CALHOUN, Ga. — A Gordon County judge will now decide the next step for a man who was convicted of killing four people in 2004 and was ruled incompetent earlier today.
During earlier testimony, both the defense and prosecutions experts testified that Jerry Jones was mentally deteriorating and could no longer understand court proceedings.
Jones pleaded guilty in 2005 to the revenge killings of his daughter, his common-law wife’s parents and her sister in Ranger, Ga.
At the time, Jones’ defense said that he was competent enough to understand his decision.
In 2008, a jury trial sentenced Jones to death after weeks of testimony.
After today’s mental competency hearing, Judge Carey Nelson said he would issue an order next week to decide whether Jones should be placed on medication or given further testing to know how to treat his psychotic illness.
The hearing was necessary before going forward with the motion for a new trial.
For complete details see tomorrow’s Times Free Press.
Joy Lukachick is a crime reporter for the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Since 2009, she's covered breaking news, high-profile trials, stories of lost lives and of regained hope and done investigative work. Raised near the Bayou, Joy’s hometown is along the outskirts of Baton Rouge, La. She has a bachelor’s degree in mass communication from Louisiana State University. While at LSU, Joy was a staff writer for the Daily Reveille. When Joy isn't chasing down ...
My ass, fry him.
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