Freeland Denied Request for New Trial
A Jackson man sentenced to die for murdering a Henderson grandmother had his request for a new trial denied. John Freeland, Junior recently asked Judge Roy Morgan, the same judge who sentenced him to not only reconsider his punishment, but grant him a new trial. Monday, the judge handed down a ruling denying Freeland’s request for a new trial. Freeland, 28, has claimed he should get a new trial because he erred in admitting his statement to police and believes those admissions should not have been considered. He also asked the judge to set aside the death penalty. Earlier this year, in a rare bench trial in which he judge, not a jury handed down a verdict, Freeland was convicted of carjacking and fatally shooting Carolyn Ward in 2009. In May, he was sentenced to die by lethal injection. The judge appointed a public defender for Freeland.
