FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE
July 7, 2015
For More Information, contact:
Luther Strange
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Alabama Attorney General
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Page 1 of 1
AG ANNOUNCES THAT COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS
UPHOLDS MORGAN COUNTY MURDER CONVICTION
(MONTGOMERY) – Attorney General Luther Strange announced that the
Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals last Thursday upheld the murder conviction of
Jameson Dartelle Staten. Staten, 20, of Decatur, was convicted in Morgan County
Circuit Court in April of 2014 for the murder of Houston Blackwood.
Evidence presented at trial showed the following: On June 2, 2012, Houston
Blackwood was shot and killed in the stairwell of his apartment complex in Decatur.
Testimony indicated that Staten and two other men, Steven King and Lorin Wilson,
were together that evening and participated in the killing of Blackwood. The victim
was shot several times and died from his wounds. King and Wilson both pleaded guilty
to the murder.
The Staten case was prosecuted at trial by Morgan County District Attorney Scott
Anderson’s office. Staten was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment and subsequently
sought to have his conviction reversed on appeal.
The Attorney General’s Criminal Criminal Appeals Division handled the case
during the appeals process, arguing for the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals to
affirm the conviction. The Court did so in a decision issued on Thursday, July 2.
Attorney General Strange commended Assistant Attorney General Marc
Starrett of the Attorney General’s Criminal Appeals Division for his successful work in
this case.
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501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
www.ago.state.al.us
