November 15, 2017
COURT RULING CITES ‘INEFFECTIVE ACTIONS’ BY ATTORNEY LEO MARCUM AND ‘INCORRECT RULING’ BY JUDGE DANIEL SPARKS
A Lawrence County man who was convicted for murder in November 2005 for the shooting death of his nephew in August 2003, had his murder conviction overturned by the Kentucky Court of Appeals on Nov. 9, 2017, for having “constitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel” by the attorney he had hired.
Alger C. Ferguson, convicted of murdering his nephew, Parker Ferguson, at Alger’s residence in the Adams area of western Lawrence County August 9, 2003, appealed the guilty verdict and life sentence handed down against him at the end of his trial in November 2005. Alger Ferguson maintained for the duration of the case and through his trial that his nephew’s shooting death was the result of a drunken botched suicide.
What makes the ruling of the murder conviction being scrapped by the appeals court surprising is that ten years ago the Kentucky Supreme Court had ruled that the judge in the case, Daniel Sparks had acted properly in letting Alger Ferguson, who had hired an attorney to represent him, but instead was allowed by the judge to act in representing himself in the trial, and also that his right to speedy trial was not violated even thought it took 27 months before it took place.
But on November 9, the Kentucky Court of Appeals overturned Alger Ferguson’s murder conviction, for which he was given a life sentence for, completely opposite on the same grounds that the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled was done right.
The appeals court ruled that the attorney hired by Alger Ferguson to defend him for the murder case, Leo Marcum, who Ferguson chose after being recommend by a friend of Ferguson, did absolutely nothing to prepare for the murder trial, and that Marcum had committed many legal violations and misconduct for a dozen years before Ferguson’s murder trial (and would commit even more serious legal, and even criminal actions in the years after the murder trial that would lead to Marcum’s permanent disbarment in Kentucky).
The appeals court also ruled that Leo Marcum, and especially the judge in the murder trial of Alger Ferguson, Daniel Sparks, should have not allowed Ferguson to act as his own legal representation, with Marcum acting as a reserve capacity for Ferguson. In addition, the appeals court cited other violations that judge Sparks committed during the murder trial.
BACKGROUND OF THE FERGUSON CASE
The Kentucky Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Alger Ferguson, who represented himself at trial and then complained about the judge letting him do so.
In a ruling handed down a few days before Christmas 2007, the Supreme Court judges found no merit in Alger Ferguson’s assertion that Lawrence County Circuit Judge Daniel Sparks improperly allowed him to represent himself at trial.
Ferguson, was convicted of murdering his nephew, Parker Ferguson, August 9, 2003, appealed the guilty verdict and life sentence handed down against him in November 2005.
Ferguson stated he wanted to represent himself at the close of the Commonwealth’s case against him. His attorney, Leo Marcum, stayed in court on reserve during the proceedings.
The Supreme Court’s decision to ditch Ferguson’s argument came because Sparks repeatedly questioned him about his ability to represent himself and Ferguson repeatedly told the judge he was familiar with court proceedings. He had represented himself in other criminal matters on at least two other occasions, he said.
“I’m not dumb,” he told Sparks, in chambers, about representing himself. Ferguson explained he had to represent himself because witnesses were lying on the stand and contradicting statements they previously told authorities.
Supreme Court judges determined Sparks acted appropriately in the case. They also found no merit in Ferguson’s claim that the county coroner and Kentucky State Police detectives were permitted to testify as expert witnesses. He claimed they weren’t qualified to provide expert testimony about blood spatter and other evidence found at the murder scene.
On the stand, Ferguson claimed his nephew committed suicide, but the coroner and the officers said the wounds — gunshots near his mouth and temple — didn’t appear to be self-inflicted.
The Supreme Court also ditched Ferguson’s appeal effort, based on the argument that he didn’t receive a speedy trial. The judges decided the 27-month delay in court proceedings was mostly caused by Ferguson’s assertion that he wasn’t competent to stand trial.
The judges did, however, remand the case back to Lawrence County so Ferguson can be credited with 43 days he served in jail not counted toward his life sentence at the conclusion of the trial.
On August 9, 2003, police officers found Alger Ferguson crying on his porch and lying on some broken glass. His nephew, who had been drinking beer with him that day, was lying dead on the living room floor. The semi-automatic pistol that killed the nephew was next to him, and the gun’s loaded magazine was found in Ferguson’s pocket.
Ferguson claimed he and his nephew drank beer, smoked marijuana, rode ATVs and shot at beer cans on the day of the murder. Ferguson said he fell asleep and woke up when his nephew pulled back the slide on the gun. He pointed the gun at himself and pulled the trigger, Ferguson claimed, and he shot himself again after Ferguson ran to the porch.
Ferguson was indicted for murder about a month after his nephew’s death.
Witnesses at the trial included Parker Ferguson’s sister, who told the jury that, on the day of the murder, Alger Ferguson talked about a book that detailed 101 ways to kill a person. Alger Ferguson asked his nephew if people who committed suicide went to heaven, the woman said, and his nephew replied by stating he didn’t know why a person would commit suicide. Parker Ferguson said he loved his life and he would never kill himself, Parker’s sister said.
SEE THE NOVEMBER 9, 2017 RULING OF THE KENTUCKY APPEALS COURT OVERTURNING ALGER FERGUSON MURDER CONVICTION AND ORDERING FOR ALGER FERGUSON A NEW TRIAL BY CLICKING THE LINK BELOW:
Alger Ferguson – court of Appeals
