A man convicted of murder in Jackson County wants off death row and he's hoping for a new trial. Lawyers for James Brownfield say he had inadequate legal council and didn't get a fair trial.
Wednesday morning relatives of the victims were in the Jackson County courthouse in Scottsboro for a hearing to protest the request of Brownfield. On Christmas eve of 2001, Brownfield used a hammer to kill his sister Brenda McCutchin and her husband Latham. He then used the same weapon to kill his great nephew, 3 year old Joshua Hodges.
Milford McCutchin wants justice for his family. His brother Latham was one of the victims. "He took a claw hammer and beat his sister and her grandchild with that claw hammer" McCutchin said. "He committed three murders, what else does he deserve. He don't deserve nothing else. He deserves death and death only".
Assistant Alabama Attorney General Tina Hammonds wants to make sure Brownfield's conviction is upheld. "When we have a jury of our peers to convict and a judge in Alabama to sentence someone for the death penalty and these are the most horrific crimes that we have" Hammonds said. "And as a society we need to make sure the people who committed them actually suffer the consequences".
James Brownfield was convicted in 2001 and sentenced to death for the murders. In 2009 the Alabama Supreme Court denied Brownfields initial appeal to overturn the conviction.
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