Simmons wants hearing moved due to judges comments Details Published: 08 January 2015 By Raymond L. Daye Co-Editor Vincent Simmons, serving 100 years in Angola for convictions in connection with the rape of two girls in 1977, is seeking to have a hearing on his latest motions moved to another parish due to a judge’s comments about the case. Forest Martin, a self-professed former “jailhouse lawyer” now living in Alexandria, is handling Simmons’ latest legal filings. He said comments by outgoing 12th Judicial District Judge Mark Jeansonne make it necessary to move the hearing on the latest motions. Jeansonne’s last day as district judge was Dec. 31. Kerry Spruill was elected to the judgeship and took the oath of office on Dec. 29. Simmons’ petition was filed in October and Jeansonne ordered on Nov. 6 that Riddle respond by Dec. 16. The judge held a brief hearing on the matter on Dec. 18 and postponed any action on the motion, effectively leaving the legal decision to Spruill. However, he took the opportunity to issue a strong statement concerning the case and Simmons’ allegations. Jeansonne said Simmons has played “the race card” in his case, raising stereotypes of Southern racism against black men accused of raping white females. He said Simmons “has fooled hundreds, perhaps thousands of people” and has “inflamed them” with his allegations of racism and official misconduct in his arrest, shooting, indictment and conviction. “He has created an image of a racist parish, a racist courthouse. Nothing could be further from the truth.” JUDICIAL MISCONDUCT Martin’s motion, filed in 12th Judicial District Court on Dec. 29, claims Jeansonne’s comments amount to “judicial misconduct.” It states that Jeansonne “knew or should have known fully well that the making of a false statement to the media on a pending case in his courtroom could subject him to a complaint. There was an obvious lack of integrity, the most fundamental qualification of a member of the judiciary.” Martin told this newspaper that District Attorney Charles Riddle failed to adequately address the issues raised in the latest motion and “resorted to cutting and pasting responses made to previous motions.” Martin said Riddle’s treatment of the motion “was an insult. It’s like he didn’t even read it.” Riddle said he saw nothing new in the motion filed in 12th District Court in October and that all of the legal arguments and allegations of misconduct have been investigated and adjudicated in state and federal courts during 17 separate filings over the past 37 years since Simmons’ conviction. NEW ISSUE Martin said he raised a new issue -- that officials rushed Simmons to court, giving him insufficient time to recuperate from a near-fatal gunshot wound sustained on the day of his arrest, and that he was both mentally and physically incapable of assisting his defense attorney during the case. Simmons claims he was beaten and kicked while handcuffed because he would not sign a confession. When he attempted to defend himself from additional blows, Simmons claims a deputy threw him against the wall and the other deputy shot him. Deputies said Simmons grabbed a deputy’s gun and was attempting to load it when he was shot by the other deputy. The petition claims that Simmons “was arrested, tried, convicted and sentenced in less than 60 days for two capital offenses at the time of his arrest.” Aggravated rape of a juvenile carried the death penalty in 1977. The charges were amended to attempted aggravated rape before trial, removing the possibility of a death sentence. Martin contends Simmons “did not have the physical or mental capacity to proceed from the day of his arrest and throughout his trial. He did not understand the nature of the charges against him as well as the seriousness of those charges. He further did not understand the defenses that could be put forth to help him answer those charges.” He said Simmons has a sixth-grade education and was -- and still is -- unaware of “basic constitutional and civil rights” he was entitled to at the time of his trial. The motion also claims that because of his pain from the gunshot wound, and medication for that pain, he was unable to assist his attorney by recalling facts about his actions and whereabouts at the time of the offense. He was also unable to help locate witnesses to assist his defense or to listen to testimony and inform his attorney of misstatements and distortions by the prosecution’s witnesses. He said the trial court’s failure to notice Simmons’ condition and issue a motion on its own to delay the proceedings until the defendant was recovered was “an abuse of discretion” and did not follow legal guidelines for determining a person’s competency to stand trial. HISTORY Martin also claims that Simmons has a “history of mental illness” and that he was committed to the state hospital for the criminally insane in Jackson. The referenced incident occurred on Oct. 29, 1970, when Simmons was awaiting trial for a May 25, 1970 burglary. His attorney claimed he was legally insane and thus not responsible for the crime. Simmons was sent to Jackson to be evaluated to determine if he was legally insane. On Nov. 23, 1970, the forensic psychologist wrote that Simmons was “mentally competent to stand trial and should be returned to your court (12th District) for further disposition as soon as possible.” The current petition includes no other evidence to support a claim of Simmons’ mental illness or incompetence. Simmons was sentenced to 15 months in Angola for that burglary but was released on July 21, 1971 after serving five months of the sentence. He was arrested on July 31, 1971 on another burglary in Marksville and charged on Aug. 13, 1971 with an auto theft in Opelousas. Records indicate he did not go to trial on either offense. Simmons then left the state and was charged with “theft from a person” in Phoenix, Ariz. on Feb. 19, 1972, an Aug. 16 burglary in Houston and an Aug. 21 burglary in Galveston, Texas. He was listed as a fugitive from Louisiana and Galveston at that point. He disappeared from the law enforcement radar until Jan. 26, 1974, when he was charged with stealing auto parts in Wharton, Texas. Then, on May 23, 1977, he was charged with two counts of aggravated rape for the attack on two 14-year-old twin girls and with two counts of attempted murder of a police officer in connection with the incident that resulted in his being shot in the chest while in custody. Simmons was never brought to trial on the attempted murder charges. You are here: HomeNewsSimmons wants hearing moved due to judges comments
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 22:17:54 +0000
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