Griffin sentenced to life in prison in CCU student shooting case
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Griffin sentenced to life in prison in CCU student...
A judge sentenced Keion Griffin, 19, after being found guilty on murder charges from the 2008 shooting that killed a Coastal Carolina University student.
Aisha Khan/WBTW
Myrtle Beach teen Keion Griffin sentenced to life in prison in the fatal shooting of a Coastal Carolina University student, Corey Brooks.
Published: November 4, 2009
Updated: November 4, 2009
A judge sentenced a Myrtle Beach teenager to life in prison after being found guilty on murder charges.
The jury found Keion Griffin, 19, guilty in the 2008 deadly shooting of a Coastal Carolina University student.
The first time the jury deliberated on Wednesday, it came back deadlocked. About twenty minutes after deliberating for the second time, the jury gave its final “guilty” verdict.
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The 19-year-old is charged with murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. He is believed to be part of the deadly shooting on Corey Brooks, 20, on May 25, 2008.
On Wednesday, Griffin’s public defender, James Galmore asked the judge for a direct verdict, meaning he told the judge that because of the state’s “inconsistent evidence”, his client is not guilty.
Judge Larry B. Hyman denied that motion twice.
Galmore’s arguments remained consistent since opening arguments on Monday, when he told the jury that his client takes no responsibility in the Brooks’ death. He then said that Griffin denied the charges made against him.
“My client is presumed innocent and at this moment he is wrapped in cloak of innocence and his job is to maintain his innocence, therefore it incumbent upon the state to do their job,” Galmore said before the jury on Wednesday.
Before being charged and deliberating its verdict, the jury listened to witness statements from friends of both Griffin and Brooks. On Wednesday, other testimonies were heard from Dr. Edward Proctor, who examined Brooks; a female bystander to the incident; and a SLED investigator.
Prosecutor Donna Elder told the jury on Monday, “It is time today for Keion Griffin to pay a price, it is time to make him accountable it is time for him to pay his bill, it’s time for us to find him guilty.”
But that’s also when two of Griffin’s brothers told News13 that, “it’s unfair he is still sitting in jail for something he didn’t do.”
Witnesses said Brooks got into an argument with two people shortly before Brooks was shot in the back. They said those two people are Griffin and Demario Stukes. Stukes, 17, is a Myrtle Beach High School student who also testified in court Tuesday.
Elder said one of Brooks’ friends got into a fight with Stukes after the two were arguing over a parking spot at a beach house.
“It was just a parking spot,” said Elder, “Was that worth it? Absolutely not, it is absolutely tragic and senseless… if I asked you today ‘what is the price of life’, more than likely you would say it’s priceless. But on May 25th the price of life, Corey Brooks’ life was a parking space.”
Elder said Brooks tried to help break up the fight before Griffin shot Brooks in the back three time. The third shot was the fatal one.
Elder told the jury that another suspect, a juvenile, gave Griffin and Stukes the .22 caliber murder weapon earlier in the day on May 25.
Police say all three suspects left the scene following the shooting.
Investigators found the murder weapon in a trash can at a vacant home beside the juvenile’s home, according to prosecutors.
On Wednesday Brook’s aunt Debbie Alford gave a speech to the court after the sentence was handed down.
“We pray and sincerely hope that no other family has to go through this,“ said Alford, “we are not out for hate, hate has nothing to do with this we’re not out for revenge, revenge has nothing to do with this, we simply ask you for justice we want to honor the memory of our son Corey Brooks by making sure that the person that’s found guilty of this receives the maximum sentence that the state of South Carolina allows.“
Judge Hyman asked Griffin if he had anything to say to the court and he responded in a sobbing voice, “You know how people ask you if you could have one wish what you would wish for? If I had one wish, I wish Corey Brooks was here right now so his family members could have him with them and so he can tell everyone who the shooter really was that’s what I wish for, that’s all I have to say sir.“
It took Myrtle Beach police, the State Law Enforcement Division, and the 15th Circuit Solicitor’s Office nearly five days to identify and charge the three in the Brooks murder.
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Reader Reactions
THANK YOU FOR CHANGING THE TITLE TO SOMTHING THAT IS APPROPRIATE AND MAKES SENSE.
While the sun news was first to refer to this Memorial Day Murder trial, even they change the title Before the story actually went to press last night. So some people are under the kind of management that cares about the readers response and at least they try to be proper and correct.
I am starting to think that we have about as much chance of getting an apology from WBTW SCNOW as we do getting one from Council man Mike Chestnut who was the first one to falsely and wrongly blame this murder on the bike rallies when it was actually Myrtle Beach High school students and friends.
I am also asking for people to boycott or stop watching WBTW AND START WATCHING OTHER STATIONS LIKE WMBF in response to these tasteless headlines , that is unless they are willing to address their actions, especial since most other media stopped using this bias title for the story or never used it in the first place. How hard would it have been to properly refer to this trial as THE MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND MURDER.
ONCE AGAIN SHAME ON WBTW SCNOW. This so called media service either needs to address this and make their case for wording this story the way they did or they need to admit wrong doing and apologize to all.
P.S. It was not that long ago that WBTW was off the air in some areas due to other reasons and just maybe we would have been better off if they had stayed off the air, at least when you look at how they handled this story. SHAME, SHAME, SHAME.
MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND SLAYING TRIAL CONTINUES
So how hard would it be to have called it that? At least it would have been politically correct and would not have been offensive or politically biased. I cannot object strongly enough to this head line.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. All day long yesterday a majority of blogs felt that the attempt to link this murder case to any bike week was not only wrong but shows just how politically bias certain news media are. Shame on WBTW. Even after all the objections from yesterday SCNOW continues with this cheap kind of yellow journalism. This yellow journalism just might have been the straw that broke the old guard. campaign. We will just have to wait and see just how many people are now angry with this kind of trash media.
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