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| Jury considers fate of former Georgia sheriff charged with murder |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 07/11/2002 |
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After listening to 10 days of testimony, jurors have begun considering if a former sheriff on trial for murder and racketeering plotted his successor's slaying. Former DeKalb County Sheriff Sidney Dorsey faces a possible life sentence if convicted of arranging the murder of Derwin Brown, who was gunned down in the driveway of his home on Dec. 15, 2000, just days before he was to take office. Other charges against Dorsey include bribery, racketeering and theft. Deliberations were set to resume today. Prosecutors said Dorsey had turned the sheriff's department into a chauffeur service, repair shop and travel agency for himself and his family and used deputies paid by the county to work for his private security company. They also accused him of extorting sex and cash from the owner of a bonding company that needed his approval to operate. Defense lawyers say Dorsey may be guilty of arrogance in his running of the department, but they argued he had nothing to do with the shooting. In his closing argument Monday, DeKalb County District Attorney J. Tom Morgan urged jurors to convict Dorsey. Brown, who had beaten Dorsey in a bitterly contested election, had vowed to clean up corruption in the sheriff's department. The trial, which began last month, was moved to Dougherty County, in southwestern Georgia, because of widespread publicity in the Atlanta area. Two other men involved in the plot, Melvin Walker and David Ramsey, were acquitted of murder charges in a separate trial. |
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