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Jury: Life, not death penalty, February 2, 2008 A St. Clair County jury recommended Friday that Jason Smith spend the rest of his life in prison for the 2005 shotgun murders of his ex-girlfriend, her infant son and her two friends. Smith is expected to be sentenced in four to six weeks. Jurors deliberated for about an hour and 45 minutes Friday before announcing their decision about 7 p.m. The jury had deliberated 20 minutes Wednesday before finding Smith eligible for the death penalty. "Justice was not served today," said Moniquea Willyard, the sister of victim Nicole Willyard, 19, and aunt of Nicole's 9-week-old son who was named after Smith. "I want him dead, and until he dies, I will feel like we did not win." The victims' family members cried and shook their heads. Willyard stood over a waste basket, saying she was going to be sick after St. Clair County Circuit Judge Milton Wharton ordered that no one leave the courtroom while the jury was being escorted out. Cathy Piquard, the grandmother of victim Mary Cawvey, 19, also disagreed with the jury's recommendation. "It was not fair because he killed four people, and he deserves to die," she said. Jurors found Smith guilty Wednesday of four counts of first-degree murder in the slayings of Willyard, her infant, also named Jason Smith, Cawvey and Brandon Lovell, 23. The four were shot to death Oct. 5, 2005, in Cawvey's apartment at 212 S. 44th St. in Belleville On Thursday, defense attorney John O'Gara argued that Smith's background of abuse and his mental condition, including a mild form of autism and bipolar and depressive disorders, contributed to his ability to "snap" and kill the four people. Piquard didn't buy that: "We all had rough lives, but we didn't take it out on nobody else," she said. On Friday, O'Gara wrapped up two days of testimony by telling jurors he knew his argument for a life sentence would be answered by the question, "What mercy did Smith show his victims?" "Instead of grabbing a shotgun, they want you to grab that verdict there and choose death," he said. "The mercy that I seek is to lock him in a cell and let him die there at God's will." Assistant State's Attorney Lisa Porter said delivering justice does not make jurors killers. "There is only one killer in this courtroom and that is the defendant. Not you," she said. Witnesses who testified on Smith's behalf Friday described a respectful, quiet, caring man who enjoyed fishing and the outdoors, disliked crowds and was good with children. A jail psychologist and a hospital nurse said he was genuinely remorseful about the murders. Smith's mother, Judy Smith, cried as she described the evening the slayings occurred. She said she had a relationship with Willyard and woman's infant son, Jason Smith, and she viewed the child as her grandson. She testified that she had encouraged the couple to move into their own apartment and marry. "When Jason was holding that baby, it was an unguarded moment for him," she said. "That's a moment I will play forever in my mind. There was so much love on his face for that baby." Judy Smith testified that the couple had a rocky relationship and fought frequently. The night of the murders, Willyard had left taunting, angry messages on the Smiths' answering machine. Judy Smith heard the messages and became angry with her son, she said. "I told him 'That baby is not going to be raised like this, you two need to figure out what you are going to do,'" she said. Judy Smith looked at her son sitting in the front of the courtroom and smiled sadly at him. "I thought the hardest day of my life was when I buried my son," she said of her oldest son, Travis Smith. Travis Smith was shot to death in a bar fight when Jason was 16. "I think that's what today is." Contact reporter Jennifer A. Bowen at jbowen@bnd.com or 239-2667. Contact reporter Rickeena J. Richards at rrichards@bnd.com or 239-2562. © 2007 Belleville News-Democrat and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.belleville.com |
