That’s the Greenwood Commonwealth front page today. Smith is on the left.
The quote in the title is from the Greenwood police chief, describing how things went wrong for the apparent hit man when he came into Lee Abraham’s law office on Saturday night.
The Greenwood Commonwealth is reporting that there was a seven month investigation, and that the two people arrested, Dr. Albert Smith and William Paul Mullen, had “two connections”– “Smith collects salvaged bricks and Mullen is a brickmason…” Also, Abraham represented both of their wives in contentious divorce cases.
There were intense searches at both Dr. Smith’s home and clinic, and Attorney General Hood was seen in Greenwood at Abraham’s office.
The Commonwealth had a photo of the alleged hit man who was killed in the shoot-out, Keaira Byrd, from his Facebook page (which I couldn’t locate).
Meanwhile, the Greenwood mayor hopes all this doesn’t “darken the positive efforts to make Greenwood the model city of the Delta.”
AG’s office released a copy of the affidavit and arrest warrant for Dr. Smith late this afternoon.
It turns out that Dr. Smith has also been charged with capital murder for the death of his co-conspirator Keaira Byrd. I suppose this is an extreme application of the felony murder rule. In this case, law enforcement killed Smith’s agent in a botched burglary/murder-for-hire plot. Does that fly in Mississippi?
Charlie Smith at the Commonwealth just published this explosive update. It includes, from the affidavit for probable cause, the information that Derrick Lacey admitted to two law enforcement officers that he overheard Dr. Smith offer Keaira Byrd $20,000 to kill Lee Abraham.
Here’s a link to the latest Commonwealth update:
http://www.gwcommonwealth.com/news/article_6fd6950c-931a-11e1-a1d4-0019bb2963f4.html
John Pittman Hey
I suppose this is an extreme application of the felony murder rule.
You suppose wrong.
$20,000 to rub out a lawyer? I’d think it could be contracted out for much much less.
Well, I’m honestly asking. In Mississippi, if a cohort in the commission of one of the listed felonies (such as burglary) is killed by law enforcement, can the living cohort be charged with capital murder?
John Pittman Hey
The cohort can be charged with felony murder under circumstances like this.
Lee Abraham is a long-time “Jim Hood man.” It certainly pays to be a friend of Hood’s: armed attorney general agents and personal visits by the AG.
But, of course, I’m sure he would have provided the same service to any Republican attorney out there, right?
Re: felony murder rule in Mississippi. I am not an attorney, but I did some checking and apparently, different states apply that rule to different extents. Applying it to the case where a cohort is killed by law enforcement appears to be on the outer edge of what other states permit.
But I wouldn’t be surprised if that is the case in Mississippi. One of my ex-cop friends insisted from the very beginning that Smith would indeed be charged with murder for the death of his own accomplice at the hands of the police.
John Pittman Hey
Refugee: I’m sure he would have provided the same service to any Republican attorney out there, right?
Unfortunately, … yes.
ALL THOSE PEOPLE ARE WORKING AGAINST DR. SMITH! HE SHOULDN’T BE CHARGED FOR MURDER… HE DIDN’T KILL NOBODY. THE AGENT ASSASSINATED MR. BYRD BY SHOOTING HIM IN THE HEAD. WHAT WAS THE HEAD SHOT FOR?? YOU SHOT HIM SEVERAL TIMES THEN STILL WANT TO SHOOT HIM IN THE HEAD.
When the dust settles I think we are going to find out that the hitmen were wearing hoodies and this was clearly a case of profiling by the Government agents.
They shot them down like rabid dogs.
If someone is shooting at me and I have a gun (not at all likely) I’m going to unload it, be that 6 shots or 30, in the head, chest, genitals or any other part of the body I would consider important.
“Gun control” = getting the head shot.
They never said those guys had guns!!! They didn’t say at what kind of weapons they had. They said things just went bad!! What things?. Oh I know they have to get there story together. Me I’m not riding nobody’s nuts. I just think it was all a set up. All this money Dr.Smith got why would he pay a those thugs to do the job?
the Greenwood mayor hopes all this doesn’t “darken the positive efforts to make Greenwood the model city of the Delta.”
No, Mr. Mayor … I think Greenwood’s reputation is positively intact.