Friday, September 12, 2003
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Friday, September 12, 2003 |
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Watson attorneys argue today for new murder trial in Fulton By JOHN
MUNFORD
Convicted last summer of murdering his wife Beverley in 1997, Fayette resident James Lamar Watson Jr. will have his motion for a new trial heard in court by the same Fulton County judge who presided over the trial. Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford will hear multiple arguments from Watson's attorneys on why Watson's right to a fair trial was infringed upon. Much of the 137-page motion for a new trial focuses on Bedford's decision to allow three of Beverley Watson's close friends to testify about incidents of physical and emotional abuse, including several occasions Jim Watson pointed a gun at her and threatened to kill her. Several witnesses testified that Beverley Watson told them if she ever turned up missing or dead, it would be because her husband had killed her. Jim Watson contended that his wife left the couple's home after an argument on Jan. 18, 1997. But prosecutors contend she never would have left the house without her coat considering the remarkably cold weather recorded that night. Jim Watson admitted on the stand that he used makeup to cover up scratches on his face that he received during the argument. He claimed the scratches occurred when she threw her keys at him, but prosecutors argued the scratches came from Beverley herself as she struggled with her husband for what they alleged was the last time. Beverley Watson's decomposed remains were found in a wooded area in south Fulton County in 1999, identified through dental records. He was arrested in January of last year after an extensive investigation that included the Fulton County Police Department and the Fayette County Sheriff's Department. Watson's attorneys claim the state failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, noting that there were no eyewitnesses to the killing and the medical examiner could not establish a cause of death. "The state succeeded at trial, not because it produced enough evidence to prove Watson's guilt, but because it was allowed to introduce enough evidence to convince 12 people to dislike him," according to court documents submitted by defense attorneys Lee Sexton, Ricky Morris and Scott Key. Watson's defense team also alleges that prosecutor Sheila Ross committed misconduct by commenting on Watson's lack of remorse and by asking the jury to "speak" for Beverley Watson by returning a guilty verdict, which played on the jury's emotions.
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