WINONA — A Mississippi law is slowing the wheels of justice in a 12-year-old quadruple murder case, according to a victim’s daughter.
“When the rights lean the defendant’s way, there is something wrong,” said Roxanne Ballard, whose mother, Bertha Tardy, was one of four people shot to death in downtown Winona in 1996. “I’m not asking for it to lean my way. I just want it to lean in the middle.”
Curtis Giovanni Flowers has been convicted and sentenced to death three times for the murder of Ballard’s mother — and three others — inside Tardy Furniture. Those convictions were later reversed on appeal. A fourth trial, held in 2007, and a fifth, which ended last week, both ended in hung juries.
After two jurors in the fifth trial, James Franklin Bibbs and Mary Annette Purnell, were arrested, jailed and ultimately indicted on charges of perjury, some are wondering if prosecutors are getting a fair stab at justice in Montgomery County.
Under state law, defendants may request a change of venue if they feel a fair jury can’t be seated in the county of jurisdiction. Prosecutors, however, aren’t afforded the same right.
“What I would like to see, is the law be fair,” Ballard said. “It needs to be fair for everyone.”
At the conclusion of the fifth trial, Circuit Judge Joseph H. Loper Jr. urged District Attorney Doug Evans to get with the Mississippi Prosecutors Association and lobby for a change in state law so that prosecutors could request that a trial be moved.
The MPA has not lobbied for this in 10 years.
Evans could not be reached for comment for this article, but in the past he has expressed frustration with the situation.
“How can you tell people to depend on the justice system when in this case the justice system isn’t working?” Evans has said of the Flowers case.
At least one state lawmaker agrees and, at the urging of victims’ family members, is working to have a bill ready to introduce to the legislature by January.
“Obviously, after five trials, it ain’t working,” said state Sen. Lydia Chassaniol, R–Winona. “And it’s obviously a situation worth looking into.”
With a sixth trial on the way, the combined price of the first five equaled about $300,000.
“That’s a lot of money for a poor county like Montgomery County,” Chassaniol said. “So yes, I’m exploring the possibility of enacting some legislation that would keep this mess from happening.”
But André de Gruy, one of Flowers’ defense attorneys and director of the state Office of Capital Defense Counsel, said the law is based on rights afforded to defendants by the state Constitution.
“The Constitution protects us from the government,” de Gruy said. “That’s why we have a Constitution in this country. And it says that if a person is accused of a crime in a county, the folks from that county are the ones who get to decide (guilt or innocence).”
While acknowledging the last trial’s troubles, de Gruy said the current talk about a need to change state law is simply a knee-jerk reaction.
“We are all frustrated with what happened,” he said. “But we have to trust the system that is in place when we hit these bumps in the road. This isn’t something the Legislature needs to be talking about at all. There are a whole lot of other ways to deal with this.”
De Gruy suggested more thorough investigations of potential jurors during the early stages of the selection process. He also said potential jurors could be interviewed one-on-one.
James Powell, district attorney for District 5, said that when it comes to requesting a change of venue, a courtroom’s playing field isn’t level.
“It’s a problem, absolutely, and it’s something that needs to be looked at,” he said. “Changing that law would ensure that cases are tried on facts and law and not whether or not somebody knows the defendant.”
Powell said he has run into the problem while prosecuting elected officials.
“You usually end up pleading those out for less than they’re worth because you know that from the start you’ll be working with a pool of jurors that put the guy in office because they like him.”
But another prosecutor, DeWayne Richardson, district attorney for District 4, sides with De Gruy on the issue.
“Have I ever wanted to move a trial out of county? Of course,” said Richardson, whose three-county district includes Leflore. “But that’s a defendant’s right; that’s one of many rights a defendant has. Judges can’t change it, and prosecutors can’t change it. You just have to respect the law and work with what you got.”
Ballard fears justice for the Tardy Furniture murders will be found only with a change of law.
“I don’t see how it could be fair in Montgomery County.”
She said the law as it stands has only added to the 12 years worth of trials, hearings and appeals that her family has had to endure in their quest for justice.
Flowers has stood trial for the slayings in 1997, 1999, 2005, 2007, and 2008.
“That doesn’t leave a lot of time to get back to normal,” Ballard said. “Having to go through this over and over again is terrible. And you never really get over it. You’ll always miss your mother, or your wife, or your husband, or your son. But the thing is, we can’t get past it.
“Anyone could find themselves in this situation, and it’s very important that the law be neutral. Let the judge or a neutral party be the one to decide where a trial should happen.”
