Alternate Juror No., 1 has been put into place in the penalty phase of Lance D. Shockley's trial in West Plains Saturday afternoon.
Word was received at 3:32 p.m. from Carl Graham Sr., father of the slain Highway Sgt. Carl Dewayne Graham, from the site of the trial in West Plains, that an alternate juror has been put into place after defense attorney, Bradford Kessler, sought a mistrial in the case, claiming that one of the jurors was a published author of a book based on a fictional story involving law enforcement.
According to Carl Graham,the judge in the case has once again cleared the courtroom, awaiting a decision from the jury (with the newest juror in place).
Families and spectators await the call back into the courtoom that will determine the fate of Lance Shockley.
Shockley faces either the death penalty or life in prison without parole, having been convicted Friday in the murder of Sgt. Carl Dewayne Graham on March 20, 2005.