FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE
May 22, 2019
For media inquiries only, contact:
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Steve Marshall
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Alabama Attorney General
Attorney General Steve Marshall Announces Court of Criminal
Appeals Upholds Murder Conviction in Madison County
(MONTGOMERY)óAttorney General Steve Marshall announced that on Friday the
Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the murder conviction of Clarence Fearn.
Fearn, 47, of Huntsville, was convicted in Madison County Circuit Court in January
2018 for the murder of his stepfather, George Woodward.
The evidence at trial showed that on September 30, 2009, Fearn had a friend drive him
to his stepfatherís house. Fearn got out of the car, and the friend drove around for a few
minutes until he heard gunshots, then the friend returned and picked Fearn up. Fearn
exclaimed, ìI got the mother f[—-]er.î
Fearn became a suspect almost immediately, but was not charged, and the case went
cold for several years. In January 2014, the lead investigator received a tip and
conducted additional investigation that led to Fearnís arrest in July 2014. As part of the
investigation, the friend who had driven Fearn and who had previously lied and
claimed that he knew nothing of Fearnís whereabouts on the day of the shooting, was
interviewed by police again in 2014; in July of 2014, he told police what actually
happened.
Madison County District Attorney Robert L. Broussardís office prosecuted this case and
obtained a guilty verdict. Fearn was sentenced to life imprisonment for his conviction.
Fearn 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 the conviction.
The Court did so in a decision issued Friday, May 17. Attorney General Marshall
commended Assistant Attorney General William Dill for his successful work on this
case.
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