Lankford, 75, was in the process of returning to the Bester home with Barbara Bester when James Lee Bester opened fire.
During a videotaped interview with homicide investigators, James Lee Bester said he was not shooting at Donald Lankford.
But on the witness stand last week, Donald Lankford, a military veteran, said he had a different impression.
“I saw him raise the gun and he started firing a volley of shots," Lankford told the jury last week. “You know when you’re being shot at."
After Friday’s verdict, Donald Lankford and his 73-year-old wife, both of whom attended each day of the two-week trial, said they had hoped for more guilty verdicts but were pleased, overall, with the criminal justice system.
“By the grace of God they weren’t hit [by those bullets]," Billie Ruth Lankford said. “I had hoped to see justice served, and I think it will be -- somehow, someday."
Barbara Bester also declined to comment after the trial, as did James Lee Bester’s defense attorneys, Nettie Blume and Jim Roberts.
But Roberts’ elation was conveyed by the large embrace he gave James Lee Bester once the jury had left the room.
Hargett told England he intends to seek habitual offender penalties in regard to James Lee Bester’s sentence.
The judge said a sentencing hearing would be scheduled sometime between today and Nov. 28.
The jury, made up of seven women and five men and split evenly among blacks and whites, had been at work on this trial since Sept. 11, when they first reported to the Tuscaloosa County Courthouse for jury duty.
They deliberated for almost 20 hours, beginning Wednesday afternoon, and asked the court at least 21 questions pertaining to matters of law stemming from the case.
Attorneys on both sides of the case said they’d never seen such a vocal and inquisitive jury.
England, who patiently answered each of the jury’s questions in clear and simple words, urged the jury to reach a verdict, but did not pressure them to make a decision they did not feel comfortable with.
Still, once the jury returned with a deadlocked decision regarding the two capital murder-burglary charges, the judge thanked the jurors for their duty.
“The court recognizes that you have worked long and hard," England said. “You’ve been very attentive, and that’s what makes our system of justice work."
www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20060923&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=609230327&SectionCat=EDITORIAL&Template=print
By Jason Morton
Staff Writer
TUSCALOOSA | After two weeks of criminal proceedings, a jury on Friday convicted the man who shot and killed his 15-year-old stepdaughter more than two years ago.
But the same jury that convicted James Lee Bester Jr., saved him from death by failing to reach a verdict on two of the capital murder charges and downgrading the third to murder, a non-capital offense.
Tuscaloosa County Circuit Judge John H. England declared a mistrial for the capital murder charges that the jury could not reach a decision on.
Bester, 45, was facing the death penalty on multiple capital murder crimes.
It remained unclear late Friday what prosecutors intend to do regarding the unresolved capital murder charges because Tuscaloosa County Chief Assistant District Attorney Chris Hargett declined to comment.
He declined on the basis of the pending allegations, which accuse Bester of killing Shannon Marie McGuire during the commission of a burglary in the first- or second-degree.
The partial conviction affirms what Bester never has contested -- that he killed the Holt High School freshman Aug. 30, 2004 at their home. Bester’s attorneys had challenged the state’s assertion that his actions warranted the death penalty.
In all, Bester escaped four capital murder charges, all of which could have brought a sentence of death.
England tossed out one of the capital murder charges, the one that alleged he killed Shannon during a kidnapping, last week following the conclusion of the state’s presentation of evidence.
The jury’s verdict downgraded another capital charge. It found that Bester did not kill Shannon because she was a witness in a criminal matter against him.
In addition to murder, the jury found Bester, 45, guilty of third-degree domestic violence, violating a protective order and the attempted murder of his former wife, Barbara Bester, Shannon’s mother.
He was exonerated of another attempted murder charge he faced for firing at his neighbor, Donald Lankford.
When Bester kicked in the door of the Holt-Peterson Road residence and fired once at some pillows near his sleeping wife, she ran to the nearby home of Donald and Billie Ruth Lankford, after he emptied his gun firing at Shannon.
Two of those four bullets struck Shannon in the back of the right leg but did not kill her. Her death came later, when Bester fired a single shot from the .38-caliber pistol into her head.
Donald Lankford, 75, was in the process of returning to the Bester home with Barbara Bester when James Lee Bester opened fire.
During a videotaped interview with homicide investigators, James Lee Bester said he was not shooting at Donald Lankford.
But on the witness stand last week, Donald Lankford, a military veteran, said he had a different impression.
“I saw him raise the gun and he started firing a volley of shots," Lankford told the jury last week. “You know when you’re being shot at."
After Friday’s verdict, Donald Lankford and his 73-year-old wife, both of whom attended each day of the two-week trial, said they had hoped for more guilty verdicts but were pleased, overall, with the criminal justice system.
“By the grace of God they weren’t hit [by those bullets]," Billie Ruth Lankford said. “I had hoped to see justice served, and I think it will be -- somehow, someday."
Barbara Bester also declined to comment after the trial, as did James Lee Bester’s defense attorneys, Nettie Blume and Jim Roberts.
But Roberts’ elation was conveyed by the large embrace he gave James Lee Bester once the jury had left the room.
Hargett told England he intends to seek habitual offender penalties in regard to James Lee Bester’s sentence.
The judge said a sentencing hearing would be scheduled sometime between today and Nov. 28.
The jury, made up of seven women and five men and split evenly among blacks and whites, had been at work on this trial since Sept. 11, when they first reported to the Tuscaloosa County Courthouse for jury duty.
They deliberated for almost 20 hours, beginning Wednesday afternoon, and asked the court at least 21 questions pertaining to matters of law stemming from the case.
Attorneys on both sides of the case said they’d never seen such a vocal and inquisitive jury.
England, who patiently answered each of the jury’s questions in clear and simple words, urged the jury to reach a verdict, but did not pressure them to make a decision they did not feel comfortable with.
Still, once the jury returned with a deadlocked decision regarding the two capital murder-burglary charges, the judge thanked the jurors for their duty.
“The court recognizes that you have worked long and hard," England said. “You’ve been very attentive, and that’s what makes our system of justice work."
www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20060923&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=609230327&SectionCat=EDITORIAL&Template=print