Constitutional and Statutory Violations in the Case of Murray “Bubba” Lawrence Jr.

This case represents one of the most egregious breakdowns of constitutional protections in modern Alabama history. The violations below are drawn from the official AO 241 Habeas Corpus Petition and Exhibits 1 through 13C, supported by verified transcripts, witness statements, and record evidence.

Due Process and Suppression of Evidence

Brady v. Maryland (1963)
The prosecution must disclose all evidence favorable to the accused.
Violated when the State withheld autopsy results proving strangulation, concealed exculpatory witness interviews, and hid early taped statements from Tonya Mixson, Brooks Miller, and Cynthia Weston.

United States v. Agurs (1976)
Failure to disclose evidence affecting witness credibility violates due process even without a request.
Prosecution and investigators withheld information showing multiple witnesses were coerced, rewarded, or threatened.

United States v. Bagley (1985)
Undisclosed evidence is material if there is a reasonable probability it would have altered the outcome.
Autopsy suppression, phone logs, and altered witness statements meet this standard.

Kyles v. Whitley (1995)
Prosecutors are responsible for all suppression by State agents.
DA Whetstone and his investigators concealed autopsy results, forensic reports, and witness intimidation carried out by Baldwin County Sheriff’s officers.

Chambers v. Mississippi (1973)
Blocking exculpatory witnesses or evidence denies a fair trial.
The defense was prevented from calling Brooks Miller and other witnesses whose statements would have refuted the State’s timeline.

Use of False or Fabricated Testimony

Napue v. Illinois (1959)
Knowingly presenting false testimony violates due process.
False statements were elicited from Jarius McNeil, Kathleen Blair Gordon, and two jail informants who received secret benefits.

Mooney v. Holohan (1935)
Convictions based on perjury or falsified evidence violate fundamental justice.
The firearm story, rewritten statements, and altered autopsy findings all qualify as fabricated evidence.

Berger v. United States (1935)
Prosecutors must pursue justice, not merely conviction.
DA Whetstone used inflammatory rhetoric, misrepresented facts, and manipulated evidence to secure a verdict.

United States v. Russell (1973)
Government creation of facts to support conviction constitutes misconduct.
Investigators invented the “gunshot murder” narrative and rewrote testimony to fabricate Alabama jurisdiction.

Coerced Confession and Witness Intimidation

Brown v. Mississippi (1936)
Coerced confessions are unconstitutional.
Sgt. Dean McGowan and Sheriff Huey “Hoss” Mack threatened Jarius McNeil with the death penalty unless he implicated Murray.

Arizona v. Fulminante (1991)
A coerced confession can never be treated as harmless error.
McNeil’s altered confession formed the foundation of the conviction and tainted the entire trial.

Giglio v. United States (1972)
Failure to disclose leniency or promises to witnesses violates due process.
Witnesses including Tonya Mixson, Damien Heard, and Cynthia Weston were threatened or rewarded, yet their deals were hidden from the jury.

Jurisdictional and Indictment Violations

Ex parte Wesley (Ala. 1985)
An indictment cannot be amended to charge a new offense without a new grand jury.
The original indictment charged a gunshot homicide in Alabama, yet the State proved strangulation in Mississippi.

Ex parte Allred (Ala. 1981)
A prosecutor cannot amend an indictment without the defendant’s consent.
The trial court allowed the State to change both cause and location of death.

Nunn v. Baker (Ala. 1987)
A state court has no jurisdiction over an offense committed outside its territory.
Death occurred in Gautier, Mississippi. Alabama never had subject matter jurisdiction.

Pace v. State (Ala. Crim. App. 1994)
Variance between indictment and proof violates due process.
The indictment alleged gunshot murder; the State’s evidence proved ligature strangulation.

Rule 13.5(a), Alabama Rules of Criminal Procedure
An indictment cannot be amended to charge a new offense.
The judge permitted an illegal amendment of cause of death.

Rule 32.1(b), Alabama Rules of Criminal Procedure
Allows post-conviction relief where the trial court lacked jurisdiction.
Applied in Murray’s federal habeas petition as the central jurisdictional claim.

Ineffective Assistance and Attorney Abandonment

Strickland v. Washington (1984)
Ineffective assistance violates the Sixth Amendment.
Murray’s defense counsel failed to challenge jurisdiction, neglected to subpoena alibi witnesses, and failed to object to fabricated evidence.

Cronic v. United States (1984)
Complete failure to subject the prosecution to adversarial testing constitutes denial of counsel.
Counsel did not object when the State changed the theory of death mid-trial.

Exhibit 11 of the Habeas Petition
Documents attorney abandonment and bar complaint.
Defense counsel failed to communicate, file timely motions, or preserve issues for appeal.

Prosecutorial Misconduct

Darden v. Wainwright (1986)
Improper argument can render a trial fundamentally unfair.
Whetstone used racially charged and inflammatory closing statements.

Berger v. United States (1935)
Prosecutors must not mislead or overreach.
Whetstone misrepresented physical evidence, withheld autopsy reports, and allowed false testimony.

Denial of Fair and Impartial Jury

Turner v. Louisiana (1965)
Juror contact with State witnesses violates the Sixth Amendment.
Juror Mari Herman admitted daily contact with jury foreperson Richard McKibbon.

Parker v. Gladden (1966)
Extrajudicial comments to jurors compromise impartiality.
Jurors discussed evidence privately in violation of court instructions.

Exhibit 7 of Habeas Petition – Jury Misconduct and Improper Influence
Post-trial evidence confirms bias and juror collaboration with State representatives.

Equal Protection and Racial Discrimination

Batson v. Kentucky (1986)
Race-based exclusion of jurors violates Equal Protection.
Voir dire transcripts show systematic removal of Black jurors, leaving one on the panel.

Whitus v. Georgia (1967)
Racial bias in jury selection violates Equal Protection.
Racial prejudice was evident in voir dire questions and juror remarks.

McCleskey v. Kemp (1987)
Discriminatory enforcement of criminal laws violates Equal Protection.
The case targeted an African American man involved with a white woman and included racially charged questioning of female witnesses.

Fabrication and Chain of Custody Failures

Violations of Brady, Napue, and Mooney occurred through altered evidence and false documentation:

• Steve Griffis fabricated a quote implicating Murray’s father and introduced the untested “Steadman gun.”

• Dean McGowan and Huey Mack created a second confession after sentencing.

• Al Mattox altered his forensic findings to match the gun theory.

• Jeff Shaw’s statement was rewritten to switch gun ownership from Jarius to Murray.

• Anthony Lowery oversaw tampered chain of custody and missing exhibits.

• Tony Fuqua attended the Mississippi autopsy confirming strangulation, later removed from the case.

• Vickie Broadus certified the death certificate showing strangulation; her report was withheld.

Additional Violations Reflected in Habeas Exhibits

Exhibit 1 – Alibi Witness Statement (Tonya Mixson)
Threatened with arrest and loss of her child unless she changed her statement.

Exhibit 2 – Voir Dire Transcript & Murray Sr. Cross-Examination
Records racial bias and improper judicial conduct during jury selection.

Exhibit 3 – Jarius McNeil Testimony & Plea Deal
Proves coerced confession and hidden sentencing agreement.

Exhibit 4 – Lack of Physical Evidence
No blood, DNA, weapon, or fingerprints linked to Murray.

Exhibit 5 – Phone Records & Cell Tower 1391
Proves timeline impossible; suppressed at trial.

Exhibit 6 – Volunteer Reconstruction Timeline
Corroborates defense alibi using verified distance and time calculations.

Exhibit 7 – Jury Misconduct and Improper Influence
Confirms juror communications and bias.

Exhibit 8 – Withheld Exculpatory Evidence
Includes interviews, photos, and reports never provided to defense.

Exhibit 9 – Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
Demonstrates abandonment of critical defenses.

Exhibit 10 – Prosecutorial Misconduct
Details perjury, suppression, and racial bias by the DA’s office.

Exhibit 11 – Attorney Abandonment
Documented in bar complaint and supporting correspondence.

Exhibit 12 – Prison Obstruction of Habeas Filing
Prison officials interfered with outgoing legal mail to prevent timely filing.

Cumulative Constitutional Impact

The combined violations of the Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments, along with Articles I, Sections 6, 11, and 13 of the Alabama Constitution, constitute a total denial of due process, equal protection, and the right to a fair and impartial trial.

Every conviction arising from these circumstances is void as a matter of law.