John McNeil was sentenced to life in a Georgia prison because he defended himself and his family’s 'castle' against an armed white trespasser’s assault.
His conviction was appealed.
Justice did not prevail.
One Justicealso let it be known that,
Six Georgia Supreme Court Justices reviewed the cold record of John
McNeil’s trial and found no errors in his conviction of felony murder
and life sentence. The seventh justice, Chief Justice Leah Ward
Sears, had major problems with the case.Chief Justice Sears wrote1: “I conclude that no rational trier of fact
could find, based on the evidence presented at trial, that the State
disproved McNeil’s claim of self‐defense beyond a reasonable doubt.
Accordingly, I must dissent…Because my examination of the record shows that the State failed to
disprove John McNeil’s claim of self‐defense beyond a reasonable
doubt, I respectfully dissent to the Court’s affirmance of McNeil’s
conviction for murder.”
The officers determined that John McNeil acted in self defense and did not arrest him. Later, however, the District Attorney brought the matter before a grand jury. Indictments were brought. The man who tried to defend himself and his home was tried, convicted of felony murder and sentenced to life in prison.
He was solely convicted because Epps was a white man, and in Georgia no matter what, they can’t allow a black man to kill a white man ever, even in self defense.
Race still play a huge part in our legal system,
In calling for a reexamination of the case, NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous said, “ Unfortunately, this court and prosecutor - who overruled local police to pursue this case – is more influenced by Georgia’s legacy of racism than current law. This appears to be opportunism on the part of the prosecutor. I find it curious that no white man is serving time under similar circumstances in the state.”
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