I previously blogged about the gruesome torture, rape, and murder of Chris Newsom and Channon Christian, a young white Knoxville couple by 4 black men in a run down house in a rough part of town in Knoxville. The first defendant, Letalvis Cobbins, went on trial in a Knoxville court with a jury chosen from Nashville due to pretrial publicity. In terms of legal strategy, this was a smart move by Cobbins' lawyers, as Nashville is considerably more liberal than Knoxville.
Cobbins was found guilty of most of the crimes he was charged with and pled guilty to some other charges. Although he was eligible for the death penalty, the jury, for reasons known only to them and to God, gave him life without parole instead. I wrote to Michelle Malkin to update her on the case, and she was kind enough to publish my e-mail update on her blog. This is the second time I have made her blog, and while that's very cool, I sincerely wish the circumstances were different.
Accused ringleader Lemaricus Davidson goes on trial for his role in the slayings later this year, and I hope that jury doesn't repeat this one's disgrace. Hopefully they will give Davidson the death penalty he deserves and these kids and their families the justice they deserve.
