Curious about something stated in this recent PEOPLE magazine article:
"If convicted of murder in the Chambers case, Tellis faces life in prison without parole."
When was capital punishment taken off the table, does anybody have a link? I thought Tellis had been indicted by a grand jury for capital murder. Has the DA (Champion) decided to remove the threat of execution if convicted, in order to improve the state's chances of winning a conviction? If so, when was that decision made, before or after the mistrial?
Regards,
Clouseau
BBM
Jessica Chambers Murder Trial: Unraveling The Murder Charges Against Quinton Tellis
October 10th, 2017
"...
The Mississippi Charges
Tellis is accused of violating Mississippi Code § 97-3-19(2)(e), capital murder, as a habitual offender. The murder of Jessica Chambers qualifies as capital murder in Mississippi because Chambers died during the commission of a third-degree arson. (Her vehicle was also burned.) The habitual offender enhancer involves three prior convictions. Tellis previously committed felony fleeing (in 2010), burglary of a dwelling (also in 2010), and burglary of a dwelling (in 2012).
Capital murder carries one of three punishments in Mississippi: (1) the death penalty, (2) life in prison without parole, or (3) life in prison with the chance at parole after a minimum sentence.
In the Chambers case, prosecutors refused to seek the death penalty. Additionally, because Tellis is charged as a habitual offender, he is ineligible for the chance at parole. Effectively, if convicted, Tellis will be sentenced to life without parole in Mississippi.
The Louisiana Charges
Tellis is accused of violating Louisiana Revised Statute 14:30, first-degree felony murder. Under Louisiana law, first-degree murder requires an aggravating factor beyond the mere killing of an individual. Included in the aggravating factors is the killing or inflicting great bodily harm and subsequently receiving anything of value for the killing. Under the law in effect at the time of the crime, the debit card itself was a “thing of value,” and Tellis previously pleaded guilty for taking it. (The law under which he entered his plea was repealed this year [2017] and apparently replaced with a different law.)
According to an arrest warrant, Tellis faces this top charge for murder in Louisiana because he bragged to an acquaintance that he stabbed Hsiao more than thirty times in an attempt to learn her debit card PIN. The document states prosecutors have evidence Tellis used Hsiao’s card to withdraw approximately $2,000 across various transactions.
The penalty for first-degree felony murder in Louisiana is either the death penalty or life in prison “at hard labor” without parole, probation, or a suspended sentence. It is unclear which penalty Louisiana prosecutors will seek."
Jessica Chambers Murder Trial: Unraveling The Murder Charges Against Quinton Tellis
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