WTVY DOTHAN
Closing Statements: Prosecution
9:19 a.m. Prosecutor Jimmie Thomas began closing arguments. He addressed the jury saying that what the defendant did to these girls is “what capital murder is all about.” Thomas goes through how the sequence of events that lead to JB and Tracie’s death.
9:21 a.m. Thomas stated that the girls were invited to a party and that JB was celebrating her 17th birthday. He said that the girls instead decided to meet their friends in Midland City. They called one of the boys’ phones to arrange the meeting. The guys came to the gas station to wait for the JB and Tracie but they never arrive.
9:23 a.m. Thomas claimed that the girls got lost and came upon the Big Little store where they used the payphone to call Tracie’s mom where they explained to her that they were lost and they wanted to meet their friends before heading home. Thomas recounted the testimony of the two women who gave the girls directions, stating that they saw only the girls at the store and no one else. After those two women left, Thomas claimed that McCraney comes to the gas station.
9:25 a.m. Thomas said that McCraney approached JB and Tracie with a gun, orders them into JB’s car and takes them “to a marshy area.” He said that McCraney ordered JB to take her pants off and proceeds to rape JB. He then forces them into to the trunk of the Mazda 929 where he shoots JB first and then shoots Tracie.
9:27 a.m. Thomas proposed that McCraney then closed the trunk, drove the car to Herring Ave. and walked the rest of the way home. Thomas then recounted the testimony from Wanger, who performed the autopsies and spoke about the vaginal swabs that were taken from JB. He said that the DNA profile generated from those semen stains and that it was submitted to a database back in 1999 but produced negative results at that time.
9:30 a.m. Thomas said that the Mazda 929 was “thoroughly searched for evidence.” He recounted the “breakthrough” due to advancements in DNA technology that implicated McCraney’s family line. He said that McCraney, after consulting his wife, agreed to give his DNA. His profile matched that of the semen stain found on JB’s sweater. He spoke about the DNA expert’s testimony where she said that the odds DNA profile being repeated were 1 in 122 nonillion random, unrelated African American men
9:32 a.m. “Coley McCraney was the only person who could not be excluded,” Thomas said. Thomas brought up the fact that when questioned, McCraney said “without hesitation” told police he did not know the girls. He went through the testimony of the firearms expert who spoke about the shell casings, the former landlord of McCraney, and Barry Tucker, who worked as an investigator with ABI at the time of the murders.
9:35 a.m. “It is clear that this defendant shot those girls because he did not want to be held accountable for raping JB,” Thomas claimed. He turned his attention to what the defense “would have [they jury] believe.” Thomas talked about how McCraney claimed he met JB at the Dothan mall. He then recounted McCraney’s version of the story he shared yesterday, pointing out that the girls were shown the shortcut and were supposed to drop McCraney off before taking the shortcut again to get home. “It does not make any sense at all,” Thomas stated.
9:38 a.m. He reminded the jury that the series of events that McCraney gave all took place after the girls said they were going to get home. Thomas claimed that he took advantage of JB and Tracie that night. Thomas brought up Mrs. McCraney’s testimony and the fact that she testified when he got home that night and said she knew “amazingly 20 years later,” exactly the state of his clothing.
9:40 a.m. Thomas asked the jury to consider the credibility of witnesses. He also stated that the defense believes a third person killed JB and Tracie that night. “Why would a third person want to kill those girls,” he asked. “Why would a third person need to move the car after killing them?”
9:43 a.m. Thomas suggested that the defense would have the jury believe that vaginal injury is required to classify rape. He brought up testimony from experts that state injury is not always present in rape cases and can be present in consensual sex. Thomas brought up Dan Driver’s testimony, pointing out that he admitted he had a brain injury that affected his memory.
9:46 a.m. Thomas disputed the defense’s claims that McCraney was mistreated at the police station following his arrest. He pointed out that McCraney testified he was given food, permitted to go to the bathroom, and given a mat to sleep on. Thomas continued going through witnesses the defense called throughout the trial, pointing out that their timelines don’t match up.
9:47 a.m. He told the court about “totality of circumstances.” Thomas said that when you consider all of the evidence presented, “the pieces of the puzzle make a whole picture.” He reminded the jury that guilt can be determined by circumstantial evidence. “In this case you don’t have to actually see this defendant shoot and kill JB and Tracie to know that he did,” Thomas told the jury.
9:51 a.m. “In this case, there are only two people who could tell you exactly what happened and this defendant made sure that they were not around to tell you,” Thomas said. Thomas talked to the jury about intent. “I think we can all agree that if you shoot someone in the head with a firearm, you have the intent to kill.”
9:53 a.m. Thomas stated that the defense, in their opening statements, asked the jury not to assume. Thomas claimed that the defense is asking the jury to assume that a third person killed these girls. Thomas claimed JB and Tracie did not need directions from McCraney because they had already gotten directions back to 231.
9:55 a.m. Thomas asked the jury to consider if Harrison’s argument makes sense and if it is supported by the facts presented. He restated that McCraney intentionally killed JB and Tracie and that he intentionally raped JB. He asked the jury to give “the only verdict that fairness and justice demands.”
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