Photo: Giles County Courthouse, Pulaski, Tennessee Photo Credit: gilescountytn.gov
The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
An appeals court has decided that a Tennessee man deserves a new trial because he was convicted by an all-white jury who deliberated in a room decorated with Confederate memorabilia.
Timothy Gilbert of Giles County, who is black, was convicted of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, unlawful possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, and resisting arrest.
Despite being found “not guilty” after a different jury deliberated in the same room in an unrelated case, the appeals court agreed unanimously that Gilbert’s “constitutional rights to a fair trial conducted by an impartial jury, due process, and equal protection under the law” were violated.
The room has been known as the UDC room since the 1930s. Giles County Grand Jury Foreman Sam T. Collins testified that in his 14 years in his role he has seen no evidence of the items in the room affecting the judgement of grand jurors. He said that grand jurors never discuss the items in the room.
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But Gilbert’s defense argued that having the jury deliberate in a room that the United Daughters of the Confederacy decorated and maintains implies that the court “subscribes to the confederate principles” and that what hangs on the walls “embolden jurors to act on racial animus.”
The items in the room that “exposed the jury to extraneous prejudicial information” consisted of a framed Confederate flag, portraits of General Brown and Jefferson Davis (who served as the president of the Confederacy) and a framed letter from the national leader of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC).
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and contributor to The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
