Robert Brannon — Direct/Cross - Day 29 - 2019 Murder Trial - Timothy Jones Jr. Case Archive

Timothy Jones Jr.- Case Archive

Defense psychiatrist Donna Maddox testified about her schizophrenia diagnosis, while family witnesses asked the jury not to impose death. The court issued several rulings limiting proposed mitigation evidence and heard social-history proffers outside the jury's presence.

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Robert Brannon — Direct

DirectDirectRobert Brannon — Direct

ROBERT BRANNON, being first duly sworn, testified as follows:

COURT CLERK: Have a seat right up there, sir. Once you're seated, state your full name, spelling the last, please.

31:57:42

ROBERT BRANNON: My name is Robert L. Brannon, B-R-A-N-N-O-N.

DIRECT EXAMINATION By Mr. Madsen:

51:57:49

MR. MADSEN: Officer Brannon, where are you employed?

61:57:52

ROBERT BRANNON: Kirkland Correctional.

71:57:54

MR. MADSEN: And how -- so you're employed with SCDC?

81:57:56

ROBERT BRANNON: Yes, sir.

91:57:57

MR. MADSEN: How long have you been with SCDC?

101:57:59

ROBERT BRANNON: Approximately, going on 14 years.

111:58:01

MR. MADSEN: Out there, they generally don't call you Officer Brannon. What is your nickname there?

121:58:06

ROBERT BRANNON: No, sir. My nickname is Six Nine.

131:58:09

MR. MADSEN: Has to do with your height?

141:58:10

ROBERT BRANNON: Yes, sir.

151:58:13

MR. MADSEN: And you said that you're at Kirkland. What is your job now?

161:58:17

ROBERT BRANNON: My job now, I'm at BMU.

171:58:21

MR. MADSEN: What is BMU?

181:58:23

ROBERT BRANNON: BMU is assessment for at risk inmates.

191:58:30

MR. MADSEN: In 2014, were you stationed at a different place in Kirkland?

201:58:35

ROBERT BRANNON: Yes, sir.

211:58:36

MR. MADSEN: Where was that?

221:58:37

ROBERT BRANNON: Maximum security.

231:58:40

MR. MADSEN: Is that MSU?

241:58:41

ROBERT BRANNON: MSU.

251:58:42

MR. MADSEN: And that's no longer at Kirkland, is it?

261:58:46

ROBERT BRANNON: It's still there right now.

271:58:47

MR. MADSEN: Is it still there right now? And is that the most restrictive housing unit in all of SCDC? MSU.

281:58:53

ROBERT BRANNON: Yes, sir.

291:58:55

MR. MADSEN: Is that generally where the inmates who have gotten in trouble in other areas of SCDC are housed?

301:59:03

ROBERT BRANNON: Yes, sir.

311:59:05

MR. MADSEN: So inmates who have already been sentenced, but have assaulted other inmates or staff or someone like that, they can go to MSU if they qualify?

321:59:15

ROBERT BRANNON: Yes, sir.

331:59:17

MR. MADSEN: Tim was not one of those people, he was a safe keeper?

341:59:20

ROBERT BRANNON: Yes, sir.

351:59:21

MR. MADSEN: So he was placed there, I guess, by Lexington County pre-trial?

361:59:25

ROBERT BRANNON: Yes, sir.

371:59:26

MR. MADSEN: Is that unusual there?

381:59:28

ROBERT BRANNON: Yes, sir.

391:59:30

MR. MADSEN: And when Tim was placed there, he was on 24 hour surveillance initially, correct?

401:59:37

ROBERT BRANNON: Correct.

411:59:38

MR. MADSEN: And so, someone basically sat outside of his cell?

421:59:41

ROBERT BRANNON: Yes, sir.

431:59:42

MR. MADSEN: What shift did you work out there?

441:59:44

ROBERT BRANNON: The day shift.

451:59:45

MR. MADSEN: So what does the day shift mean?

461:59:48

ROBERT BRANNON: The day shift is like, we deal with every day activities there.

471:59:53

MR. MADSEN: What are your general hours?

481:59:55

ROBERT BRANNON: My general hours are from 6:00 to 6:00.

491:59:56

MR. MADSEN: So 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m?

501:59:58

ROBERT BRANNON: Yes, sir.

512:00:00

MR. MADSEN: And as an officer out there at MSU, was being yelled at or assaulted or attempted assault, was that kind of a daily occurrence for you?

522:00:08

ROBERT BRANNON: Yes, sir.

532:00:10

MR. MADSEN: Did you ever have any of those problems with Tim?

542:00:12

ROBERT BRANNON: No, sir.

552:00:15

MR. MADSEN: Was Tim quiet while he was there?

562:00:17

ROBERT BRANNON: Yes, sir.

572:00:18

MR. MADSEN: Did he keep to himself?

582:00:19

ROBERT BRANNON: Yes, sir.

592:00:22

MR. MADSEN: Generally, was your only interaction with Tim when he asked for either his prescribed medication or his food?

602:00:28

ROBERT BRANNON: Yes, sir.

612:00:32

MR. MADSEN: Would Tim come out of his cell other than for the nurse, the doctor or a lawyer visit?

622:00:39

ROBERT BRANNON: No, sir.

632:00:41

MR. MADSEN: Do you ever remember Tim trying -- Tim ever getting angry or aggressive with you?

642:00:46

ROBERT BRANNON: No, sir.

652:00:47

MR. MADSEN: Was he always respectful to you?

662:00:49

ROBERT BRANNON: Yes, sir.

672:00:50

MR. MADSEN: Was he always compliant with you?

682:00:51

ROBERT BRANNON: Yes, sir.

692:00:52

MR. MADSEN: Was he courteous to you?

702:00:54

ROBERT BRANNON: Yes, sir.

712:00:56

MR. MADSEN: As an experienced correctional officer, do you have any concerns about Tim when he is permanently placed in SCDC?

722:01:02

ROBERT BRANNON: No, sir.

732:01:04

MR. MADSEN: Do you believe that he would be a threat to other inmates or staff?

742:01:07

ROBERT BRANNON: No, sir.

752:01:09

MR. MADSEN: Fair to say he was a model inmate while he was there with you?

762:01:12

ROBERT BRANNON: Yes, sir.

772:01:16

MR. MADSEN: That's all the questions I have.

CrossCrossRobert Brannon — Cross

CROSS-EXAMINATION By Mr. Graham:

792:01:20

MR. GRAHAM: Good morning, Officer Brannon. How are you?

802:01:22

ROBERT BRANNON: I'm fine.

812:01:24

MR. GRAHAM: Did you volunteer to come here today or were you subpoenaed by the Defense?

822:01:27

ROBERT BRANNON: Subpoenaed.

MR. GRAHAM: You were subpoenaed. How much time, 2014 to how long, did you spend with Mr. Jones?

842:01:38

ROBERT BRANNON: Say that again. Say that again.

852:01:40

MR. GRAHAM: How long, years-wise?

862:01:42

ROBERT BRANNON: About three years.

872:01:44

MR. GRAHAM: About three years. You see him daily?

882:01:46

ROBERT BRANNON: Yes, sir.

892:01:47

MR. GRAHAM: A safe keeper in MSU, the maximum security unit, they're in a cell by themselves?

902:01:56

ROBERT BRANNON: Yes, sir.

912:01:57

MR. GRAHAM: How many hours a day back then in 2014?

922:02:02

ROBERT BRANNON: Back then, 23 out of 24.

932:02:05

MR. GRAHAM: Twenty-two out of 24?

942:02:07

ROBERT BRANNON: Twenty-three.

952:02:08

MR. GRAHAM: Twenty-three out of 24.

962:02:09

ROBERT BRANNON: They usually go out for one hour of rec.

972:02:12

MR. GRAHAM: When he did his hour of the rec, he was by himself?

982:02:19

ROBERT BRANNON: He'd never go out for rec. I was just telling you the average time.

992:02:23

MR. GRAHAM: So he never had contact with other inmates?

1002:02:25

ROBERT BRANNON: No, sir.

1012:02:26

MR. GRAHAM: When he was brought out of his cell, was he brought out of his cell for rec?

1022:02:30

ROBERT BRANNON: No. He never went to it.

1032:02:32

MR. GRAHAM: He never went to rec. So his hour out of the cell, what did he do?

1042:02:38

ROBERT BRANNON: He never came out.

1052:02:39

MR. GRAHAM: He just stayed in there 24 hours --

1062:02:40

ROBERT BRANNON: Yes.

1072:02:41

MR. GRAHAM: -- a day, then?

ROBERT BRANNON: Yes. Stayed in there 24 hours.

1092:02:43

MR. GRAHAM: So the only time that he really had contact with guards or staff would be when he was brought out of his cell, then, correct?

1102:02:51

ROBERT BRANNON: Correct.

1112:02:51

MR. GRAHAM: If he was being transported somewhere?

1122:02:53

ROBERT BRANNON: Yes, sir.

1132:02:54

MR. GRAHAM: Which was rare, wasn't it?

1142:02:57

ROBERT BRANNON: Yes, sir.

1152:02:59

MR. GRAHAM: Were you working the day that he missed his doses of Geodon, and then the attempted suicide?

1162:03:10

ROBERT BRANNON: Yes, sir.

1172:03:14

MR. GRAHAM: And you're aware that he didn't like being told what to do and that that's the reason that he didn't get his medication?

1182:03:23

ROBERT BRANNON: No. I wasn't aware of that.

1192:03:25

MR. GRAHAM: The rules at that time though were that you had to back far away from the door to stop inmates from throwing bodily fluids on the techs who were delivering the medicine. Isn't that correct?

1202:03:35

ROBERT BRANNON: Yes, sir.

1212:03:37

MR. GRAHAM: Thanks, Officer.

RedirectRedirectRobert Brannon — Redirect

REDIRECT EXAMINATION By Mr. Madsen:

1232:03:44

MR. MADSEN: Officer Graham, sadly, the throwing urine and that, I mean, that's sadly a normal occurrence out there at MSU, wasn't it?

1242:03:51

ROBERT BRANNON: Yes, sir.

1252:03:52

MR. MADSEN: Never had any problems like that with Tim, did you?

ROBERT BRANNON: No, sir.

MR. MADSEN: That's all the questions I have.

THE COURT: You may step down.

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