From NewsChannel 9: The truck driver who killed 6 people in a crash on I-75 in June 2015 has lost his latest appeal to have his case re-tried.
From NewsChannel 9: The truck driver who killed 6 people in a crash on I-75 in June 2015 has lost his latest appeal to have his case re-tried.
Five and a half years ago, a jury convicted Benjamin Brewer of 6 counts of vehicular homicide, among other things, for causing the crash.
He was sentenced to 55 years in prison, and has been behind bars ever since.
But recently he appealed his conviction, saying his attorney denied him ‘effective assistance’ during his trial.
Brewer’s petition says his attorney at the time failed to prevent the state from entering certain pieces of evidence in the trial.
That included photos of the scene showing burned bodies and bodies under sheets, along with testimony from several witnesses to the crash who described in detail what they saw.
Brewer’s new attorney says the cumulative effect of all this evidence and testimony caused the jury to be ‘unfairly prejudicial’ against him.
Brewer’s attorney at the time testified in these recent hearings, telling the court he reached an agreement with the state, and that he was successful in preventing some evidence from being entered at his trial.
The ruling says
Trial counsel noted that, among the witnesses at trial, were several who were involved in or witnessed the accident and described the scene….Trial counsel conceded that, although the testimony from these witnesses was prejudicial, he did not object to the descriptions of the accident scene. Trial counsel stated that the accident scene was “horrific” and that the mere fact there were “six dead bodies” was prejudicial “[i]n and of itself.” Trial counsel explained that the defense did not dispute the accident or its seriousness and did not consider it appropriate to do so; thus, absent repetitiveness, he decided not to object to testimony about the accident and its aftermath for strategic reasons. Trial counsel stated that he did not “want to draw any more attention to the fact that it was a horrible accident” by making an objection because he was concerned that an objection “would have just made . . . the jury more aware of it.” Trial counsel said that the testimony never became repetitive.
After reviewing testimony in the trial, Judge Robert Holloway, Jr. concluded that Brewer “failed to show he was denied effective assistance of counsel.”
Read the judge’s ruling in full below:
