Georgia criminal defense lawyer wins acquittal on murder, aggravated assault and child cruelty charges
On Tuesday, a DeKalb County jury acquitted a man of murdering a 2-year-old. The child was killed in early 2007 by a blow to the stomach that caused her internal organs to rupture.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution has the story.
Rodney Terrell Hood was arrested for the death Maya Johnson and charged with cruelty to children, aggravated assault, felony murder and malice murder. Hood had been living with Maya’s mother for a few months in an apartment. Hood’s three children who ranged in age from 3 to 5 also lived in the apartment. On the night Maya was killed, her mother had gone out for the evening and left Hood in charge of the kids. Sometime while she was out, Maya sustained a blow to the abdomen which nearly caused her organs to explode.
Hood’s attorney, Corinne M. Mull, argued that one of the other children caused the fatal blow and not Hood. Mull produced evidence that one of the boys was removed from a day care for kicking a child in the head. Another boy was taken off a bus for kicking a child in the face. Most importantly, Mull showed that one child had previously jumped off a piece of furniture and landed on Maya’s abdomen. That incident scarred her pancreas. Mull argued that whichever child caused the scarred pancreas was also the child that caused her death.
The prosecution had Maya’s mother testify that Hood fled the morning after Maya died. However, the defense countered the mother’s testimony by discrediting her. Mull showed that the mother failed to protect Maya from previous abuse, and that Maya lost custody of the three other children. The prosecution even admitted that she was not a very good mother. After the verdict was read, the prosecution still maintained that there was no evidence to support the claim that one of the three children killed Maya.
Our criminal defense attorneys have won numerous acquittals for clients who have been charged with serious violent crimes. In murder cases, a good defense lawyer will track down, interview, obtain criminal histories and employ the help of investigators and experts when investigating the backgrounds of all parties involved. Such diligence can often lead to a dismissal or acquittal, as it did in this case.
Pate & Brody is an accomplished Georgia law firm with offices in Atlanta, Macon and Madison. Our lawyers are dedicated to pursuing justice for people charged with serious crimes. We have successfully represented clients facing serious federal criminal charges and state criminal charges in courts across Georgia. Our lawyers have been recognized on the list of Georgia's "Super Lawyers", and included among Georgia's "Legal Elite" by Georgia Trend Magazine. Page Pate was recently the Chairman of the Criminal Law Section of the Atlanta Bar Association.
