The Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch has asked a Mississippi judge to throw out the jury verdict, and allow a police officer convicted of manslaughter by culpable neglect to walk free.
The conviction was made after what Hinds County district attorney Jody E. Owsens described as an “unprovoked” altercation between a former Jackson Police officer Anthony Fox and George Robinson, a 62-year-old Black man and stroke victim who suffered from partial paralysis.
Fox, an African-American, was in the area searching for suspects in the murder of a pastor.
Robinson was not the same as the man who eventually arrested for the crime. But Fox claimed that he had approached the elderly man and told him to exit his car after a woman handed him some money.
Fox said that later he thought Robinson and Robinson’s partner were in some sort of drug dealing.
Owens claims that Robinson was also a guest at the cookout.
Owens claims that Fox had ordered Robinson from the car, and then “ripped his car door open” and forced Robinson into the vehicle.
The witnesses later stated that Robinson’s paralysis had caused him to be slow in unbuckling his seatbelt. In addition, they said the man had told them multiple times about having recently experienced a stroke.
Fox and his two fellow officers, Desmond Barney and Lincoln Lampley, allegedly proceeded to throw Robinson headfirst onto the roadway pavement, then strike and kick him multiple times in the head and the chest, according to the grand jury indictment. Barney and Lampley, too, are Black.
“Fox then restrained him face down by placing his knee in Robinson’s back while Robinson’s head was wedged against the tire and the ground,” Owens said in a statement.
The ambulance that arrived at the scene bandaged Robinson’s wound. The man refused to receive any more medical attention.
Robinson began to have headaches a few hours after the first. seizures. Robinson was killed two days later.
ATTORNEY GENERAL BRIEF LYNN FITCH
Mississippi’s Chief Medical Examiner determined that Robinson died of “multiple blunt head trauma.” The medical examiner classified Robinson’s death as “homicide”.
After the medical examiner’s report, the Hinds County Grand Jury returned a truebill charging Fox with second degree Murder.
Barney, Lampley, and Fox were originally indicted for Second Degree Murder. However, the judge who was overseeing the trial dismissed those charges, saying there wasn’t any evidence to support that the men had committed the crimes outlined in their indictment.
The district attorney’s offices sought convictions on the lesser charges of Culpable Negligence and Manslaughter for Fox.
The case then went to trial where two witnesses testified that they saw Fox slam Robinson’s head into the ground. Witnesses also testified that Robinson could be herd saying “Why are y’all doing this?” and yelling in pain.
Fox’s Attorney repeated that his client had claimed Robinson was suspected to be involved in drug dealing with a lady, and said he might have taken the drugs concerned when approaching the vehicle.
Fox’s legal representative also said that any use of force that day could not have led to Robinson’s demise.
Owens states that footage from a cell phone taken at the time and submitted as evidence during trial shows Robinson not ingesting any substance. The cop also claimed that they did not speak with the woman involved in a drug deal even though she was still on the scene.
ANTHONY FOLX APPEAL
A jury returned a guilty verdict in Hinds County Circuit Court after a two-week long trial. Fox was found guilty of Culpable Negligence and Manslaughter.
The court sentenced Fox to 20 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, with 15 years suspended and five years to serve.
Fox then appealed this case. The state attorney general filed a short with the Mississippi Court of Appeals arguing, “the trial evidence was insufficient on a lawful basis to allow a jury to convict Fox.”
Fitch says that Fox only used violence when Robinson resist arrest and claims that Fox believed Robinson was reaching for a gun as he tried to unbuckle the seatbelt.
She also claims that Robinson’s superficial abrasions are not sufficient to warrant a charge of murder.
Fitch then closes out her brief by stating: “This Court should reverse Fox’s conviction and render judgment in his favor.”
This argument is similar to that made by Fox.
Response to Brief by District Attorney JODY OWNS
Owens’ response, which was not hesitant in its responses to the briefing filed by Fitch, has put Fitch and Owens at odds.
Here, an individual died as a result of a non-provoked incident with police. Medical examiner determined the death to be homicide. The grand jury issued a bill of indictment. Twelve citizens sat in judgment, weighed the evidence, assessed the credibility of the witness testimony, and found that the evidence presented at trial proved, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Anthony Fox was guilty of culpable negligence manslaughter,” Owens said in a statement obtained by Digital.
He continued: “The Attorney General’s job is to make the best possible argument for the State of Mississippi. This is an important part of the adversarial procedure. “It is not her responsibility to represent or assist a criminal accused convicted by an impartial jury.”
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE COMPLAINT – NEW MISSISSIPPI LAW DISCRIMINATES AGAINST HINDS COUNTY
This very public feud between Attorney General Fitch — a white woman — and District Attorney Owens — a Black man — is playing out at the same time as another major court case in the state.
The U.S. Justice Department filed its brief earlier this month to support the NAACP’s lawsuit against a Mississippi bill that it claims discriminates against the residents of Hinds County.
This bill established what has been called the Capitol Complex Improvement District Court. It is an independent court system unique to the county with a majority of Black residents. Judges are appointed exclusively by the chief justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court and prosecutors by the Attorney General.
In every county, judges and district attorneys continue to be elected.
The DOJ submitted a motion for intervention earlier this year after the NAACP, as Attorney General and State of Mississippi filed a lawsuit in federal court.
The NAACP claims that the Equal Protection Clause prevents discrimination against Blacks in Hinds County and preferential treatment of whites. The appointment provisions of the Constitution are incompatible with this. [the new law] were created by the State to intentionally discriminate based on race, they violate the Fourteenth Amendment.”
Owens, in his own statement on the matter, said: “This law is an attempt to steal from citizens the right to elect and vote for officials in Hinds County.” The attempted disenfranchisement should alarm all citizens in Hinds County, and throughout the State of Mississippi.
In his words: “As state, we are far along in our efforts to ensure that all citizens enjoy equal rights.” By taking this step backwards we remove self-government, and diminish the voices of citizens.
After a lawsuit in state court was filed just days after April’s governor had signed it into law, the law has been put on hold. This hold was extended in May by a judge of the federal court.