The Mississippi Court of Appeals upheld the conviction of Kenny Armistad Nov. 26 on charges of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated assault and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
A Lowndes County Circuit Court jury convicted Armistad in March 2023 for fatally shooting Frank Edwards and wounding another man in 2020. He was sentenced to life in prison plus 50 years for the charges.
Edwards, 20, was found shot in the yard of a house on 12th Avenue South. He was one of a group of people who had reportedly been arguing with two people in a vehicle.
An AR-15 rifle forensically linked to the crime was later recovered from the yard of a church along the route by which Armistad fled. His phone included incriminating text messages and a picture of the murder weapon, 16th Circuit District Attorney Scott Colom said at the time of Armistad’s conviction.
The appellate court affirmed the jury’s conviction, rejecting Armistad’s claims of insufficient evidence, prosecutorial misconduct, failure to grant a mistrial and lack of jury instruction.
Armistad’s appeal claimed there were several instances in the trial that warranted a mistrial, including one in which a bailiff “inadvertently started speaking” with a juror during a break. The trial judge had the juror replaced with an alternate, but Armistad still wanted a mistrial.
Finding nothing in the record that indicated the interaction prejudiced Armistad’s case, the appellate court upheld the judge’s decision not to grant a mistrial.
Armistad also claimed prosecutorial misconduct in his appeal, asserting that the state suggested jurors would need to explain an acquittal verdict during closing arguments.
“Defense counsel made no objection as to the purported prejudicial nature of the prosecutor’s remarks, nor do we find that the prosecutor’s statements could reasonably be perceived as a threat to the jurors,” the appeals court opinion said.
During jury instructions, each count Armistad faced included “not in necessary self defense” as an element of the crime. The state had submitted a jury instruction defining self defense but withdrew it.
Armistad’s appeal argued the jury should have received the self defense instruction, but the Court of Appeals agreed with the prosecution, which claimed Armistad wasn’t entitled to the instruction because the defense argued he wasn’t even at the scene.
The court’s decision is a reflection of the integrity of the legal process, Colom said in a press release.
“We are grateful for the court’s thorough review and for upholding justice for Frank Edwards, Jr. and their family,” he said.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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