Judge sentences Scott to death

By Staff
Jonathan Willis
Franklin County Circuit Judge Terry Dempsey told Christie Michelle Scott Wednesday morning that justice would not be served unless he sentenced her to death.
Scott was convicted last month of killing her six year-old son, Mason Scott, last August. Prosecutors contend that she set fire to her family's Signore Drive home in Russellville and allowed Mason to die in the fire so she could collect $175,000 in life insurance policies.
A jury voted 7-5 to recommend Scott, 31, be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
"Justice must be served and the only way justice can be served in this case is by death," Dempsey said.
Scott becomes the first female and only the second person in Franklin County history to be sentenced to death. Dempsey sentenced a Red Bay man to death in 2007 after he was also convicted of murdering his child.
Defense attorney Robert Tuten said he believes the conviction and sentence will be overturned during the appeals process.
He immediately began filing paperwork for a new trial.
District Attorney Joey Rushing, who asked Dempsey to impose the death penalty, said he is confident the verdict and sentence will be upheld.
Appeals are automatic in capital murder convictions.
"I feel this case was fair across the board and I believe the jury's verdict will stand," Rushing said.
Before handing down a sentence, Dempsey listened as Scott, her father Donald Bray, and her husband Jeremy Scott, pleaded for her life.
Scott told Dempsey that she was innocent.
"I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, I did not hurt my baby," she said.
Bray and Jeremy Scott asked Dempsey to impose a life sentence because she still has one child at home.
"The capital offense was particularly heinous, atrocious and cruel compared to other capital offenses," Dempsey read from his sentencing order. "There may be no more painful way for a human to die than by fire. It is not certain whether the victim died from thermal burns or smoke inhalation. A high carbon monoxide level in the victim's blood … indicate he was still breathing as he was burning. This would be a horrific death with immense pain for the victim."
He went on to say, "to intentionally murder your child by burning him is shockingly evil."
Tuten began filing appeals for a new trial Wednesday and maintains that Scott did not receive a fair trial.
"This conviction will not stand. This case is laced with error, and we're looking forward to appeal," Tuten said.
Among the issues raised in the six-page motion are: the evidence produced at the trial is insufficient to support a finding of the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt; the defendant's sentence is in violation of state and federal constitutional provisions against cruel and unusual punishment and the sentence is disproportionate to the crime; and the court erred by denying the defendant's motion to sequester the jury.
If Dempsey denies the motion for a new trial, the case will be handed over to the attorney general's office.
Scott was taken Thursday to Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women in Wetumpka where she will remain in a small cell 23 hours a day. She is just one of five Alabama women to currently sit on death row.