Troy King is still mad at Shelby County DA Robby Owens. So mad that he’s trying to get a judge to bar Owens’ testimony in a court hearing — even though Owens supports his position.
Amazingly, King has asked a judge to bar Shelby County District Attorney Robby Owens from testifying in a court hearing involving a Death Row inmate’s appeal of his death sentence – even though Owens, like the attorney general, opposes Michael Brandon Samra’s efforts to escape the death penalty for the 1997 murder of four people, including two children.
“These motions are necessary because – though Mr. Owens in recent days has changed his position and told the … family that he will not side with the barbaric child murderer Brandon Samra – this new position is a complete change from his original position when he said Samra … in `fairness’ should be resentenced,” King said in a statement Thursday.
Owens said King is wrong and is trying to score “political points.”
Troy King try to score political points? Say it isn’t so.
Last month Troy removed Robby Owens from a death row case because Owens chose justice over political expediency, asking a judge to re-sentence LaSamuel Gamble. Gamble and then-juvenile Marcus Presley had been convicted of capital murder, but store security tape showed that Presley was the killer. Owens reasoned that executing Gamble but not Presley would be a miscarriage of justice. Troy, of course, did not agree. Apparently, he thinks life in prison without the possibility of parole (the only other sentencing option in a capital case) is a cakewalk.
Michael Samra is citing the Gamble case in an attempt to get off Death Row, but Owens — and King — don’t buy his reasoning.
Owens argues Samra’s case is different than Gamble’s. Unlike Gamble, who participated in a robbery but took no life, Samra shot one of the victims and cut the throat of one of the children.
Owens’ position is at least defensible, and this time, it’s in line with the attorney general’s viewpoint. But that isn’t enough to stop King from waging his war on … something.
That Troy — he just can’t abide people who, um, agree with him.
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Owen had previously taken the position that Samra should be released from death row. Of course King moved to bar him testifying for Samra’s release. That’s the same stunt Owens pulled with Gamble; initially supports execution and then changes his mind and testifies for the killer. Kudos to King. Liberal namby pamby soft headed whiners like Robby Owen shouldn’t be prosecutors, they should be out campaigning for Hillary and signing up “troubled” youths for midnight basketball.
Daniel, you might want to check your facts before you spew. Gamble wasn’t the killer, which is why, once the actual killer got off death row, Owen came to the reasonable and just conclusion that Gamble shouldn’t be there. The Samra case is different; Samra participated in the murders.
Oh, and a “liberal namby pamby” prosecutor in Shelby County, Alabama? That’s the best laugh I’ve had all day.
Kathy, check the facts yourself. Gamble and his juvenile co-defendant had perpetrated a string of robberies in Shelby and Jefferson Counties. 13 in all and 5 dead. Gamble shot and killed one of these victims himself and was convicted of 3 murders. Gamble was allowed to plead to straight murder in the Bessemer cut-off because he had this capital murder conviction in Shelby.
Owens campaigned on this case and then turned around and stabbed his victims in the back. So laugh all you want, that’s typical liberal “say one thing, do another”.
No, Owens saw the circumstances of one specific case change because of a Supreme Court decision. He considered those changed circumstances and came down on the side of justice. Gamble will spend the rest of his life in prison with no possibility of parole. He will no longer be a cause celebre for death penalty opponents. This is what is known as a positive outcome.
If Troy King ever achieves his greatest ambition — that would be election to higher office, not justice — it will be because of people like you. But you’d better hope you never do anything to make him mad. He’s demonstrated that he’ll turn on anyone, even fellow Republicans, if he thinks it will get him a few votes.
Robbie Owens told us that he has no intention of testifying on behalf of Samra to get Samra off of death row. Now in all honesty, We had a meeting with Robbie Owens when the Supreme Court decision was handed down and he did state in all fairness that we should look at the fact that Mark Duke (the mastermind) would be coming off of death row and Brandon Samra (The follower) would remain on death row and he was considering at that time Samra coming off of death row as well.
As I stated earlier in previous posts (on a different topic) i KNEW (and said the same then) that the Gamble case/issue opened a door we could not close and would come back to haunt not only our case but every case out there were the juvenile was pulled and the adult remained on death row.
WE ARE glad to see that they both agree that Samra should not be pulled off of death row. Samra was in my opinion NOT a follower, he went in and shot Dedra twice, and killed Chelsea as Duke held her down. Without Samra who is to say that Duke could have taken down all four victims alone, so I consider him just as much to blame. Samra enabled Duke to commit these violent crimes, therefore making him an enabler NOT a follower.
Hopefully, we are praying that Samra’s attorneys will not win this and Samra will remain on death row where he belongs. While I know life in prison is the only other alternative sentence our family members got a death sentence and we want Samra to get the same. He does not deserve Life even without the possibility of parole. I’m sure that most of you would feel the same if it were your 2 children that he helped to kill.
Troy King also told our family that he would do everything within his power to see that Samra stays on death row. As long as they both (Troy and Robbie) are fighting for him to stay on death row we are in high hopes that he will stay there.