State vs. Presley, Domestic Violence Homicide

As in the Amadou Diallo case where four New York City police officers (not in uniform) fired 41 bullets and killed an unarmed African immigrant in the foyer of his own home and were acquitted by a jury, there is an absolute right to a self-defense theory in a homicide case which the prosecution must disprove beyond a reasonable doubt. In a recent Morgan County case an acquittal resulted in a similar domestic violence case.

In the Presley case , the deceased victim had gone into another room to get a gun and then fired three shots at Mr. Presley during the struggle. He had powder burns on his arm from the bullet grazing him, all extrinsic evidence being corroborative of his statement. She was killed when he turned the gun away from himself and toward her during the struggle - a textbook self-defense case. This was Officer Speelman's testimony, who was called by the defense to testify in the probation hearing. We certainly would not have obtained a greater sentence by trial than by plea. This was obvious to the judge, to the police and to any reasonable person who actually attended the hearing. (Diallo had not fired at the officers, nor did he even have a gun)

It is our job to make these assessments. The plea agreement in State v. Presley was duly approved by the Judge.

In Presley we achieved a conviction for more than the minimum sentence by a plea of guilty. The plea was in accordance with Tennessee law and the facts of this case and was approved by the defense, the prosecution and the court. Even the victim's mother understood, as contemplated by the Victims' Bill of Rights (the complaining family members cited--exploited--by the ALLIANCE were not next-of-kin although they represented themselves as such to the press and to those induced to sign the "petition"--and the press bought it. In fact an aunt by marriage called herself repeatedly the victim's "mother".)

The sentencing in this case is now on appeal by the defendant as too harsh.

It is my considered opinion that the activities of the ALLIANCE AGAINST FAMILY VIOLENCE have been counterproductive to their advertised purposes. They are working against due process of law in the effort to prosecute and prevent domestic violence, which is universally recognized as a serious criminal justice problem.

The office of the District Attorney General in Anderson County is completely divorced from this group, and continues to operate appropriately and professionally within the criminal justice process for effective law enforcement in suppression of domestic violence while respecting the due process rights of defendants.

Jim Ramsey, District Attorney General