Marchello Frazier Escapes, Life Without Parole
I am reading the paper a day or two ago and there is a picture of a man I got to know up close and personal. Marchello Frazier was one trial back in July and I was the jury foreman on this capital case.
I will not go into detail but this is one lucky man. He went on a 5 day crime spree beginning with the murder or execution of Mike Williams, shooting him in the head while he slept. Mike was 19. Mike had taken Marchello in after his family had kicked him out and he rewarded Mike with killing him, stealing his car, and ransacking Mike's home of anything he could pawn.
The state showed where Marchello drove to Pleasant Grove, a suburb of Birmingham and killed Mary Morgan with the same gun, leaving behind prints and Mike's car, and stealing Mary Morgan's Cadillac. Marchello then drove to Ga, and kidnapped a lady, locking her in the truck of Mary's car and steal her car. He then drove back from Georgia to Tuscaloosa, Alabama where he locked a manager of a storage business there and stole his Ford Explorer.
Mike then drove to Birmingham and picked up his girl friend and went to the movies. After taking her home from the hotel, sometimes in the early am, the Birmingham Police found the stolen SUV in the motel parking lot and where Marchello Frazier had checked in using his own name paying with cash. He had the gun and keys to three of the cars he stole, all in the night stand.
I was foreman on the original jury and we found him guilty of killing Michael Williams and the vote was 8 to 4 for life without parole. The jury was unclear on this verdict as there was some question about the "life without parole" part of the verdict, if we chose that! They brought us back into the jury box and Judge Petro explained that the verdict meant, should we give him that sentence, that Marchello Frazier would "never" walk out on the street again in this life. Oh, these are my words and I don't know the legal jargon, but the jury was then satisfied that this was the proper verdict.
I was one of the 4 that voted against life w/o parole. I can write this now as Marchello Frazier has pleaded guilty to killing Mary Morgan to avoid the death sentence and a judge in the Bessemer Cut-off gave him a second life without parole.
Marchello is a lucky man. The jury (in my unlearned opinion) lost the direction of the judge as our decision must be solely based on the "evidence", not anything else! Not the lawyers, not anyone, just the evidence and that alone must direct our decision. Emotions came into play in the final day of the sentencing phase of this terrible week. Marchello is a lucky man as his mother and sister swayed the majority of the jury to save his life. Now the state and you and I will pay probably some part of $60,000/year for the next 40 to 50 years for Marchello to be housed in one of our maximum security prisons in Alabama. Marchello, you are a lucky man!
Karen called me into the bedroom! News flash! Marchello Frazier has ask for a new trial on the death of Michael Williams, the young man he was convicted of killing back in 2003. He has pleaded guilty to killing Mary Morgan and with the same gun! He has two life sentences without parole and honestly, was lucky he dodged the needle. I have not heard this on the news yet but cannot believe what Casey related to me this morning. What grounds could he now use in asking for a new trial? News to follow!!Jeff
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