THIBODAUX, La. — THIBODAUX, La (AP) — A state appeal court has upheld a Louisiana man’s conviction and consecutive life sentences for a double murder in December 2018.
Jerrell Alexander, 31, of Raceland, is in the Louisiana State Penitentiary for killing Marcel Turner, 26, of Thibodaux, and Jeremiah Ballard, 23, of Raceland, during a holdup in the garage of a home in Raceland.
His lawyers argued, among other things, that jury instructions about “unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling” were confusing because the garage was a neighborhood gathering spot, The Courier reported.
“Whatever the relationship between the victims and the defendant, there was nothing presented at trial to indicate the victims authorized armed gunmen wearing masks to enter the garage to rob and/or kill them,” the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal wrote in a ruling handed down Monday.
The instruction in question involved manslaughter, which jurors could have chosen rather than the second-degree murder charges on which they convicted Alexander.
His brother, Kerry Alexander, was convicted in June on the same charge.
The appellate court in Baton Rouge also rejected claims that Jerrell Alexander’s sentence was excessive. Life in prison is the only possible sentence for second-degree murder. But making the sentences back-to-back was too much, the appeal argued.
Consecutive sentences were warranted both by the crime’s brutality and Alexander’s record as a repeat offender with convictions for armed robbery and attempted second-degree murder, the three-judge panel said.
It also rejected a challenge to the state’s gunshot-residue expert and claims that Alexander’s lawyer should have been allowed to see whether the witness who identified him from a photo lineup could do so from alternative photo lineups.
Assistant District Attorney Joe Soignet, who handles appeals for Lafourche Parish, declined to comment because Kerry Alexander’s case is still pending.
