Christian Newsom Case: George Thomas Retrial

GUEST ENTRY From DAVE in Tennessee!

On Monday, March 25, there was a hearing on several pretrial motions in the upcoming retrial of George Thomas for the torture-murders of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom.

Judge Walter Kurtz made several rulings that the victims' families did not like. Thomas' attorneys requested that some photos of the victims be excluded. The judge "ruled to exclude some of the photos."

"Why would the jury not be allowed to see evidence of what they did to our kids and if it's too gruesome then that just goes to the character of how evil these people are," Channon Christian's mother Deena said.

"It will be a brand new trial, but it won't be a fair trial and I am really upset about what happened today. There's no justice left for the victim's families or the victims at all," said Christopher Newsom's mother, Mary.

Judge Kurtz did allow a statement from Thomas to a detective. The judge said the jury could decide on its relevance. A detective said Thomas told him, "F*** that white girl. She didn't mean anything to me." Assistant District Attorney Leland Price said, "Your honor, that shows why he would get involved."

The judge also ruled the victims families could wear buttons with images of the victims only if they sat away from the jurors and behind Thomas.

This ruling caused the victims' families to walk out of the courtroom.

In all of the previous trials, the families have worn the buttons while sitting behind the prosecution table and near the jury.

Judge Kurtz said he did not want certain images of the victims to pose a threat of biasing the jury.

George Thomas was not in the courtroom for the hearing. For the last six years, Thomas' attorneys have seemingly tried to keep him out of sight whenever possible.

One more hearing about jury instruction will occur at a later date. The judge has yet to reveal where the jury will come from. Thomas' retrial is scheduled to start on May 13, 2013