Supreme Court upholds 2012 Lauderdale County murder conviction
Published 4:44 pm Thursday, December 15, 2016
- File photoWilliam Michael Jordan is led out of Lauderdale County Circuit Court in Meridian afternoon after being convicted of the murder of Aaron Marcus Coleman in 2012.
A man convicted of a 2012 murder in Lauderdale County won’t be getting a new trial after the Mississippi Supreme Court split on his appeal.
In late February of 2012, Aaron Coleman died of a gunshot wound. William Michael Jordan was convicted of murder and felon in possession, according to court records. His conviction previously was upheld in the Court of Appeals.
The decision surrounds a rap video, posted in April 2013, submitted into evidence before it could be reviewed properly. The five-and-a-half minute video featured Jordan as an unnamed extra who could be seen for approximately 30 seconds – most of that time spent out of frame with only his arm on-screen.
The Mississippi Supreme Court announced a 4-4 split decision on Thursday. One justice did not participate. Because of the split, the Court of Appeals judgment was affirmed without an opinion.
Justice Leslie King objected in a separate written statement, joined by Justices Jess Dickinson, James Kitchens and Josiah Coleman.
In the initial trial, Investigator Danny Knight testified that the video is a “mock killing” or “reenactment… of the killing of Aaron Coleman.”
Jordan objected and went to the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals ruled on the video – without watching it – believing Jordan to be the “star” of the video.
King’s separate written statement said that the state’s interpretation of the video was not plausible, adding that “the rap easily could have been written and/or the video produced before Coleman’s death.”
The video played a key role in the state’s case against Jordan, relying on only two other testimonies and no physical evidence.
“It is clear that… this rap video does not pass muster,” said King’s statement. “Its danger of unfair prejudice far outweighs its alleged probative value.”
King ends the statement by arguing that the Supreme Court should reverse Jordan’s convictions and remand the case for a new trial.
Because the court split, the Court of Appeals decision – to accept the video as evidence – remains and another trial will not be held.
