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Battle of biblical ideals emerges in Hillsborough murder case

 
Assistant Public Defender Mike Peacock, an ordained minister, did not make any religious statements during the trial of Richard McTear Jr., who was found guilty on July 31 of killing his girlfriend’s 3-month-old son. But during the penalty phase, Assistant Public Defender Theda James asked jurors to spare McTear’s life. “We should leave vengeance to the Lord. It doesn’t belong in this courtroom,” she said. Prosecutors objected.
Assistant Public Defender Mike Peacock, an ordained minister, did not make any religious statements during the trial of Richard McTear Jr., who was found guilty on July 31 of killing his girlfriend’s 3-month-old son. But during the penalty phase, Assistant Public Defender Theda James asked jurors to spare McTear’s life. “We should leave vengeance to the Lord. It doesn’t belong in this courtroom,” she said. Prosecutors objected.
Published Sept. 6, 2014

TAMPA — In the beginning, there were three grisly murders of Old Testament proportions.

A day after Mother's Day in 2008, Hillsborough sheriff deputies found Lisa Freiberg's mutilated corpse and the bodies of her children, 7-year-old Zachary and Savannah, 2. Her boyfriend, Edward Covington, was found in his underwear, in a closet.

A month before Covington is set to go on trial on three charges of first-degree murder, prosecutors have asked a judge to bar defense attorneys from getting biblical with jurors.

In a motion filed late last week, prosecutor Jay Pruner said the public defenders representing Covington should be prohibited from making "any religious arguments to the jury" should there be a penalty phase, when jurors decide whether to give a defendant the death sentence. That includes using the phrases "a society based on Christian principles" and any reference to "our sins being forgiven by God's mercy."

"It is respectfully submitted that religious arguments have no place in a criminal trial," Pruner wrote. A spokesman for the Hillsborough State Attorney's Office said he would not discuss the motion, as the case is ongoing.

Though the request might seem unusual, it appears to be grounded in events from a recent murder trial.

A month ago, the same defense attorneys who are representing Covington argued on behalf of Richard McTear Jr., who was accused of murdering his girlfriend's infant son by throwing him onto the side of an interstate in Hillsborough County. During the penalty phase, Assistant Public Defender Theda James asked jurors to spare McTear's life.

"We should leave vengeance to the Lord. It doesn't belong in this courtroom," she said as prosecutors loudly objected.

Then she turned to the Bible, beginning to quote from James 2:13 before another objection from prosecutors silenced her.

"Pray for forgiveness," she told jurors, who rejected the death penalty for McTear. The other defense attorney working McTear's case, Assistant Public Defender Mike Peacock, is an ordained minister, but he did not make any religious statements during the trial.

In their response to the motion, attorneys for Covington argued that Florida law clearly bars prosecutors from using religion to invoke jurors' sympathy for the victim. But defense attorneys have more leeway, they said.

It's not unheard of for lawyers to ask judges to bar religious statements, said University of Florida law professor Bob Dekle, but typically it's the defense attorneys making the request. Whereas James pulled from the New Testament, prosecutors are sometimes known to quote from the Old Testament's brand of "life for life" justice.

"Any reference to religious reasons for finding a verdict one way or another is improper," Dekle said, quickly clarifying: "Improper in the eyes of the law. Not necessarily improper in the eyes of the almighty."

Contact Anna M. Phillips at aphillips@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3354. Follow @annamphillips.