Judge in Christian-Newsom Murders Rejects “Young Innocent” Defense

Vanessa Coleman, the 22-year old woman recently convicted on multiple counts in connection with the brutal Christian-Newsom murders that took place in Knoxville in 2007, was sentenced to 53 years in prison last Friday by Judge Richard Baumgartner who rejected the argument that Coleman was a “young innocent” who had been forced into criminal action by the other offenders, including her then-boyfriend Latalvis Cobbins. Baumgartner found that Coleman was not innocent with regard to the commission of the crime and had in fact participated willingly, citing Coleman’s decisions to form a relationship with Cobbins, move to Tennessee, and stay at the scene of the crime throughout the duration of the victims’ torture and killings as evidence that Coleman was a willing participant. The judge then declined to allow Coleman any more leniency than that he felt had already been granted by the jury in acquitting Coleman of a number of the charges against her at the close of the trial.

In Tennessee, a tactic such as the “young innocent” defense can be employed at the sentencing phase of trial by a defendant in an effort to achieve a lenient sentence. The court will examine such a defense by looking at the mental maturity and capability of the defendant rather than just the defendant’s age alone. The court will look to see if the defendant was coerced or manipulated into involvement in the crime due to the defendant’s mental immaturity, just as Judge Baumgartner did here. In this case, however, the judge decided that no coercion had taken place and that Coleman was more experienced and street-smart than an average 18 year-old; thus, she was aware of the consequences of her actions. For these reasons, the defense was unsuccessful here.

Since such a defense is based on factors such as mental maturity and life experience, factors which are not quantifiable and can be hard to prove, rather than just age, a defendant needs an advocate who can present a strong argument to the jury that these factors indicate that the defendant did not understand the nature of the crime or could not resist involvement. The use of a skilled criminal defense attorney can help a defendant present these issues as effectively as possible.

Source: http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/jul/30/coleman-gets-53-years-judge-rejects-innocent-defen/