A Fulton County judge has thrown out the murder case against Rasshun Johnson on double jeopardy grounds.
The ruling by Superior Court Judge Alford Dempsey Jr. found that prosecutors were improperly granted a mistrial they should never have asked for. And because a jury had already been impaneled to hear the murder case at that time, Johnson cannot be tried for the crime again, the judge said.
Johnson was accused of fatally shooting 18-year-old Cornelius Weatherspoon in the back during a dispute over a computer tablet in April 2012. Weatherspoon, who worked two jobs at fast-food restaurants, had been trying to sell the tablet to people along Camden Road, prosecutors said.
Johnson was arrested a few weeks later after a five-hour standoff with police. In opening statements during Johnson's trial in October 2015, his defense lawyer told jurors, "Though my client was scared, he was 18, and you'll hear he's had mental problems when he's been hospitalized."
Fulton prosecutor Yolanda Mack then objected, saying the defense attorney should not have put Johnson’s mental health issues before the jury without first telling the prosecution. Mack then asked Superior Court Judge Christopher Brasher for a mistrial and he granted the request.
Public defender Amanda Grantham then took Johnson’s case. She filed a motion alleging the state had intentionally caused a mistrial and, for that reason, Johnson should not be retried because it would violate the law against double jeopardy.
Dempsey, who heard the motion, did not fully agree, but he still ruled in Johnson’s favor.
The introduction of lay witness testimony about Johnson’s mental health did not require advance notice to the state, Dempsey said. So if prosecutors felt blindsided, they should have asked for a continuance, not a mistrial, he said.
“The court finds that the state did not intentionally cause a mistrial, but rather displayed a misunderstanding of the law,” Dempsey wrote, noting this was also grounds for not retrying a defendant, as it would violate double jeopardy laws.
Grantham hailed the decision. “We appreciate Judge Dempsey’s ruling and believe it was the right decision based on the facts and the law,” she said in an email.
District Attorney Paul Howard said he will appeal the ruling. “It is our hope that the Supreme Court will use this case as an opportunity to eliminate what I believe is an underhanded, questionable tactic that should have no place in our court system,” he said in an email.
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