First trial
On October 25, 2004, Westley Harris officially stood trial for the Ball family murder case. [14] Jury selection commenced that day, and the first day of trial was set to begin on November 3, 2004, after a jury was chosen for the case. [15] [16]
During the trial, the prosecution contended that the killings were all done out of anger, mainly centering around Harris being driven out and told to stay away from his girlfriend. [17] Janice Ball, who came as a witness, testified that she was fearful that Harris would kill her or hurt their baby, given that she witnessed how he murdered her entire family. [18] In response however, the defence argued that Janice was an unreliable witness and their main contention was that she had a motive for wanting her family dead because she was allegedly sexually abused by her father and brothers, and she solicited Harris to commit the murders. [19] [2]
On November 15, 2004, a mistrial was declared in Harris's case after a woman was allegedly caught with trying to influence at least one juror of the case, which amounted to jury tampering, and a re-trial was ordered to be set for Harris. [20] [21]
Re-trial
On May 28, 2005, the re-trial of Harris began with jury selection. [22] Two days later, a jury was chosen for Harris's re-trial. [23]
On June 14, 2005, the jury rejected Harris's defence and found him guilty of all six counts of capital murder. [24] [25]
A day after his conviction, on June 15, 2005, by a majority vote of 7–5, the jury recommended Harris to be sentenced to life without parole for the Ball family murders. [26] However, the recommendation was non-binding, and the trial judge still had the right to override the jury's recommendation and impose the death penalty. Rod Campbell, the jury foreman, stated that voting for life or death was among the hardest decisions he made as a juror, and he stated he would have mixed feelings if the judge rejected their vote in favour of a death sentence, but he stated he had no doubt Harris was guilty of the murders. [27]
Before the judge officially sentenced Harris, Attorney General Troy King sought the death penalty for Harris, urging the judge to reject the jury's ruling and impose the maximum sentence of death, stating that capital punishment was warranted in light of the heinous and brutal nature of the murders. [28] [3] In a statement to the Associated Press , King described the Ball family murders as the "worst mass murder in Alabama in modern times", and the death penalty was warranted to sanction the "wickedness and brutality" of the crime. [29]
On August 12, 2005, Circuit Judge Edward McFerrin formally sentenced 25-year-old Westley Harris to death by lethal injection after overriding the jury's decision. During sentencing, Judge McFerrin stated that it was not an easy decision for him due to his personal beliefs. [30] [31]
In response to the verdict, King described it as a "true promise of justice" for Harris to be given the death penalty for the worst mass murder committed in the state, and stated that Harris deserved to be executed for the "savagery" of killing the family of his girlfriend. Judicial Circuit District Attorney John Andrews similarly applauded the verdict and stated that Harris was the "most guilty man" he knew in his life and hoped for peace for the families involved in the case. [32] The relatives of the victims were all relieved at the ruling. Willie Hasley's brother stated that he would feel at ease the moment Harris received his lethal injection, and the brother of JoAnn Ball stated it was justified to sentence Harris to death for murdering his sister, nephews, mother and brother-in-law. [3]
