BREAKING NEWS: Scott given death penalty

By Staff
Jonathan Willis
Franklin County Circuit Judge Terry Dempsey told Christie 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.