The man who was given the death sentence for murdering an 81-year-old woman in 2010 will not be granted a new trial. This decision was recently made in Jackson, Mississippi.
The Mississippi Supreme Court has rejected James Hutto’s plea to file for successive post-conviction relief, stating that his arguments hold no merit. This decision was made on Thursday by the judges.
The petition was unanimously denied by all nine justices. However, Justice James Kitchens stood out by writing an additional statement apart from the majority.
“He’s devoid of merit, and I concur with the denial of Hutto’s motion,” the judge stated, adding, “I’d like to clarify that I’m not convinced that his assertions are inadmissible.”
In 2013, Hutto received a death sentence for the murder of Ethel Simpson, an 81-year-old resident of Clinton.
Records show that Hutto and Simpson met at the Baptist Healthplex. During their meeting, Hutto mentioned that he was battling cancer and had no family. Later, they were spotted together at a casino in Vicksburg. However, Hutto was later apprehended in Alabama while driving Simpson’s Mercedes.
Hutto aimed to file a second petition for post-conviction relief, claiming that his previous counsel was constitutionally ineffective in providing assistance.
Hutto stated that his previous attorney did not bring up a crucial point during the trial. He believes that the trial counsel failed to provide a “biological explanation” to defend his actions, and a report from a neuropsychologist was submitted to detail his condition.
In his ruling, Justice Robert Chamberlin stated that Hutto had declined to cooperate with two psychological evaluations before the trial and had not presented sufficient evidence that the testimony of any other psychologist would have altered the verdict.
According to Hutto, the prosecutor’s closing arguments were flawed because they failed to establish a connection between his childhood abuse and his crime. This, in turn, may have led the jury to overlook important mitigating evidence that could have influenced their decision.
According to Chamberlin, Hutto’s lawyer raised objections four times during the prosecution’s closing statements, suggesting that they may have intentionally chosen not to make any further comments.
According to the court ruling, Hutto’s claim of being incompetent to proceed with the post-conviction proceedings was deemed irrelevant, and therefore rejected.
Currently, Hutto is detained at the Mississippi State Penitentiary located at Parchman.
