In a conversation with Carl Graham, father of slain Highway Patrol Sgt. Carl Dewayne Graham, Jr., it was learned early Saturday afternoon that the defense attorney for Lance D. Shockley, (found guilty Friday of Graham's 2005 murder) has stalled the sentence proceedings in West Plains, Mo., attesting that the trial was tainted by one of the selected jurors.
According to the senior Graham, one of the jurors is a published author, having written a book in the past that deals with the law enforcement element. The juror's own son, reportedly, is a police officer. The jury is sequestered in the trial and the juror's name is unknown at this time.
According to Carl Graham, Defense Attorney Bradford Kessler claims he knew nothing of the juror's published fictional book and has called for a mistrial based on the fact that the juror may have been influenced by the publication.
Judge Evans quickly denied the request for a mistrial, Graham says, and ordered Kessler to close. Kessler reportedly has refused to do so.
The juror in question, according to Graham, stated during the two-day pre-trial jury selection process, that he is an author of the aforementioned publication.
"The defense knew that going into the trial," Carl Graham said, "and he was accepted by the defense as a potential juror."
Graham, in the conversation that took place during a mid-day break in the proceedings Saturday, said that the judge has said he will leave the closing up to Kessler's junior defensse attorney, David Bruns. It was unknown at 1:45 p.m. Saturday if Bruns would assume that responsibility.
The judge in the case has stated that the sentencing phase of the trial may end without closing statements if the defense chooses not to address the court.
Meanwhile, the four-year ordeal for the Graham family, from Dexter, continues.
"It just never ends," said a weary Carl Graham today, following a jubilant Friday, during which the 32-year-old Shockley was found guilty of the murder of Sgt. Carl Dewayne Graham, Jr., a zone sergeant with the Missouri State Highway Patrol and a DHS graduate.
Shockley was a suspect in a case dating back to the Fall of 2004, involving his leaving the scene of an accident, a case that was under investigation by Graham. He was arrested days following the slaying in rural Van Buren, Mo. and following four years of delays, was prounounced guilty on Friday, March 27 in a trial held in Howell County. The jury pool is from Shockley's hometown county of Carter, in accordance with his own wishes. Howell County Courthouse was procured for the trial due to the high profile case.
The Daily Statesman will report online and through the newspaper's Textcaster's Breaking News system (www.dailystatesman.com) as to the outcome of the continuing Saturday afternoon (March 28) penalty phase of Shockley's hearing as details become available.