A man who was convicted of murder in 1996 in the death of another bar patron will be released Wednesday after the case was reconsidered.Bryan Gibson was convicted of killing Chad Cole during an Anderson County bar fight. The men were in a disagreement that involved a woman inside that bar. When the dispute moved into the parking lot, Cole shoved Gibson, who opened a small knife that was on his key chain and swung at Cole. The blow caught Cole in the carotid artery, killing him.Raw video of the proceedings: Part I, Part IIGibson was convicted of murder in 2001. His lawyer petitioned for post-conviction relief in 2001. After hearings in November and December 2005, and Oct. 6, 2010, the court granted the petition for post-conviction relief.Gibson’s new lawyer, Frank Eppes, said those who were working in the Solicitor’s Office at the time the case was tried handled it wrongly from the beginning. He said Gibson’s previous attorney also failed him by not seeking witnesses to corroborate his testimony.Eppes said Gibson should have been tried for manslaughter, not murder, but at trial, the state argued there were no witnesses to back up his testimony. Epps said since the trial, a bouncer at the bar who tried to break up the fight who was never questioned, substantiated Gibson’s claims that Cole was the aggressor and that Gibson was trying to leave the bar at the time of the altercation.The court order granting the petition for post-conviction relief said that if the witnesses Eppes found had testified, the charge Gibson would have been charged on would “more than likely” have been manslaughter, not murder.Wednesday, Judge Cordell Maddox agreed that there had been “insufficient investigation” in the case. He accepted Gibson’s guilty plea on the lesser charge of manslaughter and sentenced him to 7,167 days in prison, the number of days he has already been incarcerated.Maddox said Cole’s mother and sister chose not to be in court Wednesday. He said Gibson should pray for Cole’s family, because if they had wanted to, they could have made post-trial relief much more difficult.The judge said he was “very pleased” to be able to take this action and the case had bothered him over the years and he was glad that Gibson’s lawyer got the solicitor to understand the problems with the conviction.Maddox said the murder conviction seemed unfair, because Gibson pulled “a tiny knife” on a key chain, swung, hits the guy on the carotid who “bleeds out.”The judge questioned whether Gibson was prepared for life outside of prison. Gibson told the judge that he has been taking numerous courses that are designed to help prisoners when they are released, including classes on computer literacy, public speaking and other courses to “practice entry into society."Maddox said to Gibson, “I hope you live a long and fruitful life. Let me know if there is anything I can ever do for you.”He added, “And don’t carry a tiny knife.”Maddox said after hearing the details of this case, he took a similar small knife off of his own key chain.“Good luck to you,” the judge said in closing. “I mean that as much as I can.”
ANDERSON COUNTY, S.C. —
A man who was convicted of murder in 1996 in the death of another bar patron will be released Wednesday after the case was reconsidered.
Bryan Gibson was convicted of killing Chad Cole during an Anderson County bar fight. The men were in a disagreement that involved a woman inside that bar. When the dispute moved into the parking lot, Cole shoved Gibson, who opened a small knife that was on his key chain and swung at Cole. The blow caught Cole in the carotid artery, killing him.
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Raw video of the proceedings: Part I, Part II
Gibson was convicted of murder in 2001. His lawyer petitioned for post-conviction relief in 2001. After hearings in November and December 2005, and Oct. 6, 2010, the court granted the petition for post-conviction relief.
Gibson’s new lawyer, Frank Eppes, said those who were working in the Solicitor’s Office at the time the case was tried handled it wrongly from the beginning. He said Gibson’s previous attorney also failed him by not seeking witnesses to corroborate his testimony.
Eppes said Gibson should have been tried for manslaughter, not murder, but at trial, the state argued there were no witnesses to back up his testimony. Epps said since the trial, a bouncer at the bar who tried to break up the fight who was never questioned, substantiated Gibson’s claims that Cole was the aggressor and that Gibson was trying to leave the bar at the time of the altercation.
The court order granting the petition for post-conviction relief said that if the witnesses Eppes found had testified, the charge Gibson would have been charged on would “more than likely” have been manslaughter, not murder.
Wednesday, Judge Cordell Maddox agreed that there had been “insufficient investigation” in the case. He accepted Gibson’s guilty plea on the lesser charge of manslaughter and sentenced him to 7,167 days in prison, the number of days he has already been incarcerated.
Maddox said Cole’s mother and sister chose not to be in court Wednesday. He said Gibson should pray for Cole’s family, because if they had wanted to, they could have made post-trial relief much more difficult.
The judge said he was “very pleased” to be able to take this action and the case had bothered him over the years and he was glad that Gibson’s lawyer got the solicitor to understand the problems with the conviction.
Maddox said the murder conviction seemed unfair, because Gibson pulled “a tiny knife” on a key chain, swung, hits the guy on the carotid who “bleeds out.”
The judge questioned whether Gibson was prepared for life outside of prison. Gibson told the judge that he has been taking numerous courses that are designed to help prisoners when they are released, including classes on computer literacy, public speaking and other courses to “practice entry into society."
Maddox said to Gibson, “I hope you live a long and fruitful life. Let me know if there is anything I can ever do for you.”
He added, “And don’t carry a tiny knife.”
Maddox said after hearing the details of this case, he took a similar small knife off of his own key chain.
“Good luck to you,” the judge said in closing. “I mean that as much as I can.”
