WINONA – Perjury charges against a man accused of trying to taint the jury pool in Curtis Flowers’ fifth murder trial have been dismissed, Judge Jannie Lewis said on Wednesday.
James Franklin Bibbs, 67, of Winona, was charged with perjury in September 2008 after jurors told Judge Joseph Loper that Bibbs introduced outside information during jury deliberations.
On the last day of the trial, Judge Loper declared a mistrial and immediately had Bibbs taken into custody. Reportedly, the jurors had voted 11 to Bibbs’ one on a guilty verdict.
Another juror, Mary Annette Purnell, was arrested for perjury on the first day of the trial, after the court learned that she was listed on the visitor’s log at the jail where Flowers was being held. During the initial voir dire process for jury selection, both Purnell and Bibbs alleged that they had no knowledge of the case that would hinder them from serving on the jury panel, and that they were not acquainted or related to Flowers.
Purnell was the only black woman on the jury panel and Bibbs was one of three black men.
Bibbs’ attorney, Robert McDuff, requested a Change of Venue, stating that Bibbs’ would not receive a fair trial in Montgomery County and Judge Lewis in Yazoo County was assigned to his case. The attorney general’s office took over the prosecution after District Attorney Doug Evans recused himself because he would serve as a witness against Bibbs.
The State made a Motion To Dismiss the charges against Bibbs citing that: “(1) The State…did not have sufficient evidence to obtain a conviction, and (2) The best interests of justice would require that the indictment be dismissed.”
Judge Lewis said the order dismissing the charges against Bibbs “was agreed upon by both parties,” that of Bibbs’ attorney and the attorney general’s office, and it was signed on Oct. 1, 2009.
McDuff, Bibbs’ attorney, said he asked the attorney general to dismiss the charges against his client, but was not aware that the order had been signed until Wednesday.
“I pointed out some things from the transcripts that demonstrated that [Bibbs] wasn’t guilty of perjury and I knew they were considering it,” McDuff said. “But I wasn’t aware of any decision until [now].”
The trial date for the second juror charged, Purnell, has been scheduled for Nov. 16 in Humphreys County. Judge Lewis will also hear that case.
Curtis Flowers has been tried five times for the execution-style murders of four people at Tardy Furniture Store in Winona in July 1996. A sixth trial has been set for June 2010 in Montgomery County with Judge Loper again presiding.
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