Defense attorneys for a man accused of killing former world boxing champion Vernon Forrest on Tuesday said the death penalty is being sought in the case because of the victim's high-profile status.
Lawyers for Charman Sinkfield asked a judge to allow them to review all murder cases in Fulton County since Paul Howard became district attorney in 1996 in an effort to show Howard has not sought the death penalty in similar cases.
Howard is seeking death against Sinkfield "simply because of the status of the victim," defense attorney Dwight Thomas said. "The status of the victim is not a reason for seeking the death penalty."
Forrest, 38, was shot and killed July 25, 2009. Howard initially sought the death penalty against all three men charged in Forrest's killing, but he is now seeking death only against Sinkfield, whom police say shot Forrest five times in the back and twice in the leg.
The DA's notice to seek death against Sinkfield says Forrest was killed during an armed robbery, which makes a murder case eligible for capital punishment under Georgia law. The defendants are accused of taking Forrest's gold championship ring and diamond Rolex watch.
When announcing he was seeking the death penalty, Howard said Forrest was killed "in such a senseless and brutal way," including being shot in the back while he was on the ground.
Sinkfield's lawyers asked Superior Court Judge Alford Dempsey to convene a pretrial evidentiary hearing to examine other murder cases and their sentencing outcomes in Fulton County.
Dempsey said he did not intend to allow the defense to go on a "fishing expedition," but he also said, "They ought to be entitled to try and make the case, if one's there."
Dempsey indicated he may ask the district attorney's office to turn over a list of all of its murder cases under Howard. He noted that another Fulton judge had already instructed the DA's office to do that in a different death-penalty case.
In a series published in 2007, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution found that Georgia law had fallen short of ensuring a predictable and even-handed application of the death penalty. The newspaper researched 2,328 murder convictions over a decade and found capital sentences were being imposed arbitrarily.
Murder-armed robbery cases, such as Forrest's, are the most prevalent capital crimes in Georgia. They were no exception to the scatter-shot approach employed by district attorneys when deciding to seek the death penalty, the AJC found.
Last month, a Fulton jury convicted DeMario Ware of felony murder in Forrest's killing. Ware was sentenced to life in prison without parole. The third defendant, Jquante Crews, has yet to go to trial.
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