Former police officer Anthony Fox must remain in prison after the Mississippi Court of Appeals deadlocked on his request for bond.
A Hinds County jury convicted the former JPD and Clinton police officer of culpable manslaughter last year in the death of George Robinson.
Hinds County Circuit Judge Adrienne Wooten sentenced Fox to serve 20 years in prison but suspended 15 years of the sentence. Judge Wooten denied his request to remain free on bond while appealing his conviction.
Fox filed a notice of appeal with the Mississippi Court of Appeals on September 26 as well as a motion for judgment not withstanding the verdict in Hinds County Circuit Court on August 26. Judge Wooten rejected the motion and denied his request for bond while he appealed the case in December after holding a hearing. The Court held Fox was a special danger to the community and should remain incarcerated.
The former police officer asked the Court of Appeals to grant him bond as he appealed his case. The Attorney General notified the Court she would not oppose his motion for bond. However, the family of the deceased opposed his release on bond in a response submitted to the Court.
Judge John Emfinger decreed:
"After a full consideration of all matters before the trial court in this cause, the trial court found that Fox's ""release would constitute a special danger to a person or to the community"" and that ""there are no peculiar circumstances of the case that render it proper for the convict, Anthony Fox, to be released after a felony conviction for manslaughter pending an appeal to the Supreme Court." After due consideration of the matters presented, we find that the circuit court did notabuse its discretion when it denied Fox's request for bail pending appeal."
Judges McCarty, Westbrook, McDonald, and Smith joined Judge Emfinger in his opinion. Judges Lawrence, Greenlee, Barnes, and Wilson joined Judge Carlton in her dissent.
18 comments:
What of lawyers represent people like this
Carlton omits to mention that the judge was not required to find his witnesses credible.
Nearly every COA judge disregards the standard of review when it interferes with the desired result. Carlton is no different.
This conviction was a travesty. Hopefully it gets overturned on appeal.
Emfinger? Seriously?
I thought emfinger going to the COA would have diluted his "power"...guess'n i was wrong...guess those lunches in the da's office paid off?
Lots of folks are claiming the conviction was a travesty which will be overturned during appeal. If that's the case, WHY is he considered a danger to 'someone' or the community?
Detective Fox is not a danger to the community. That is a fiction created by his persecutors to smear his good name.
I pray that this extreme injustice is corrected soon.
4:38 am, greasy palms.
@4:38 AM Considering that the AG's office didn't oppose his release, I suspect that the "independant" court of appeals is being influenced by someone.
This is a prime example to me of the old saying that we have a legal system, not a justice system. I'm no lawyer but I suspect that the ruling here is based on opinion as to the steps in th legal system and not what constitutes justice. Unfortunate for Mr. Cox. Hopefully the verdict will be overturned. Or maybe a pardon would be appropriate. Where is Haley when you need him, lol.
I was glad when Emfinger left Rankin county , this is terrible though.
Was a little surprised by Emfinger. The judges who voted with him were of the mind the trial court did not abuse its discretion, not whether Fox deserved bail.
Your honor, motion to fix.
Whaaa, whaaa, whaa.😢
Tried and found guilty. A great many LEO are wonderful stewards of our community. Unfortunately there are more than enough assholes abusing their petty power and should never have been given a badge, let alone a gun. These folks are also, generally, cowards.
Based on that particular Hinds Co courtroom's past discretion when determining bond pending appeal....[cough Darnell Turner cough cough]...I'd say discretion was abused. But that would assume all judges are neutral and refuse to allow their biases influence their work. No one remembers the rank and file people, whether you wear a robe or not.
@11:19. I have known some bad LE officers in my career, and most of them were either removed from or left their respective agencies. Fox, however, was not one of those officers. He got a raw deal, and it all came down to bias in that courtroom.
KF, Emfinger has been a trial judge, so he’s averse to fancy pants appeals judges second guessing the trial judge who heard the testimony.
That’s my guess anyway.
Perhaps the headline up there is misleading if this was not about bond.
Post a Comment