Congratulations to Katie Weiss and Ginny Foard for a job well done. Twelve Nashville citizens on the jury unanimously agreed, after hearing the trial evidence, that Reginald Terry was not guilty of aggravated rape and not guilty of aggravated burglary.
The victim said she was at home asleep when she was awakened by a man who placed a pillow over her head and raped her. She did not see him, but she heard his voice. A window of the house had been opened. Her purse was also taken. A month later, a police officer found her purse and keys near Mr. Terry’s home. He lived in the same neighborhood as the victim, and he was on the sex offender registry.
After the jury verdict was returned, jurors commented that there simply was not enough proof to tie Mr. Terry to the crime.
Congratulations to Cesar Melaneo and his defense team of Mary-Kathryn Harcombe, Jerrilyn Manning and Investigators Amber Kaset and Luis Acevedo. Mr. Melaneo was indicted for 2nd degree murder. After a 5-day-long jury trial, the jury returned in an hour and a half with the lesser offense of manslaughter. Mr. Melaneo’s victory is due in large part to the thorough and extensive preparation done over the past two years by his defense team.
After the trial a juror emailed Dawn Deaner the following: “From a juror’s perspective…..it seemed like it would be an extremely difficult case to work on. Between the complexity of the circumstances and the language issues, it seemed to me that only the best, most prepared, and most intelligent attorneys would be able to handle this case and give the defendant a fair chance. Ms. Harcombe and Ms. Manning did a superb job.”
PUBLIC DEFENDER'S OFFICE receives highly competitive federal grant award
The Public Defender’s Office is proud to announce that it was recently awarded a $150,000 federal Indigent Defender grant to hire an experienced public defender to help alleviate high caseloads. Only ten such grants were available throughout the entire country, so the Office is very proud to be chosen as a recipient. Melissa Harrison, who recently joined the Office from the federal public defender’s office in Kansas City, will fill the 18 month position, and she has already begun to pick up a caseload. The grant, which was written by Public Defender Dawn Deaner, is designed to reduce the number of serious felony cases assigned to the Office’s more experienced attorneys, thereby allowing them to devote more attention to each case and to provide higher quality representation.
KIDS' RIGHTS PROGRAM
The Kids’ Rights Program is a crime-prevention initiative that offers civil legal advocacy, outreach, education and training to at-risk children and their families. Kids’ Rights focuses on children who are acting out and struggling at home, at school, or in the community to ‘catch’ them before their behavior escalates into ongoing problems at school and entanglements with juvenile court. The goal is that children receive the services they need to stay and succeed in school. Needed services may range from educational services to mental health care, substance abuse treatment or other social services. Kids’ Rights places a strong emphasis on establishing working relationships with the systems in which these children interact, including schools and service providers. Because families are often unaware of the services and supports available for their children, Kids’ Rights also reaches out to families to provide education and training, including the development and distribution of informational materials at appropriate literacy levels. Kids’ Rights is currently staffed by a full time attorney and a part time intervention specialist. Specific services we offer families include:
• attendance at S-Team, IEP Team, and other school meetings, • assistance with filing TennCare appeals, • assistance with referring children for evaluation for special education services, and • other advocacy as needed.
This project is funded under an agreement with the Department of Finance and Administration, Office of Criminal Justice Programs. For further information, call 880-3710.
