Update: Attorneys maintain Justin Chisum was legally insane during daughter's killing
LUBBOCK -- Attorneys for Justin Chisum said they believed the 31-year-old was legally insane at the time he killed his 4-year-old daughter in 2015, but decided to take responsibility before he pleaded guilty last month to spare his family and the community “the rigors of a very emotional trial.”
Dennis Reeves, an attorney with the office of the Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases, which took over Chisum’s case after he was indicted on a capital murder charge, declined to comment after the April 26 plea hearing in which Chisum pleaded guilty in exchange for a life prison sentence without parole in connection with the Feb. 1, 2015, slaying of Kylee Forrest.
However, in a statement released Tuesday, Reeves said Chisum accepted a deal from Matt Powell, Lubbock County’s criminal district attorney, who waived the death penalty after considering Chisum’s history of mental illness.
“Prior to Justin’s plea on Wednesday, his defense team maintained he was legally insane at the time of Kylee’s murder,” the statement released Tuesday read.
Read more: http://lubbockonline.com/local/news/crime-and-courts/2017-05-02/attorneys-maintain-justin-chisum-was-legally-insane-during
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