softheart
05-25-2003, 11:29 AM
May 24
GEORGIA:
A jury deliberated
less than 2 hours before acquitting David Wayne McQuater.
It took 2 jury trials and almost seven years, but David Wayne McQuater
this week was found not guilty in a case that put his life at stake.
McQuater had been charged with murder in the Oct. 12, 1996, stabbing death
of Mae Evelyn Collins in her home on Lucky Street in Metter.
Prosecutors were seeking the death penalty.
On Wednesday, a Clarke County jury found McQuater not guilty, and the
28-year-old walked free for the 1st time since he was jailed pending trial
in 1998.
It took the jury 1 hour and 20 minutes to reach its verdict.
"He looked to me, he said, 'Man, I want to kiss you,'" said Alan Layne,
one of McQuater's defense attorneys, when they heard the verdict. "And I
said, 'David, you've been in jail a long time. A handshake and a hug will
do.'"
McQuater now expects to move out of Candler County to find a job, Layne
said.
Trying the case the first time helped the defense devise strategy for the
2nd trial, he said. Part of that strategy included letting McQuater
testify in the 2nd trial.
"He was great," said defense attorney Michael C. Garrett. "I never thought
he'd be that good."
The trial, which had been moved out of Candler County because of pre-trial
publicity, lasted only 2 days. The state finished its case Tuesday
afternoon, and the defense put up only 1 witness -- McQuater. Closing
arguments began Wednesday morning, and the jury returned with its verdict
in the afternoon.
The defense outlined problems in the prosecution's case, Garrett said,
including inconsistencies in testimony from one of the GBI agents working
the case, and the fact that an Icehouse beer bottle allegedly used in the
attack wasn't tested for DNA until 2 years later.
"I was amazed the prosecution thought it had a slam-dunk," said Garrett,
who's tried 40 death-penalty cases.
After the 1st trial in Chatham County in January, Garrett said prosecutors
offered McQuater a negotiated plea, but his client refused to take it.
"David maintained his innocence," Garrett said. "He didn't feel he should
take a deal because he wasn't guilty."
The Savannah trial ended in a mistrial after a jury spent almost two days
deliberating. At the end, the split was reported at 10-2 in favor of
conviction -- one of the reasons Candler County District Attorney Steve
Askew chose to retry the case.
Askew said he had no idea what made the jury in the 2nd trial acquit
McQuater.
"You just get different juries to do different things," Askew said.
He called the 1st trial a dress rehearsal.
"There was certainly probable cause to continue with prosecution," he
said. "There was sufficient evidence to convict."
Askew said Collins' family is heart-broken with the jury verdict.
But Layne and Garrett feel justice was done. They had always believed
their client was innocent.
"I thank God he was acquitted," Layne said.
(source: Savannah Morning News)
GEORGIA:
A jury deliberated
less than 2 hours before acquitting David Wayne McQuater.
It took 2 jury trials and almost seven years, but David Wayne McQuater
this week was found not guilty in a case that put his life at stake.
McQuater had been charged with murder in the Oct. 12, 1996, stabbing death
of Mae Evelyn Collins in her home on Lucky Street in Metter.
Prosecutors were seeking the death penalty.
On Wednesday, a Clarke County jury found McQuater not guilty, and the
28-year-old walked free for the 1st time since he was jailed pending trial
in 1998.
It took the jury 1 hour and 20 minutes to reach its verdict.
"He looked to me, he said, 'Man, I want to kiss you,'" said Alan Layne,
one of McQuater's defense attorneys, when they heard the verdict. "And I
said, 'David, you've been in jail a long time. A handshake and a hug will
do.'"
McQuater now expects to move out of Candler County to find a job, Layne
said.
Trying the case the first time helped the defense devise strategy for the
2nd trial, he said. Part of that strategy included letting McQuater
testify in the 2nd trial.
"He was great," said defense attorney Michael C. Garrett. "I never thought
he'd be that good."
The trial, which had been moved out of Candler County because of pre-trial
publicity, lasted only 2 days. The state finished its case Tuesday
afternoon, and the defense put up only 1 witness -- McQuater. Closing
arguments began Wednesday morning, and the jury returned with its verdict
in the afternoon.
The defense outlined problems in the prosecution's case, Garrett said,
including inconsistencies in testimony from one of the GBI agents working
the case, and the fact that an Icehouse beer bottle allegedly used in the
attack wasn't tested for DNA until 2 years later.
"I was amazed the prosecution thought it had a slam-dunk," said Garrett,
who's tried 40 death-penalty cases.
After the 1st trial in Chatham County in January, Garrett said prosecutors
offered McQuater a negotiated plea, but his client refused to take it.
"David maintained his innocence," Garrett said. "He didn't feel he should
take a deal because he wasn't guilty."
The Savannah trial ended in a mistrial after a jury spent almost two days
deliberating. At the end, the split was reported at 10-2 in favor of
conviction -- one of the reasons Candler County District Attorney Steve
Askew chose to retry the case.
Askew said he had no idea what made the jury in the 2nd trial acquit
McQuater.
"You just get different juries to do different things," Askew said.
He called the 1st trial a dress rehearsal.
"There was certainly probable cause to continue with prosecution," he
said. "There was sufficient evidence to convict."
Askew said Collins' family is heart-broken with the jury verdict.
But Layne and Garrett feel justice was done. They had always believed
their client was innocent.
"I thank God he was acquitted," Layne said.
(source: Savannah Morning News)