MS - Jessica Chambers, 19, Panola County, Dec 2014 #3 *MISTRIAL*

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For what it's worth, I think the defense AND the prosecution couldn't ask for a better judge than Judge Gerald Chatham.

He presided over the first trial last October. This is my personal evaluation of him then, right after a bit of a controversy arose about a stalk of cotton placed in the media tent. One reporter was ejected from the county for trying to squeeze racial overtones out of its presence. It was simply placed there for the benefit of all the outside visitors as a symbol of Panola County, which means "cotton" in Choctow:

MS - Jessica Chambers, Panola County, Dec 2014 #2

This is a local's perspective about the judge, who has known him for 50 years:

MS - Jessica Chambers, Panola County, Dec 2014 #2

Regards,
Clouseau
 
Cathy Russon‏ @cathyrusson 28m28 minutes ago
I'm in the town of Courtland where #JessicaChambers and #QuintonTellis lived. This is also where Jessica's car and body were set on fire. Here are pictures I took of the crime scene.
Dn4rK17UUAEj0Gb.jpg
 
BUF said:
But there's one new wrinkle. Prosecutors have subpoenaed a woman named Sherry Flowers as a witness. Peterson said she's expected to testify that she gave a man a ride the night of Chambers' death. This could fill in a crucial gap linking Tellis to the crime scene. In the first trial, prosecutors had claimed Tellis traveled on foot from the place where he left Chambers to his sister's house, got his sister's car, collected a can of gasoline at his own house, and then returned to set the car and an unconscious Chambers on fire.

Defense attorneys, though, question whether Flowers can identify Tellis as the man she transported.

"She indicates she's seen his face somewhere, but can't remember where," Peterson said.


Retrial set for man accused in woman’s burning death
Click to expand...

Hopefully she can describe the man she gave a ride to in enough detail that it will point to Tellis (if it was him, of course). Maybe she can describe facial features and clothing. She'd no doubt remember where she picked him up and dropped him off. Maybe he seemed anxious, etc. You know. Stuff like that. Yeah, I know it's not going to be 100% but maybe her testimony added to what else will be shown to the jury will enable them get it right this time without a doubt.
 
BUF said:
Cathy Russon
@cathyrusson
·
9m

The jury of 15 (3 alternates) has been chosen in the #JessicaChambers #QuintonTellis retrial. Breakdown: 7 men, 8 women. 9 black, 6 white.

Looks like opening statements will be in the morning.
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BUF,

Thanks for relaying that. Do you have a breakdown without the alternates included? The overall gender mix seems about right, but the racial mix seems to be the very opposite of the demographics for Oktibbeha County, MS, in 2017, 2018 that I had posted earlier, which were:

White 59%
Black 36%

Best,
Clouseau
 
rbarber17 said:
BUF,

Thanks for relaying that. Do you have a breakdown without the alternates included? The overall gender mix seems about right, but the racial mix seems to be the very opposite of the demographics for Oktibbeha County, MS, in 2017, 2018 that I had posted earlier, which were:

White 59%
Black 36%

Best,
Clouseau
Click to expand...

No sorry. I think they pick alternates before deliberations.
 
BUF said:
No sorry. I think they pick alternates before deliberations.
Click to expand...
BUF,

I think they actually DISMISSED the alternatives before deliberations began in the last trial, since at that point in time they knew whether all the already impaneled jurors had survived the ordeal.

Regards,
Clouseau
 
5 Things to Know About the Upcoming Jessica Chambers Murder Retrial

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday in the retrial of Quinton Tellis for the murder of Jessica Chambers. The horrific killing split a small Mississippi town. Prosecutors first attempted to put Tellis behind bars last October, but this ended in a mistrial because of a hung jury.

1. The Crime: Chambers Was Burned Alive in Her Car

On the night of December 6, 2014, volunteer firefighters in the small town of Courtland, Mississippi got a call. They found 19-year-old Jessica Chambers badly injured after she was burned alive in her car.

She didn’t survive long. Burns covered almost her entire body, and the injuries took her life, but not before she apparently identified her attacker to the firefighters.
 
Jessica Chambers murder trial: Fuel found on clothing next to woman burned alive



Douglas, however, said investigators interviewed several Erics and Dereks in Panola County and indicated the young woman – who was barely able to speak – might have said Tellis’ name but not correctly. They say extensive damage to her mouth and throat didn’t allow her to speak clearly.

"There were over 10 Erics and Dereks [interviewed] ... These men were eliminated," Douglas said. "We did not limit ourselves to the dying declaration of a young girl who was in the shape she was in."

BBM.
 
Red is updated info in description.

Tuesday, Sept. 25th:
*Trial continues (Day 2) Opening Statements – (@ 9am CT) - MS - Jessica Lane Chambers (19) (Dec. 8, 2014) - Quentin Verdell Tellis (27) - indicted on 1st degree capital murder & 3rd degree arson. Plead not guilty. Held without bond. DA will not seek DP.
10/16/17: First trial jurors were sequestered. 10 hrs of deliberations. Came back with 7-5 guilty. Ended in mistrial.
Tellis was accused of killing a second person, 34-year-old Meing-Chen Hsaio of Taiwan, in July 2015. The exchange student at the University of Louisiana at Monroe was allegedly tortured to death to get her credit car PIN numbers. Tellis faces a first-degree murder charge in the Louisiana death.
8/16/18 Update: A jury will be from Oktibbeha County. Judge Chatham, a circuit court judge in Panola County, issued an order to have at least 300 jurors on Sept. 24. Tellis' trial is still scheduled to be held in Batesville, in Panola County & is currently scheduled to begin once a jury is selected. However, a pending matter before the State Supreme Court could alter the starting date. Dalma Palmer, Tellis' attorney, has requested that District 17 District Attorney John W. Champion be recused from prosecuting the case. The matter is still pending before the court. Champion filed a response on Thursday, arguing that the circuit court's denial of Palmer's original motion to recusal of the District Attorney's office is not an appeal able decision. The jurors will be sequestered. Hoping for opening statements to start on 9/25.
9/24/18 Update Day 1: There were 300 jury summons sent in Oktibbeha County. A few more than 160 potential jurors were packed in the small courtroom, to standing room only, so only potential jurors were allowed in. One by one, around 100 potential jurors came out smiling, headed back to work or home, excused from their civic duty for various reasons. After the first hour or so, the pool was down to 62. When voir dire is complete, the12 jurors and two alternates that remain will be bused to Panola County where the trial is expected to start Tuesday morning. The trial could last five to seven days. The jury of 15 (3 alternates) has been chosen in the Tellis' retrial. Breakdown: 7 men, 8 women. 9 black, 6 white. Opening statements Tuesday 9/25.
 
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