Jackson Jambalaya

I watched parts of the trial. After reading the above, I'm wondering now what happened to the three friends who showed up between the time they arrived (if one or more of them did arrive) and the time Gregg shot the returning man in the shoulder. If they were still in the house, did they not attempt to stop her or call the authorities. At least one of them was in the house as Gregg asked her if she had ever seen a dead person.

I believe they did the right thing. There were no reversible errors during trial. Horrible case.

This was just on Reelz the other day. Not only was I reminded of the in-house video but lots of body cam footage from sheriff and police.

The Appellant's brief was much ado about nothing. I wonder if there were any real issues in that trial.

You bet there were real issues in that trial starting with the fact that her trial counsel were totally incompetent.

Has anyone phoned Utah to let Bridget know that she lost again?

Darn, if released on "house arrest" I was going to let her move in with me. I would keep one eye open when sleeping.

@ 2:59 - Ineffective counsel is not 'an issue at trial'. If you are correct, what could 'effective counsel' have done differently? There is no doubt in anybody's mind that the facts show her to be guilty. What in the world, pray tell, do you see that points to not guilty? Are we not all in favor of punishing guilt - or are you in favor of a super-sleuth-attorney pulling punches to get her off?

Ineffective assistance is normally reserved for a post conviction petition just because the court needs evidence outside of the record to evaluate such claims. Not always but most of the time.

Giving a 14 year old life without the possibility of parole is WRONG!

While there is plenty to blame the RCSO for, investigating this case isn't one of them. Fortunately, their investigation helped get a conviction that has been upheld. The evidence collected and presented helped prove this wasn't an act of criminal insanity. This isn't always the case. Trust me, I know by experience.

What might be a outcome most could live with is that on PCR, she gets a shot a re-sentencing, with an agreement in place to give her life with a shot a parole. I think most agree she's guilty, that she deserves punishment, and that she needs to be "in custody" rather than not. Where the real disagreement lies is what punishment should she receive and what facility should she be in. Society cannot custom-tailor incarceration and the facility to every criminal so it comes down to best reasonable choice. I don't know enough about the facilities in MS to be able to name a specific facility that would be appropriate for a 14-year-old cold-blooded murderer with mental health issues, but I suspect there is something that is at least a less-imperfect solution than the current sentence. Getting to a situation most would accept as the best imperfect solution to tragically bad situation will take some legal scholarship and thoughtful consideration by both sides and the reviewing court(s). I wish those who will be faced with it every and all successes in reaching such a solution.

If you bother to read the opinion, it WASN"T "without the possibility of parole." Forgive the double negative, but that is literally what the last sentence of the court's opinion states.

I have done as much if not more post conviction in Mississippi than most attorneys here. The issue has to do with the lack of a competent presentation of her insanity defense and complete lack of a proper presentation for sentencing. There is also a huge issue regarding her trial counsel’s advice or lack thereof regarding the plea deal she was offered. As for “pulling punches” to get her off, that’s bullshit and you know it.

That’s correct. It will be a very intensive investigation and process to properly prepare a post conviction petition

What argument, if brought by 'competent' counsel, would have effected the outcome in the killer's favor?

4pm
I don't care if a psychopathic killer is 12, I want them out of the society I live in.

You want her to come live with you? Hard core killers don't change. If you think they do, bet your life on it. I'd prefer not to.

Probably wouldn’t be a good babysitter.

Ineffective assistance of counsel wasn't raised on appeal?

The expert at 5:36 is full of two things: Shat and himself. No way this was an insanity case. The preparation, planning, execution, follow through and even asking friends to view the body are as far from insanity as you can get. Yep, 5:36 would love a chance at pulling that insanity punch. And he would embarrass himself doing it.

No matter who was her lawyer or who could be her lawyer in the future will make her mother come back to life. There is something wrong when a person kills their own mother and attempts to kill her step father. When she called a friend and said come on down and see a dead person should show anyone that she needs to be in jail. Maybe some of you people who think different could adopt her and giver her a good hiome.

Did she know what she was doing and did she know it was wrong? The prosecution has to prove that she did. And they did. Her attorneys were competent enough to raise the issue, but they can't make it not true.

What about the mental meds she was prescribed?

Must be empathetic family members posting on here cause any other time or if this was a black male teen killer, you’d be saying throw away the key! This was a savage murder and almost double murder.

Dear 8:04 p.m., this 5:36 p.m. You certainly are the all-knowing keyboard warrior, aren't you? You clearly don't understand the post-conviction proceedings. That's okay. Even most lawyers do not truly understand the intricacies of it. Moreover, you are entitled to your opinions just like everyone else.

The insanity defense may or may not have worked had it been presented properly, but we will never know since it wasn't. The bigger issue is the rejection of the plea offer of 40 years made by the State. More specifically, what advice did her trial attorneys give her? Given trial counsel's lack of proper representation on other issues, I would be extremely surprised if the advice they provided was not deficient as well. Regardless, her chances of succeeding on that or any other claim in post-conviction proceedings are very slim.

That's impossible to say which is why those issues are normally post conviction issues.

Life with parole is pretty much the same as life without. The legislature could change it but until it does, there is no appreciable difference.

She had completely incompetent representation. Worst case of it in court I've ever seen. That issue couldn't be raised by this appeal. However, this case will now move on to PCR. The issue can be raised on direct appeal. It won't surprise me if a resentencing is ordered. If she gets life, I'm fine with it. If she gets 30, I'm fine with it. I just want her to have competent representation.

Defense had to.prove she wasnt. They didn't prove that. The deception and attempted escape afterwards is proof she knew.

5:36 aka 9:25 has decided to move the goal post since he can't punt and fails as a field goal kicker. Now he's all about rejection of a plea offer when THIS is his earlier hill to die on: "The issue has to do with the lack of a competent presentation of her insanity defense..."

But, it's OK that nobody is as smart as he claims to be. Really, it's OK. He said so.

I never "moved the goal posts." Go back and read my first post that you criticized. I clearly said that the rejection of the plea offer was a huge issue. I guess reading is hard when you are only concerned with hurling insults.

Thank you, Kingfish. I completely agree with you on all your points.

Reading the opinion in it's entirety, I saw many references to the fact that defense counsel failed to object. Many references.

Next will be a petition for post-conviction relief based on ineffective assistance of counsel. Given the numerous times the opinion referenced failures of the defense to object, the forthcoming petition may have some validity.

Jury did not get it wrong. Her family could have picked other attorneys as well. There are plenty in MS.