A Lowndes County man will get a new trial after the state Supreme Court overturned his murder conviction for “an egregious display of prosecutorial misconduct.”
Brian Holliman, now 30, was convicted in December 2009 of the Oct. 25, 2008 shotgun shooting of his wife, Laura-Lee Godfrey Holliman. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Holliman appealed on six points: insufficient evidence, lack of change of venue, jury instructions, impermissible Golden-Rule argument, admission of his two written statements into evidence and failure to dismiss the indictment.
The court ruled only on the Golden-Rule argument. A Golden-Rule argument asks jurors to put themselves in the place of one of the parties in a trial. It is prohibited as established by case law.
Justices referred to a court transcript excerpt in which District Attorney Forrest Allgood asked jurors four times how they would feel with a gun pointed in their faces during continuing objections by defense counsel.
“In this case, the prosecutor erred in repeatedly asking the jurors how they would feel to have a loaded shotgun pointed in their faces. The prosecutor essentially requested that each juror put himself or herself in the place of Laura during the fatal altercation, which was an egregious display of prosecutorial misconduct. This Court previously has determined that the use of a golden-rule argument is reversible error. In the case at hand, the prosecutor’s argument was a blatant violation, and the trial court erred in overruling both objections from Brian’s counsel. Accordingly, the prosecutor’s error is fatal, and this Court reverses the trial court’s judgment and remands for a new trial.”
This morning, Allgood said he was surprised by the decision.
“They said I made a Golden-Rule argument. Obviously I didn’t think I did,” he said. “Obviously Judge (Lee) Howard didn’t think I did either.”
The interpretation is a matter in difference of perception, Allgood continued, adding “it never occurred to me that they would perceive it in that fashion.”
“I don’t argue with the Supreme Court,” he continued. “When they say it needs to be done another way, we’ll have to do it another way.”
Allgood plans to prosecute the case himself again when it comes up for retrial.
Justices did not let Howard, the 16th Circuit Court judge who heard the case, off the hook either. They quoted from their 1993 opinion in Stringer v. Slate in which they warned the bench and bar of conduct leading to retrials. In that decision, justices said they would consider passing the costs of a new trial to the attorney whose conduct caused it.
“While this Court has been cautious about the imposition of such sanctions, that caution should not be taken by counsel as an unwillingness to do so,” they wrote in their concluding remarks on Holliman. Justices did not say they would hold Allgood responsible for the cost of trying Holliman again.
Howard declined to comment on the case since it may return to his docket, citing state law that bars him from doing so.
Associate Justice Leslie D. King delivered the court’s opinion.
In February 2010, Howard denied a motion for a new trial.
Holliman’s attorney, Steve Farese, had appealed Holliman”s guilty verdict, arguing that a change of venue should have been granted for the trial.
Howard denied a change of venue in November 2009, when jury selection for the trial began.
Brian and Laura Holliman had three young children between them. They had one daughter together. Brian Holliman had a son from a previous relationship; the boy lives with his mother. Laura Holliman had a daughter from a previous relationship. Laura Holliman’s daughter was placed in the care of her maternal grandfather.
Holliman is being held at the Marshall County Correctional Facility in Holly Springs, according to the Mississippi Department of Corrections website.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.