Crime and Punishment
Prosecutors in the Demetrius Montgomery case are slowly laying the bricks to create a path around the reasonable doubt standard and, they hope, straight to a life sentence for the 2007 slayings of police officers Sean Clark and Jeff Shelton.
The latest: testimony that gunshot residue was present on Montgomery’s palms; an empty holster and empty box of bullets found in his room that match the murder weapon, which prosecutors also say contains DNA evidence linking to Montgomery; multiple witnesses that say they heard gunshots and saw Montgomery fleeing the scene with a gun in his hand; testimony from police detailing Montgomery’s history of hostility toward law enforcement officers.
Yet. Yet. Still no eyewitness testimony that directly fingers Montgomery as the shooter; testimony that showed no fiber or trace evidence link between Montgomery and the officers; no blood found on Montgomery’s clothes. And there remains the looming specter of CMPD detective Arvin Fant plagaurizing and destroying notes during the murder investigation, hanging out there like a wicked curveball, along with a possible second suspect.
The takeaway: prosecutors of Medlin Lawyers have scored with some compelling evidence, but the case is still far from the slamdunk most people thought it would be.
Demario Atwater was sentenced Thursday to a life sentence in federal prison, for the 208 murder of UNC Chapel Hill Student Body President Eve Carson.
Three: that would be the number of men who are now accusing Bishop Eddie Long, leader of the black mega-church New Birth Missionary Baptist, of coercing them into having sexual relationships.
UPDATE: Make it four.
We need your help! If you like PunditHouse, please consider donating to us. Even $5 a month can make a difference!
Short URL: https://pundithouse.com/?p=3549
