Case for murder retrial in judge’s hands
Monday’s hearing focused on forensic evidence presented in 1985.
Floyd County Superior Court Judge Bryan Johnson will consider arguments presented in the final retrial hearing for James Randall Rogers, who was convicted of the 1980 rape and murder of his 75-year-old neighbor Grace Perry.
Rogers has been sentenced to death. But his attorneys are asserting that the 1985 trial focused primarily on the “now debunked” science of bite mark evidence and the testimony of Dr. Richard Souviron. In the 1980s Souviron was one of the leading experts of bite mark evidence, but has since recanted his testimony.
That, alongside the remaining forensic evidence presented at trial — specifically a hair sample and a latent fingerprint — would not even be allowed if that trial were held today, they said.
Monday’s testimony focused primarily on fingerprint evidence during the original trial, with Rogers’ attorneys calling on an expert witness. John Philip Black, a fingerprint expert, testified that a latent print from the 1980 crime scene would not be read as Rogers’ fingerprint using current scientific methods. During his testimony, Black additionally cast doubt on the certainty of the expert witness in 1985 considering the poor quality of the evidence.
During the hearing, the testimony delved into the intricacies of fingerprint evidence. They also discussed the idea of “cognitive bias,” where an expert’s opinion can be swayed by knowledge of the case details. Modern analysis, Black testified, tries to eliminate this bias and focus exclusively on the fingerprint forensics.
As with previous testimony regarding the bite mark evidence, but to a lesser degree, Rogers’ attorneys testified that scientific advances have changed significantly.
During closing arguments, Rogers’ attorneys focused on their belief that all benchmarks were met in their request for a new trial. They argued that without the three major pieces of the 1985 trial — bite mark, hair and fingerprint — the original prosecution would have been unsuccessful.
Rome Circuit Assistant District Attorney Natalee Staats pushed back, stating there has been no new evidence discovered that could merit a new trial. The defense already strongly disputed each of those pieces of evidence at Rogers’ original trial, she said.
The defense had their own expert witnesses who spoke against the bite mark, fingerprint and hair evidence in 1985. Staats also stated there was other evidence, including statements from Rogers, that when viewed in totality delivered a guilty verdict.
Judge Johnson is expected to make a ruling in the case in the coming weeks. Rogers is scheduled to return to death row at the Georgia Diagnostics and Classification Prison in Jackson from the Floyd County Jail.