Court denies Ginn appeal

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

GINN

The man who stabbed his longtime friend to death and then tried to stage the scene to fool lawmen into thinking he had acted in self-defense had his appeal denied recently by the court of appeals.

The defendant, Jeremiah Ginn, 29, will continue serving his 24-year sentence for the second-degree murder of Robert Webb Jr., 26, which happened outside Ginn’s home. His next option could be an appeal before the state Supreme Court. However, the high court only accepts a limited number of cases per year. Ginn had asked for reprieve from the appellate court, saying admissions against his interests had been used against him in trial and that certain photographs prejudicial against him were allowed before the jury.

During trial, prosecutors showed Ginn confronted Webb with a knife when Webb came to his house and started trouble, stabbing the victim 19 times. Webb was reportedly mad over a drug deal that failed to go down earlier in the evening.

It was Webb’s appearance at Ginn’s house which accounted for the sole mitigating factor in the case during sentencing, saving Ginn from the maximum 25-year sentence, as the court found Ginn acted under “strong provocation” when Webb came to his residence and began yelling and challenging him to come outside and fight.

Ginn claimed he thought Webb had a gun on his person, prompting him to arm himself with a knife. However, it was the chain of events which followed the initial confrontation which brought the near maximum sentence to Ginn. During trial, witnesses told the jury that Ginn attacked Webb a second time as he lay on the ground suffering grave knife wounds from the first round of stabbings. The defendant reportedly said he intended to finish the victim off during the second attack.

Following the second attack, Ginn went to Webb’s vehicle and retrieved the victim’s gun which was still in his truck.

Ginn then staged the crime scene by firing a round into his trailer to make it look as if Webb had fired at him. Ginn admitted to staging the scene when authorities questioned him about the unusual angle of the round which hit his trailer.

In supporting the jury verdict and the sentence, members of the tribunal went so far as to say Ginn’s actions could have even supported a conviction for first-degree murder. He will be required to serve 100 percent of his sentence.