Judge bemoaned 'thuggery' and sentenced mobile teenager to 35 years in prison for capital murder

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – A judge on Thursday sentenced a teenager to 35 years in prison for the fatal shooting of a teenager near LeFlore High School in 2021.

Larry Anderson, a retired judge from Houston County who was brought in to hand down the sentence after Mobile County judges recused themselves, said King Solomon Franklin was not only responsible for Chavan Scruggs’ death, but that it was done in a “cowardly” manner.

“We’re losing a generation because of things like this, we’re losing a generation… to banditry,” he said.

The defense’s claim that the conviction should be rejected because the judge presiding over the trial, Charles Graddick, had a conflict of interest has not yet been finalised. Anderson gave attorneys one month to submit additional written arguments on the matter.

Prosecutors argued that Franklin was the attacker. In June, a jury acquitted him of murder and robbery, but found him guilty Whether or not he pulled the trigger, the Mobile resident, now 19, was determined to be responsible for Scruggs’ murder.

Both the defendant and the victim were young people at the time. Franklin was 15 and Scruggs was 16. At Thursday’s sentencing hearing, Mobile County Deputy District Attorney Coy Morgan played surveillance video shown at the hearing that showed a gunman shooting Scruggs in the back. Prosecutors claimed the incident was motivated by the theft of a gun that fired rifle bullets.

Morgan called for the maximum sentence for Anderson.

“It’s pointless, beyond meaningless,” he said. “It’s hard to put into words.”

The case attracted widespread attention, which was reaffirmed by the presence of leading law enforcement officials at the hearing. They included Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood and Mobile Public Safety Director Rob Lasky.

Scruggs’ mother, Nija Hill, expressed her disappointment outside the courtroom.

“I’m not happy about it,” he said. “I wanted one life for one life. I don’t think this is fair. … He took my son’s life, he deserves to live.”

During the hearing, Hill said Franklin “made a permanent home for my son in the cemetery.” In his speech in the courtroom, he directly addressed the defendant.

“King Franklin, you killed my son’s baby. … You took the life of a young man who had done you no wrong,” he said.

Hill noted his son’s last words, quoted by a witness during the trial: “I would give it to you.”

The victim’s aunt, Natasha Gaines, told the judge that now the world will never know what Scruggs might have accomplished.

“I wanted you to understand what was stolen from us, what was stolen from society. … We didn’t know what role he would play,” he said.

Briskman asked the judge to focus on two other people who were present at the time of the crime, people who were never charged. He stated that the jury found his client guilty of capital murder.

“I take that as defense counsel for the jury to understand who the trigger was,” he said.

Briskman told FOX10 News it was a tragic situation, but he was relieved his client would at least have a chance at rehabilitation.

“It’s a positive for him that there is light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak,” he said. “So we’re not disappointed, but a 35-year sentence is definitely not something you can just jump on.”

In court, Briskman pointed to his client’s psychiatric evaluation at the Strickland Youth Center in 2021, which concluded that he had the mental abilities of a child under 12 and that his IQ was between 69 and 81. He asked Anderson to sentence Franklin to 20-20 years in prison. minimum year.

“There must be a way for Mr. Franklin to rehabilitate himself,” he said.

The judge did not immediately rule on Briskman’s argument that the conviction should be thrown out based on the conflict of interest issue. This is based on the fact that Graddick did legal work for the city of Mobile’s Office of Professional Responsibility and also presided over criminal cases involving Mobile police as a retired, part-time judge.

Mobile County Circuit Judge Wesley Pipes announced In August, it was announced that Graddick would no longer perform judicial duties. One of the cases Graddick handled was that of Franklin.

“Mr. Briskman said Franklin has the right to a fair and impartial trial.

Mobile County Deputy District Attorney Louis Walker countered that higher courts have ruled that the defendant is guaranteed a “fair” rather than a “perfect” trial.

Anderson asked Briskman if he could point to specific decisions by Graddick that were biased against his client. He said he raised “numerous evidentiary objections” during the hearing. Anderson noted that Graddick rejected some of these and supported others.

The judge gave Briskman 30 days to submit a written defense. The District Attorney’s Office will have 10 days to respond.

Blackwood said a 35-year sentence was “still a harsh sentence” and would require Franklin to serve at least 15 years before being eligible for parole; He would have had to wait the same amount of time if the sentence had been life imprisonment.

As for the shooting, Blackwood said he was confident the conviction would stand.

“Our position is that the defendant should receive an absolutely fair trial,” he said. “The full extent of Judge Graddick’s decisions are clearly evident in the record. “Judge Graddick has never been anything other than a fair judge to all parties.”

Updated at 5:40 p.m. with additional comments and information regarding the defendant’s request for a new trial.

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