4.Defense Closing Argument

CASEY SECOR: Yes, sir. How much more death does the Jones family have to endure. How many more funerals does this family have to go to. How many more tears do they have to shed. How much more heartache do they have to endure. Each one of you will decide that. Each one of you individually will decide that. I think for a lot of us, one of the scariest things in life is that we do something that causes tremendous pain and suffering to people that we love. And I think that the reason why that feels so scary is that we worry that we will somehow make ourselves unloved. The people that loved us and supported us in the past will turn away from us. And that's a terrifying thought. When I was growing up, my grandmother is somebody that always felt guilty with things that happened in our family even if it had absolutely nothing to do with her. And I always wanted to protect her from feeling that guilt. I wanted to tell her that it wasn't her fault.

And as I got older, people in my family did things to her -- not necessarily to her, but they did things that I knew were going to devastate her, that I knew that she was going to feel guilty about it because it was somebody in the family. And I got to the point in my life where when things like that happened, I wanted to be the person that brought terrible news to her just so that I could be there and tell her it's not your fault. You don't have to feel guilty for this. And there was one time that I remember specifically because I had to tell her something over the phone. And I knew that she was going to be devastated and I knew that she was going to blame herself. And I called her and I told her and there was this long silence. And then the sound of her heart breaking. And I will never forget that sound and how much I wanted to protect her from that. I wanted to tell her this is not your fault. And I wasn't even the person who had done the thing that had upset her so much.

And I thought to myself how glad I was that I wasn't the one that had hurt her. And I can't imagine being in Tim's position after what he did, the amount of pain and suffering he has inflicted on these people that he loves. Because if I were him, I'd be terrified that I had become unlovable. These people that supported me were going to turn their backs on me because of what I did and I wouldn't be able to fault them if I did. And Tim is so fortunate that that's not the case for him. He's so fortunate that he has this family that are standing by him despite the absolute horror that he has inflicted on this family. And so under these horrible circumstances, how do you punish severely while showing compassion and mercy for people who still love Tim, for people who loved Merah, Eli, Nahtahn, Gabe and Elaine. How do we punish severely when punishment, severe punishment is necessary, but show compassion for the family of these children.

Tim, Sr., you know, before Tim's arrest and when the babies, as Tim, Sr. called them, when they were missing from South Carolina, he was on the phone with law enforcement desperately trying to help, trying to find his babies, trying to find Tim. And when Tim was arrested in Mississippi, Tim, Sr. and Julie, they went down to Raleigh, Mississippi, to the Smyth County Sheriff's Department and they did everything that they could because they wanted to. And when Sheriff Crumpton, Under-Sheriff Patterson, asked things of them, they did them eagerly and with passion because they wanted to know what happened to their babies. And Sheriff Crumpton told you about how much progress was made in talking to Tim once Tim, Sr. got involved. And the Sheriff told you that he gave Tim, Sr. credit for that. And he said that Tim, Sr. and Julie showed a lot of strength for their grandbabies and for Tim in that difficult situation. And even when the terrible truth about what had happened came out, Tim, Sr.

and Julie, they still helped. They asked -- they answered any questions that were asked of them. When law enforcement from South Carolina arrived, they gave them any information that they possibly could. And Tim, Sr. made sure that Tim, Jr. was going to bring law enforcement to the bodies of these children. At every point, Tim, Sr. and Julie did the right thing. And we can punish Tim severely, but also thank them for doing the right thing. We can thank them by not putting Tim to death, by sentencing him to life without parole so that they don't have to suffer any more than they already have. Tim, Sr. and Julie, so much has been asked of them, even since that day. Investigators from the Defense and from the Solicitor's office have come and talked to them in their home. Lawyers from both sides have come and talked to them. And they have talked to experts from both sides of this case. And they have never turned anybody away.

They have answered every question about Tim and about their family. Some things that are very embarrassing, things that they would like to forget, but they cooperated with everybody. And we can thank them for that and still punish Tim severely by sentencing him to life without parole. I think you can see when Tim, Sr. was on the stand how much guilt he carries, how much he blames himself. How can we tell him it's not your fault? We can tell him it's not his fault by sentencing his son to life without parole so that he doesn't have to suffer another loss. Roberta Thornsberry, Tim's grandmother. The life that she has been through is beyond comprehension. And she came here and she told you things that she is desperate to forget, that anybody would be desperate to forget that happened to them throughout their life, things that are humiliating and embarrassing, horrific and tragic.

But she did that because she has the faith that you will understand that what happened in her life matters to judging Tim, Jr. And just like Tim, Sr., I think you could see that Roberta carries tremendous guilt. She blames herself because that weekend in Atlanta when she saw or knew or felt that something was wrong with Tim, Jr. that she should have done more. And you can tell her it's not her fault, you can relieve some of that blame by not causing her to suffer any more loss. You can punish her grandson severely, but allow her to still love him even through the bars of prison. You heard from Travis and Tyler and Jackie, who all love their brother so much. And they loved their nieces and nephews so much as well. Tyler and Travis told you that there was periods of time when Tim, Jr. has been like a father in their life. When he encouraged them to do as good as they possibly could in life to try to excel academically.

And that making Tim proud of them motivates them and makes them want to be better people. And that can continue. You can punish Tim severely, but that encouragement of those two innocent brothers can continue. And Jackie, the relationship that she had with her nieces and nephews is, obviously, something that I think everyone is grateful for. Grateful for the love that she showed those children and made them feel loved and safe and comforted that summer in Mississippi. And you can thank her for that and thank her for all the love that she brought to those children's lives by sentencing her brother to life without parole and not forcing her to suffer any more loss. The Jones family has come together in an incredible show of unity and solidarity, despite horrific tragedy in their family history.

And they've shared all these things with the good, the bad, the violent, the horrific, everything, but they've done it with a desperate hope that you will understand what has made them able to persevere through all the loss they have suffered, which is that despite all the things that happened in this family, they still love one another, they are committed to one another. And Tim, Jr. is a part of that family and they do not want to lose him even though they are horrified and full of anguish in what he did to the children. And Amber came here and asked you for mercy for Tim on behalf of the children, who loved him. And you can honor that and punish Tim severely by sentencing him to life without parole. Your decision in the first phase of this case was a group factual decision, one that you all made together by examining the evidence that was proven to you beyond a reasonable doubt. And we respect that decision. By that decision, you have determined Tim will never leave prison. You have announced that these are horrific murders and that he alone is responsible for them. In this second phase, though, it is no longer a group factual decision. It is --

CASEY SECOR: Of course, you look at the evidence. And the evidence in this phase is the aggravating circumstances and the mitigating circumstances. I'm not telling you to disregard that, but I'm telling you the decision that you make based on your examination of the evidence is based on your individual moral judgment. The law does not tell you what decision to make. In the first phase, once you found the elements were proven beyond a reasonable doubt, you had to convict, as you should. But in the second phase, there is not a required sentence based on your finding. And each one of you has tremendous power. And the principles of law that guide you are that the death penalty is never required in any case. Not in this case, not in any case, not the worst case that you can possibly imagine. That means that no Juror is ever required to vote for death. And that is because the law is satisfied with a sentence of life without parole, in any case, in this case, or the worst case you can possibly imagine.

There is no such thing as an automatic death sentence. And as I said to you, obviously, you're going to examine the aggravating circumstances and the mitigating circumstances. And the aggravating circumstances, I agree with Solicitor Hubbard, are proved. And they were proven by your verdict in the first phase. And we agree they are proven and we agree that these are horrific crimes. But that finding that he's guilty and that the aggravating circumstances exist does not mean that you then sentence Tim to death. It means that death is an option that you may consider going forward. And the other consideration that you have to make is, of course, the mitigation, the mitigating circumstances. And they are not in any way an excuse or a justification for anything that happened. What happened to these children could never be excused or justified in any way, shape or form.

Mitigation is any reason that you decide, you individually decide is a reason to sentence Tim to life without parole or any reason that you think is sufficient for you to not sentence him to death. You each decide what is mitigating to you. No one else can tell you what is mitigating. No one else can tell you what is not mitigating. There's no burden of proof. You find it for yourself and it doesn't matter if everybody else on the jury disagrees with you. If you find that something is mitigating, you give it the value that you think that it warrants. As we talked about in the jury selection, the law gives each of you the power to sentence Tim to life for any reason, no reason or based on mercy alone. And when we talk about any reason, it means just that, any reason. It could be a reason that was presented to you during the trial, but it doesn't have to be. It could be something that you just saw, even if no one else saw it. Something that you felt, even if no one else felt it. Something that you identify that you think is mitigating, you think warrants a sentence of life.

CASEY SECOR: It is your decision and that's what I'm trying to impress you, that it is your decision, each of you. And the reasons I think in this case that exist to sentence Tim to life without parole are limitless. He's the grandson of a woman who was raped when she was 11 years old by her stepfather, the man that was supposed to be protecting her. He was born to a terribly sick and traumatized woman, who abandoned him when he was three years old as schizophrenia highjacked her brain. He found God when he was barely a teenager because he was trying to find a way to navigate what was a scary world to him. He's brain damaged and mentally ill and has been treated as such by the Department of Corrections for almost five years. He can be safely housed in prison without ever hurting anybody again. His family loves him.

In the recordings of his confessions when he was in the car with Sergeant Creech, you could hear the anguish and the remorse in his voice as he begged God for forgiveness for what he had done. No reason is another way that you can vote for life. You don't need a reason. You can say I've considered everything. I agree that the aggravating circumstances have been proven and there is mitigation. And I don't know why, I can't put my finger on it, but, for me, in this case, a sentence of life without parole is the correct sentence. And if someone says to you well, what's your reason? You can say, well, I don't need a reason. The law gives me the power to say I'm voting for life and I don't need a reason. And, finally, mercy alone. The law empowers you to vote for life for mercy alone, which means that you could find that all the aggravation has been proven, which it has.

And you could say I've heard everything that was presented and to me, there's nothing mitigating, nothing that I feel about Tim and his family, but I have decided that for me, life is the appropriate punishment. I am going to vote for life based on my individual sense of mercy because I think it's right in this case. The law requires 12 individual moral judgments from 12 individuals. And the only way a sentence of death is imposed is if each one of you arrives at your own individual moral judgment and that individual moral judgment is death. That's the only way that it happens. But whatever your 12 individual moral judgments are, the law will be satisfied and the case will end with you. There is no requirement or expectation that people will all arrive at the same individual moral judgment on a question of this magnitude because it's a question as profound as the faith that you choose for yourself, your value system, things in your life that make you proud to be who you are.

And you all agreed you would be able to do this. And it's a difficult thing being asked of you, but you could do this and demand respect of your individual moral judgment and respect the individual moral judgment of your fellow jurors. And that once you arrived at your individual moral judgment, you would not allow yourself to be bullied or pressured or belittled out of it. And you wouldn't allow anybody else to be bullied or pressured or belittled out of their individual moral judgment even if you disagreed with it. Some of you may decide that Tim is not worth your mercy, but ask yourself if the family of these innocent children, if they are worth your mercy. Because bestowing mercy upon Tim in this case is bestowing mercy upon the people who loved these children, who suffer their loss every day. When the Solicitor was talking to Pastor Sutton in the first phase of this case, he asked Pastor Sutton whether Tim knew or understood the most important tenant of all, Thou shall not kill.

And you, of course, understand that. But you also understand that blessed are the peacemakers and blessed are the merciful. See that justice is done, but let mercy be your first concern. You can punish Tim severely with a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole while being merciful to the people who love him and loved these children, who mourn them everyday. The heartbreak of this family is unfathomable. There do not have to be any more deaths. There do not have to be any more funerals. Every member of these children's families have come here and asked you for mercy for Tim, which is mercy for them. This family is carrying too much sorrow already.