The attorney for Michael D. Gulley has filed a series of more than 30 motions on behalf of his client.
Gulley, with a Bluff City address listed on court records, is already in jail after being convicted of felony fleeing from the Pike County Jail. He is charged in Nevada County for the murder of a 23-year-old Prescott woman in 2009.
According to records on file with Nevada County Circuit Clerk Rita Reyenga, prosecutors in the case are seeking the death penalty. The motions filed on Monday by Gulley’s attorney address several aspects of the case, including jury selection and the death penalty.
One of the motions declares that the death penalty is imposed more often on black defendants than on white. The motions acknowledge that the state is seeking the death penalty and reads, in part, “historically the death sentence has been arbitrarily and capriciously imposed in a racially discriminatory manner.”
Another motion addresses the penalty phase of the trial. That motion seeks to keep “gruesome” photographs and evidence out of the penalty phase of the trial.
The motion reads, in part, “At capital trials, gruesome and highly prejudicial photographs which have often been exclude during the first phase are sometimes introduced in the penalty phase.”
Several of the motions related to the jury address the selection phase of potential jurors. Potential jurors are questioned by both prosecuting and defense attorneys and attorneys then have the right to eliminate jurors based on specific criteria. One of the motions requests that jurors be questioned individually without other jurors hearing questions or responses. Another requests that the jury, once selected, be sequestered during the trial.
Yet another addresses the probability that the prosecutors will ask jurors whether they can impose the death penalty. The motion filed by Gulley’s attorney states, “A ‘death qualified’ jury is predisposed to conviction and thereby denies (Gulley) a fair and impartial” trial.
Gulley’s trial was slated for earlier this year but was put off by a motion by the defense.
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The attorney for Michael D. Gulley has filed a series of more than 30 motions on behalf of his client.
Gulley, with a Bluff City address listed on court records, is already in jail after being convicted of felony fleeing from the Pike County Jail. He is charged in Nevada County for the murder of a 23-year-old Prescott woman in 2009.
According to records on file with Nevada County Circuit Clerk Rita Reyenga, prosecutors in the case are seeking the death penalty. The motions filed on Monday by Gulley’s attorney address several aspects of the case, including jury selection and the death penalty.
One of the motions declares that the death penalty is imposed more often on black defendants than on white. The motions acknowledge that the state is seeking the death penalty and reads, in part, “historically the death sentence has been arbitrarily and capriciously imposed in a racially discriminatory manner.”
Another motion addresses the penalty phase of the trial. That motion seeks to keep “gruesome” photographs and evidence out of the penalty phase of the trial.
The motion reads, in part, “At capital trials, gruesome and highly prejudicial photographs which have often been exclude during the first phase are sometimes introduced in the penalty phase.”
Several of the motions related to the jury address the selection phase of potential jurors. Potential jurors are questioned by both prosecuting and defense attorneys and attorneys then have the right to eliminate jurors based on specific criteria. One of the motions requests that jurors be questioned individually without other jurors hearing questions or responses. Another requests that the jury, once selected, be sequestered during the trial.
Yet another addresses the probability that the prosecutors will ask jurors whether they can impose the death penalty. The motion filed by Gulley’s attorney states, “A ‘death qualified’ jury is predisposed to conviction and thereby denies (Gulley) a fair and impartial” trial.
Gulley’s trial was slated for earlier this year but was put off by a motion by the defense.
