A Columbia County woman and her son accused of fatally beating her neighbor in March will be tried in separate trials.
Rebecca Bowers Sears, of the 200 block of Hot Springs Drive, and Christopher Sean Bowers, of the 400 block of Briarwood Drive, Martinez, are accused of beating 41-year-old Laverne "Kay" Parsons, who was also Ms. Sears' former co-worker, on March 25 with a bat and claw hammer. In May, they pleaded not guilty to murder, armed robbery and burglary.
District Attorney Ashley Wright plans to seek the death penalty. Trial dates have not been set yet.
"By law, we're required to try them separately," Ms. Wright said at a hearing for pre-trial motions in Columbia County on Thursday.
Ms. Sears' attorney, Victor Hawk, and Mr. Bowers' attorney, Jacque Hawk, withdrew previous motions requesting that their clients be allowed to visit and review the crime scene with their attorneys.
Superior Court Judge Sheryl Jolly approved a request by defense attorneys to declare Ms. Sears and Mr. Bowers indigent, so a second attorney can be appointed by the state at no cost. By law, defendants charged in death penalty cases are allowed to have a second attorney.
"The (Sears and Bowers) family has put out a lot to save at least half of the cost," said Mr. Hawk, who was hired with his brother, Victor, to defend the mother and son.
The Hawks agreed that they have other pending motions, many pertaining to evidence, that they can't yet present because all of it has not been turned over to them.
That evidence includes results from DNA and other scientific testing as well as land line and cell phone records.
Ms. Wright said many of the tests are dependent on the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab and will be shared with defense attorneys as soon as testing is complete and results are made available.
Prosecution and defense attorneys hope to discuss evidentiary motions at a hearing scheduled for December or possibly at not yet scheduled hearings in January or February.
Reach Valerie Rowell at (706) 868-1222, ext. 110, or valerie.rowell@augustachronicle.com.
The Augusta Chronicle ©2010 Morris Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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Neither will be sentenced to death. The defense is going to take advantage of the errors of law and get these two sentenced to life, with the posssibility of parole. With no eye witnesses, someone must turn on the other and having seperate trials may prove to be "questionable"... and what is the mental state of these two?
Neither will be sentenced to death. The defense is going to take advantage of the errors of law and get these two sentenced to life, with the posssibility of parole. With no eye witnesses, someone must turn on the other and having seperate trials may prove to be "questionable"... and what is the mental state of these two?
Neither will be sentenced to death. The defense is going to take advantage of the errors of law and get these two sentenced to life, with the posssibility of parole. With no eye witnesses, someone must turn on the other and having seperate trials may prove to be "questionable"... and what is the mental state of these two?
Theese two again, life in prison is too good for them......
scumbag lawyers, both hawk men no doubt..don't hand me that crap about they deserve a "vigorious defense"!!!! what about the defense of the poor victim they butchered..what they need is a quick route to the electric chair..but of course their "lawyers" told the plead not guilty..so someone please tell on what grounds are they not guilty when what little evidence available in the paper directly tied both of them to the murder...i wonder if both atty's could and would sleep at nite if they got them off...probably so..unless it was their daughter that was butchered...and my question if they got them off is what explaination would they give the family of the woman these POS brutially murdered in cold blood...lets hope nothing happens to anyone related to the 2 scumbag lawyers...in fact i pray nothing happens
These 2 make me sick!
Somehow, I just don't understand the vitriol directed at these two lawyers. It is our own system of juris prudence that requires certain procedures, including the accused right to competent legal representation. When these tenets of justice are not upheld for everyone regardless of our belief of their innocence or guilt, what we have is a sham and not justice. We will probably never have what one could call the perfect system because of our own inability to blindly administer justice without any personal biases. However that should not prevent us from making what honest efforts that we can. When that day comes, maybe no one will find the need to feel that race, socioeconomic status, residency status, gender, or other characteristics can impede our ability to receive a "fair day in court." Immanuel Kant, a famous philosopher once said: In law a man is guilty when he violates the rights of others. In ethics he is guilty if he only thinks of doing so." So let us not commit the crime of being unethical when we consider denying the rights of a well ordered defense we enjoy to others who deserving or not require these same rights. If I am not mistaken, I think we call that virtue.
it is directed at the lawyers because they have no concern for the feelings of the family...if he did he would have told them to plead guilty, spare the family the additional pain that will be cuased by having to sit up in court and relive that horrible day!!!! but instead they plead not guilty..ON WHAT GROUNDS?!?!? WAS THERE SOMEONE WHO LOOKED LIKE THEM THAT COMMITTED THIS CRIME AND THE 2 ACCUSED ARE NOW BEING FRAMED???? no they plead guilty because the the more work he puts in the more he gets paid...these two are not innocent by a long shot show tell why should they plead not guilty and waste more of the taxpayers money and increase the heartache of the victims family...and more that likley he is not a public defender show he's getting paid market rate
I don't blame the lawyers, everyone is entitled to a defense. I blame the p.o.s's who won't just plead guilty and take responsibility for their actions. However there are plenty of unscrupulous lawyers out there that make me sick to my stomach, like the ones who pride themselves on getting repat offender drunk drivers off. I wonder if after they defended the lowlifes times for dui and got them slaps on the wrist or them dropped on a technicality and then that p.o.s kills someone if it even bothers them a tad.
Lawyers for the accused are to be the advocates of those that they represent. In order to perform their duty faithfully, they must represent the wishes of their client. That being said, their primary concern must not be that of the opposing parties. After making a commitment to represent a client, the lawyer must present the best defense (or offense as the case may be) on behalf of their client. They are not social workers or psychologists and it is not their task to assume those roles. If both of the accused choose to plead not guilty then their lawyers must bring to bear all the skills and talents at their disposal. And let me preclude any 'ad hominem' attacks: I feel compassion for the suffering of both families. They have all endured terrible pain because of this tragic incident. But if we are to preserve our system of justice, we must be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice and pay the burdensome cost to maintain it; and not for some but for all. To this end I agree with William Blackstone: “It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer.”
To bring it to a level most can comprehend; Plead Not Guilty, elegible for the death penalty; plead guilty, that's usually taken off the table in a plea agreement. Both plead not guilty, the trials have to be seperated, they are now both capital cases. Justnuts, take notes, these are two capital cases with both pleading not guilty; It'll probably take years (of appeals), but if & when convicted, they will die. DNA don't lie.
That is true doyougetitnow. By them pleading not guilty instead of taking responsibility for their actions and saving both families the heartache of a trial, I hope they get what they are asking for!
It's pretty shallow to just read the paper and form your conclusions about guilt or innocence. Some of you should actually attend a trial now and then.
In this country we are innocent until proven guilty. People in this situation must have representation. To rely on what is delivered to us in the media is completely irresponsible. I feel for the family of the victim but I bet they would not want the wrong person to be in jail for the crime. I don't have an opinion of guilt in this case but look forward to seeing what the case has to offer.
I hope their defense lawyer does a great job. That way if they are found guilty, they will not be able to appeal because their lawyer screwed up. If found guilty, they should get death. I also hope he gets it first, so Mom will know the fruits of her outstanding upbringing.