Bixby’s case has potential to reshape American law

April 8, 2006

By GREG DEAL
Index-Journal managing editor

Precedents are the bedrock of the legal system.
One case builds upon another, and lawyers often cite previous court rulings in cases to add weight to their arguments. You could compare precedents to building blocks: without a foundation upon which to build, it’s hard to construct a building that will stand.
Precedents often are used in appeals, and appeals courts many times have thrown out or upheld lower court rulings based on precedents.
But what happens when there is no precedent?
All precedents were once arguments without, well, precedent. So, some cases have to be groundbreaking.
That’s what’s facing the chief prosecutor in the case against Rita Bixby, wife and mother of men charged in connection with the December 2003 deaths of two Abbeville law officers.
Son Steven Bixby and his father, Arthur Bixby, are charged with two counts of murder in the slayings of Abbeville County Sheriff’s Sgt. Danny Wilson and constable Donnie Ouzts. The state has filed a notice that it will seek the death penalty against Steven but has not filed a similar notice against Arthur.
The state intends to seek the death penalty against Rita, who never fired a shot in the 13-hour standoff and wasn’t in the house where the shootings took place, but is charged with accessory before the fact of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and misprision of a felony, which is failing to report the planning of a crime.
One of Rita Bixby’s attorneys, Jeffery Bloom, said in court this week that the state’s notice to seek the death penalty violates state law and the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution.
Bloom said the defense is looking at the “cruel and unusual punishment” aspect of the amendment. He said the case of Enmund v. Florida (1982) introduces a precedent that the death penalty is reserved for those who participate “fully” in a murder. Bloom said that, in Rita’s case, she hasn’t been charged with murder and was not there at the time of the killings, which allegedly stemmed from a road-widening dispute. Bloom said he’s found no state in the country where a person has been sentenced to death on a charge of accessory to murder.
But the chief prosecutor, Eighth Circuit Solicitor Jerry Peace, said he sees the Enmund case working to his advantage, as well as the S.C. Code of Law.
So, both sides are pointing to South Carolina legislation, the Constitution and the same court precedent as key points in their cases.
“It’s actually pretty rare to come into a case where there is no precedent,” Peace said. “ It’s the first time I’ve run into an issue where you look and there’s no case in South Carolina on the issue. It’s rare in criminal law. You see it in civil law more than criminal.”
But that isn’t going to stop Peace from trying to create a precedent.
“I think we made an excellent argument (in the prosecution’s court filing) based on the fact and based on the law,” Peace said. “It’s the judge’s decision.”
In the state’s court filing, S.C. Code of Law, Section 16-1-40 — accessory is presented as saying “a person who aids in the commission of a felony or is an accessory before the fact in the commission of a felony by counseling, hiring or otherwise procuring the felony to be committed is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be punished in the manner prescribed for the punishment of the principal felon.”
“The law is plain,” Peace said. “There are no offenses excluded.”
The state contends in its court filing that Rita made statements to state highway employees that she would protect her property to “her last breath” and that she would “kill anyone who came on her land.”
The state says it should be up to a jury to decide whether Rita had intentions to kill. It’s the state’s argument, in its filing, that Rita was an active participant in the whole scenario.
The state admits there are no reported cases in South Carolina that deal with accessory before the fact to murder being subject to the death penalty. But the state will try to forge a precedent by pointing to the S.C. Code of Law, arguing it allows for the punishment for accessory to a crime to be equivalent to the penalty for that crime.
In Enmund, the question before the court was whether death was a valid penalty under the Eighth and 14th Amendments to the Constitution for someone who neither took life, attempted to take life nor intended to take life. It is the last part, “nor intended to take life,” that the state intends to focus on. It will argue Rita intended to take life because of comments she allegedly made to the highway employees.
Peace said setting a precedent is not as big of an obstacle as it often appears. He said a prosecutor must convince someone his argument is logical — and present it in such a manner that the court would adopt the argument and set a precedent.
Precedent-setting cases then become something of great importance in law. They are pored over by law clerks and used as trump cards by prosecution and defense attorneys — so much so that films centering on precedents have steamed off Hollywood sets and onto the big screen and made at least one novelist, John Grisham, a household name.
Peace says he’s confident about the state’s case for the death penalty.
“I think we made an excellent argument (in the brief) based on the fact and based on the law,” he said.
It’s up to 10th Circuit Judge Alexander Macaulay, who is presiding over the case, to rule whether Rita and son Steven are eligible for the death penalty. He’s given attorneys an April 21st deadline to file any additional arguments, and he could rule on the defense motion to suppress the death penalty for Rita by May 8.
Regional Editor Vic MacDonald contributed to this article.

Lakeview principal jumps
through hoops for her kids

April 8, 2006

By JACKIE R. BROACH
Index-Journal staff writer

As Lakeview Elementary School Principal Ginny Metts hopped and twirled on a stage Friday afternoon, all the while shuffling and maneuvering an armful of Hula Hoops, her audience of students and teachers was captivated.
The students worked hard for five weeks to earn the show, but the looks on their faces as they laughed and clapped, sometimes clutching their stomachs as they doubled over in giggles, made it apparent that the reward was well worth the effort.
Metts performed the “hoop dance” — which she learned earlier that morning from an area group of Native Americans, the Catawbas — as a reward for the students’ accomplishments in reading. The students had been challenged to read as many minutes as they could over the course of five weeks and finished the challenge this week with a total of 309,720 minutes.
“They really rose to the challenge,” said Frances Gilliam, Lakeview’s media specialist. “Reading is something the entire district has been stressing this year, and we wanted to find a way to make everybody at Lakeview want to read more.”
Faculty members looked for ways to show students that reading can be fun, rather than just something you have to do in school. One method they used was featuring different faculty members on the campus news show and having them talk about what kinds of books they enjoy reading and where and when they like to read.
Metts’ performance capped a full day of celebration for the entire school that included a visit by author Donna Rathmell, Myrtle Beach volleyball and shagging demonstrations, among other things. The one thing each activity had in common was a South Carolina theme, Gilliam said. The theme for the day was “nothing could be finer than to read in South Carolina.”
In addition to reading, students learned a great deal about South Carolina during their challenge. They read a number of South Carolina-themed books, watched a video about the state and learned about state symbols and other facts.
“We talked about all the things South Carolina is famous for, right down to our accents,” Gilliam said. “People are moving here from all over the world, and we wanted to make them understand why they should be proud of who we are.”
Activities ran from 9 a.m.-2 p.m., and Gilliam said every student in the school got to take part in every activity.

Bryan says goodbye to Vikings

After 1 season at EHS, coach leaving for Pikeville College

April 8, 2006

By RON COX
Index-Journal sports writer

Fourteen months and one day ago, Mac Bryan enthusiastically introduced himself to the Emerald High School students, coaches and administration during an assembly.
Friday, Bryan somberly told to a similar Emerald he was leaving.
Bryan resigned as the Vikings’ second athletic director and head football coach to become the third head coach at Pikeville College, an NAIA school in Pikeville, Ky.
“The hard part was doing what we had to do today (Friday), in telling friends and fine young people that I’m not going to be here after spring break,” said Bryan, who was hired to take over for longtime Vikings’ coach Frank Hill. “You get very attached to the friendships and the players. I have always thought I was close to my players.
“Now, I’ve got a college program on my shoulders and I have to put a staff together, and I have to get that moving. and there are hungry kids up there that want someone to come and take care of them.”
Pikesville is Bryan’s second collegiate head coaching position.
The 24-year coaching veteran was the head man at Lees-McRae College for five seasons, where he was twice named the National Junior College Athletic Association Region X coach of the year.
Bryan’s resignation took effect immediately. Bryan said he expects to be in Pikeville as early as Tuesday, and plans to meet with his new football team Wednesday.
Hill, who served as A.D. and football coach for 22 years at Emerald, including its first 10 years as a high school, will take over Bryan’s athletic director duties for the remainder of the school year, said Randy Vaughn, the Greenwood school district 50 assistant superintendent for human resources.
Vaughn said he hopes to have Bryan’s replacement in place before the end of the school year.
As for Bryan’s time at Emerald, Superintendent William Steed said in a statement, “Mac Bryan created an atmosphere of excitement at Emerald with the open offense. We are disappointed in his departure after one season, but we do understand that individuals have goals and many high school head coaches have a dream of coaching at the college level.”
In his one season at Emerald, Bryan guided the Vikings’ football team to its first outright Region III-AA title, as the squad finished 11-3 overall and 4-1 in the region, and reached the Class AA Upper State finals. Emerald lost to region-rival and eventual state champion Batesburg-Leesville.
Despite spending only one year as coach, Bryan hopes he’s left a mark on his student-athletes.
“The main thing is that I hope the kids have learned hard work and commitment from me,” Bryan said. “How hard you have to go after something, if you want it. I hope we taught some of that along the way.”
For Bryan, taking the job at Pikeville is a homecoming for the North Carolina native. Bryan was the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator during the program’s first two seasons (2000-01), under current Newberry College head coach Zak Willis.
“My ultimate objective was to get a small college coaching job. And when this job (Emerald) came open and the five years was up, I thought it felt good and I was going to coach high school football from now on,” Bryan said. “And when this (Pikeville) came open, I knew the folks there and got contacted and we got talking. They made the situation good for me.
“I just felt like if I was ever going to have a shot at doing what I thought I wanted to do this was the only shot. This was the shot I had to take.”
Bryan takes over for Jerry Mynatt, resign in early February after three seasons at Pikeville. Mynatt left as the program’s winningest coach at 19-12, including an 8-3 mark in 2004 and 7-3 last season.
“The program is steadily climbing, but I think they did lose a number of seniors. I would say we’re probably in a rebuilding year,” Bryan said. “ But I don’t know how the recruiting has gone. I don’t know what the numbers are like. I don’t know if we can fix that in such short of time.
“We have to get spring ball or some semblance of that in the next few weeks because they are out of school in May.” Ron Cox covers prep sports for The Index-Journal. He can be reached at: ronc@indexjournal.com

Opinion

This is a nation of laws; can we obey selectively?

April 8, 2006

What’s wrong with this picture? Thousands of illegal immigrants take to the streets of the United States to protest plans to tighten the nation’s immigration laws and to seek ways to approach one of the most perplexing problems facing us. Many of them carry Mexican flags.
Millions of illegals are in this country and the demonstrations obviously raise questions for many South Carolinians, as well as other Americans.
One question: If the protesters are illegal, why should they be allowed, in huge numbers, to protest the duly-approved laws of this nation?
Another question: Can they rightfully claim constitutional rights when they are illegal?

THIRD QUESTION; WHAT IF thousands of illegals came here from China or Iraq. Would they be allowed to march in protest of our laws while carrying the flags of their respective nations?
It’s obviously a complex situation. Still, this is a sovereign nation. Does that give it the right to pass and uphold its own laws?
What does sovereignty mean? Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary says, it is “a supreme power, especially over a body politic.” It also says it is “freedom from external control: autonomy,” and “controlling influence.”
Does that mean that our laws are our laws? Or can illegal immigrants hijack them?

THEN, OF COURSE, THERE’S the question of whether the protesting illegals are anarchists. The dictionary says an anarchist is “one who rebels against authority, established order, or ruling power.”
It is indeed a complex problem, and there are many ways to look at it. Finding solutions may require the patience of Job and the wisdom of Solomon. The core factor, though, is paramount ..... or should be. There is a law involved. Actually, laws have been ignored and broken. Can lawmakers simply consider that we are a nation of laws, which we are expected to obey and uphold, and at the same time pretend it’s OK for illegals to selectively obey or flout them?

Obituaries

Mary Cochran Ballard

ABBEVILLE — Mary Cochran Ballard, 98, widow of Mack N. Ballard Sr., died Friday, April 7, 2006 at the Carlisle Nursing Center in Due West.
Services will be announced by Harris Funeral Home.

Sammie Coleman

Sammie Gambrell Coleman, 88, of 1000 Old Abbeville Highway, widow of Joseph Edward Coleman, died Friday, April 7, 2006. Born in Ware Shoals, she was a daughter of the late Samuel Parker and Hattie Gunter Gambrell. She was a graduate of Ware Shoals High School and the Greenwood College of Commerce. She was former co-owner and operator of Coleman’s Bar-B-Q and was a member of West Side Baptist Church.
Survivors include a son, Eddie Coleman of the home.
Services are 4 p.m. Sunday at Blyth Funeral Home, conducted by the Rev. Hal Lane. Burial is in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers are Bill Link, Glenn Link, Chuck Coursey, Mike Coursey, Steve Gambrell and Sam Gambrell.
Visitation is 3-4 Sunday at the funeral home.
The family is at the home.
Memorials may be made to West Side Baptist Church, PO Box 216, Greenwood, SC 29648 or HospiceCare of the Piedmont, 408 W. Alexander Ave., Greenwood, SC 29646.
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Service is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.blythfuneralhome.com

Guy Copeland

ABBEVILLE — Guy Hunter Copeland Jr, 85, of Wiley Care, Due West Retirement Center, husband of Margaret Gilliam Copeland, died Friday, April 7, 2006 at Self Regional Medical Center in Greenwood.
Services will be announced by The Chandler-Jackson Funeral Home.

Vernon Craven

GREENWOOD — Vernon Winston Craven, 84, resident of 504 Beechwood Circle, husband of Marie Elizabeth Simpson Craven, died April 7, 2006 at Hospice House.
Born in Orangeburg County, October 31, 1921, he was a son of the late Pricey Winston, Sr. and Ivey Jones Craven. He was US Army Veteran and POW of WW II and was retired from South Carolina Department of Public Transportation after 40 years of service.
A member of South Main Street Baptist Church, he was also a member of the Baracca Sunday School Class of the church and the POW Club of Greenwood.
Surviving in addition to his wife of the home are a daughter, Nancy C. Creswell and husband, James of Greenwood; a granddaughter, Amy Creswell Haynes and husband, Tracy of Ware Shoals; a grandson, J.W. Creswell and wife, Angie of Greenwood; a great-great granddaughter, Anslee Haynes of Ware Shoals; a sister, Irene Murphy and a sister-in-law, Mrs. P.W. (Mary) Craven, both of Orangeburg.
Funeral services will be conducted at 11 am Monday from the Blyth Funeral Home Chapel with Dr. Phillip McMinn officiating.
Burial will be in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers will be Matthew Ashley, Gene Thomas, Ron Lucas, Willie Murphy, Randy McFarland and Daryl Dodgen.
Honorary escort will be members of the Baracca Sunday School Class along with Frank and Susie Wilson and Ralph and Shirley Swygert.
The family is at the home on Beechwood Circle and will receive friends from 10 to 11 Monday morning at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to Hospice House, 408 W. Alexander Avenue, Greenwood, SC 29646.
For online condolences please visit www.blythfuneralhome.com.
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is assisting the Craven family.
PAID OBITUARY

Rev. Patricia Griffith-Fallaw

GREER — The Rev. Patricia Ann Griffith-Fallaw, M.Div., of 16 Misty Oak Drive, wife of Billy Fallaw, died Wednesday, April 5, 2006 at Duke University Medical Center.
Survivors include her husband; three children, William Grant, Ann Morgan and Charles Ross; her mother, Clara Griffith; and a brother, Philip Griffith.
Services are 4 p.m. Sunday at Buncombe Street United Methodist Church, Greenville.
Visitation is 3-4 Sunday and after the service, in the church commons.
Memorials may be made to the Rev. Patty Griffith-Fallaw Scholarship Fund, c/o Main Street United Methodist Church, 211 N. Main St., Greenwood, SC 29646.
The Mackey Mortuary, Century Drive, Greenville, is in charge.

Doug Gunter

GREENWOOD — George Douglas “Doug” Gunter, 47, resident of 119 Salak Road, husband of Susann Hurst Gunter, died April 6, 2006 at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC.
Doug was born in Greenwood March 19, 1959. He was a graduate of Greenwood High School and attended many schools and training programs through South Carolina Law Enforcement. He obtained the rank of Lieutenant with the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office while serving in the Narcotics Division and was more recently serving through the County Magistrate’s Office.
He was a member of South Main Street Baptist Church and attended Rice Memorial Baptist Church. He was also a member of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Association and Greenwood Masonic Lodge #91 A.F.M.
Surviving in addition to his wife of the home are his parents, Mary Ann and Steve Alexander and William David, Sr. and Edna Earle Gunter of Greenwood, three daughters, Micki Gunter of Ninety Six, Georgia Gunter and Susanna Gunter of the home, three brothers; Buddy, and wife Barbara Gunter of Greenwood, Travis, and wife Johanna Gunter of Roebuck and Cam Gunter of Greenwood.
Funeral services will be conducted at 3 PM Sunday at Rice Memorial Baptist Church with Rev. Ryan Eklund and Rev. Jimmy Tucker officiating.
Burial with honors will be in Oakbrook Memorial Park.
Pallbearers will be the Honor Guard of the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office.
Honorary escort will be officers and retired officers of the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office.
The body is at Blyth Funeral Home and will be placed in the church at 2 PM Sunday.
The family is at their respective homes and will receive friends at the funeral home from 7 to 9 Saturday evening. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Doug Gunter Memorial Fund, c/o Bank of America, 323 Main Street, Greenwood, SC 29646.
For online condolences please visit www.blythfuneralhome.com
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is assisting the Gunter family.
PAID OBITUARY

Annette Moss

ABBEVILLE, SC — Paula “Annette” Chastine Moss, 43, resident of 116 Meadow Ridge Rd. wife of Jimmy Moss died Thursday April 6, 2006 at Greenville Memorial Hospital.
Born in Greenwood Co. SC she was a daughter of Frankie and Pauline Weathers Chastine.
Annette was employed with Abbeville Co. School District 60 as a teacher’s aid at Westwood Elementary School. Annette’s main love in life was her joy in working with children.
Survivors are: husband Jimmy Moss of the home, 1 daughter Kayla Woodhurst of the home, 2 brothers David Chastine of Greenwood, SC and Ray Chastine of Ware Shoals, SC, her parents Frankie and Pauline Weathers Chastine of Ware Shoals, SC and 2 godchildren Austin and Nathan Knox.
Funeral services will be conducted Sunday April 9, 2006 at 3:00 PM from Main St. United Methodist Church in Abbeville, SC with the Rev. Randy Taylor officiating. The burial will follow in Forest Lawn Memory Gardens.
The body is at The Chandler-Jackson Funeral Home where the family will receive friends from 5:00 until 7:30 PM Saturday evening. The family is at the home of her sister-in law Roger and Judy Davis 145 Airport Rd. Abbeville, SC.
Memorials may be made to Hospice of the Piedmont 408 West Alexander Ave. Greenwood, SC 29646.
Online condolences may be sent to the Moss family by visiting www.chandlerjacksonfh.com.
THE CHANDLER-JACKSON FUNERAL HOME, ABBEVILLE, SC IS IN CHARGE OF ARRANGEMENTS.
PAID OBITUARY

Stanley Sullivan

Stanley Carl Sullivan, 44, of 322 Saddle Hill Road, died Thursday, April 6, 2006 from injuries sustained in an automobile accident.
Born in Portsmouth, Va., he was a son of Carl Mason and Alberta Galloway Sullivan. He was a graduate of Greenwood High School and Lander College. Formerly employed as a sales manager by Greenwood Memorial Gardens, he was a member of West Side Baptist Church and Masonic Lodge No. 91 A.F.M.
Survivors include his parents of the home; a brother, Richard P. Sullivan of Irmo; and a sister, Diane S. Smith of Lexington.
Memorial services are 2 p.m. Sunday at Blyth Funeral Home, conducted by the Rev. Hal Lane.
Visitation is 1-2 Sunday at the funeral home.
The family is at the home.
Memorials may be made to West Side Baptist Church, 215 Bypass 225 S., Greenwood, SC 29646 or National Parkinson Foundation, 1501 N.W. 9th Ave., Bob Hope Road, Miami, FL 33136-1494.
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.blythfuneralhome.com

Frank Oliver Wilson

COLUMBIA — A private mass of Christian burial for Frank Oliver Wilson will be held for the immediate family at Bush River Memorial Gardens Mausoleum. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to SC State Library Talking Book Services, PO Box 821, Columbia, SC 29202-0821. Caughman - Harman Funeral Home, Irmo/St. Andrews Chapel is in charge of the arrangements.
Mr. Wilson died April 6, 2006. He was a former Clemson graduate, US Army officer and Social Security Administration retiree.
Mr. Wilson is survived by his beloved wife, Mary Jo Kilcoyne Wilson; two sons, Rusty (Nancy) Wilson of Ninety Six and Mark (Donna) Wilson of Columbia; a daughter-in-law, Lesley Wilson and three grandchildren. He is predeceased by a son, Eric Wilson.
www.caughmanharmanfuneralhome.com
PAID OBITUARY

Julia Mae Young

Honea Path — Julia Mae Boggs Young, 65, of 701 Chiquola Avenue, wife of Bobby Ray Young, died Wednesday, April 5, 2006, at the Hospice House in Anderson.
Born in Greenwood County, she was a daughter of the late Sam and Eula Mae Taylor Boggs. She was retired from Becton-Dickinson and was a member of the Honea Path First Assembly of God.
Surviving are her husband of the home; two brothers, James Alfred Boggs and Cecil Boggs, both of Ware Shoals; three sisters-in-law, Betty Jean Boggs, Susie Boggs, and Virginia Boggs, all of Ware Shoals; two nephews, Ray Boggs and Jimmy Boggs; four nieces, Sandra Anderson, Terri Smith, Ann Cooley, and Debbie Boggs. She was predeceased by a son, Mitchell Ray Young, and by two brothers, Taylor Boggs and Clarence Boggs.
Funeral services will be held 2:00 P.M. Saturday at the Honea Path First Assembly of God with Rev. Harmon Adkins and Rev. Mac Jones officiating. Burial will follow in the Garden of Memories.
The family will receive friends from 6-8:00 P.M. Friday at Pruitt Funeral Home. The body will be placed in the church at 1:00 P.M. Saturday. Memorials may be made to Hospice of the Upstate, 1835 Rogers Rd., Anderson, SC 29621. The family is at the home.
PAID OBITUARY