Abbreviated Trial Required for Prof Who Pleaded Guilty to Killing 3 Colleagues
Jury selection is set to begin Monday morning in the case of a University of Alabama Huntsville professor accused of shooting three colleagues in 2010.
Amy Bishop pleaded guilty to the charges two weeks ago in a deal that spared her a death sentence. But Alabama law requires capital cases to be presented to a jury, the Huntsville Times reports.
Lawyers in the case are under a gag order, so few details have been released. But the newspaper reports that witnesses will be called to establish a case against Bishop, who admitted killing Gopi Podila, Maria Ragland Davis and Adriel Johnson during a biology faculty meeting in February, 2010. She also has pleaded guilty to attempting to kill three others.
Prosecutors in Massachusetts will decide after the Alabama case whether to try Bishop for the 1986 killing of her brother, the Associated Press reports. Authorities re-opened that case, which was originally ruled accidental, following the shootings in Alabama.
Previous ABAJournal.com posts:
Ala. Judge Seals Court File in High-Profile Capital Murder Case of Amy Bishop
Prof Charged in Fatal Faculty Shooting Is Indicted Today in Brother’s 1986 Death
