By: St. Lukes Episcopal School March 31st, 2023
THE STATE OF ALABAMA VS. PAUL NEASE
Judge Brandy Hambright
Political Assistant: Mr. Johnson
Court Reporter: Mrs. Garside
Defense Attorney: Marcus Fox
Prosecution: Louis Walker
The Trial
This trial was run by real professionals from the DA's office. Under the instruction of Mr. Fox and Mr. Walker, seniors in our BioMed III program were able to attempt to prosecute or defend a citizen. To begin the trial, each side gave their opening statements, Joshlyn Upshaw for the prosecution and Lexi Garsdie for the defense. Both sides of the case presented a summary of the evidence and what they will be talking about for the rest of the trial.
After this, the prosecution called their first witness, Bailey Cumpton. Mr. Cumpton was first asked to spell his name and state his place of work. Bailey Cumpton, a senior at our school, acted as a detective on this case. He was allowed to discuss the evidence and circumstances of the scene to the best of his ability. He began to remark on the fact that the accused continued to refer to his wife with terms such as "loved" and "she was", hinting at the fact that he had already come to terms with the death.
After Bailey, they called Detective Garside to the stand, in this case, he was acting as a forensic pathologist, someone who performs autopsies. Mr. Garside's testimony allowed the jury to know that the gunshot wound was in a straight line and that there were no other notable wounds on the victim.
They continued to interview more and more people, from Mr. Nease's sister-in-law, another cop, and an electronic forensic scientist. In the end, however, the jury came up with the decision of not guilty. This meant that Mrs. Neases was thought to have committed suicide and Mr. Nease was a free man once again.
Forensic week is one of my favorite times of the year, everything we do during these weeks is always so interesting and fun. I enjoyed this week because it made me think. I am always so excited to see Mr. Garside come to our school to talk to us and I cannot wait till next year.
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