For Immediate Release:
October 4, 2023
For press inquiries only, contact:
Amanda Priest (334) 322-5694
Cameron Mixon (334) 242-7491
(Montgomery) – Attorney General Steve Marshall announced that the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction of Charles Jacob Jordan, 41, of Lauderdale County, for murder. Jordan was convicted in the Lauderdale County Circuit Court on February 11, 2022.
The evidence at trial showed that Jordan shot and killed his neighbor, Michael Watson, on June 9, 2018. The victim had been engaged in a physical fight with Jordan’s brother which was witnessed by numerous individuals. Jordan apparently left the fight and went to his residence where he retrieved a weapon and confronted the victim and shot and killed him in front of witnesses. Jordan claimed at trial that he shot the victim in self-defense and that the victim came toward him in an aggressive stance. The jury rejected Jordan’s defense and found him guilty of murder.
Lauderdale County District Attorney Chris Connolly’s office successfully prosecuted this case and obtained a guilty verdict. Jordan was sentenced to life imprisonment for his conviction. Jordan sought to have his conviction reversed on appeal.
The Attorney General’s Criminal Appeals Division handled the case during the appeals process, arguing for the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals to affirm Jordan’s conviction. The Court did so in a decision issued Friday, September 15, 2023.
Attorney General Marshall commended Assistant Attorney General Laura Irby Cuthbert for her successful work on this case and thanks District Attorney Chris Connolly and his staff for their valuable assistance in defending the murder conviction.
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