Latest news with #MacMarquette
Toronto Star
09-07-2025
- Toronto Star
Alabama attorney general pushes for trial of an ex-officer accused of fatally shooting an armed man
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A former Alabama police officer charged with murder for shooting an armed Black man in the man's front yard during a dispute with a tow-truck driver shouldn't be granted immunity before going to trial, the state's attorney general says. In a court brief filed late Tuesday, Attorney General Steve Marshall said a lower court was correct in ruling that former Decatur police officer Mac Marquette, 25, failed to show 'a clear legal right to prosecutorial immunity' when he fatally shot Stephen Perkins on Sept. 29, 2023.
The Independent
09-07-2025
- The Independent
Alabama attorney general pushes for trial of an ex-officer accused of fatally shooting an armed man
A former Alabama police officer charged with murder for shooting an armed Black man in the man's front yard during a dispute with a tow-truck driver shouldn't be granted immunity before going to trial, the state's attorney general says. In a court brief filed late Tuesday, Attorney General Steve Marshall said a lower court was correct in ruling that former Decatur police officer Mac Marquette, 25, failed to show "a clear legal right to prosecutorial immunity' when he fatally shot Stephen Perkins on Sept. 29, 2023. Shortly before 2 a.m., Marquette and two other officers accompanied the tow truck driver to repossess Perkins' pickup truck at his home in Decatur. When Perkins emerged from his house pointing a gun at the truck driver, Marquette fired 18 bullets less than two seconds after the officers emerged from a concealed position and identified themselves as law enforcement, according to body camera footage. The appeals court decision, and the fate of the trial, hinges on Alabama's ' stand your ground ' law, which grants immunity from prosecution to anyone who uses deadly force as long as they reasonably believe they're in danger and are somewhere they're rightfully allowed to be. Alabama allows judges to determine if someone acted in self-defense before a case goes to trial. After a Morgan County judge denied Marquette immunity in April, the ex-officer's lawyers asked the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals to overturn the decision. The appeals court said the circuit judge's decision was a 'gross abuse of discretion' because the judge didn't give enough weight to Marquette's assertion that he feared for his life after Perkins pointed his gun at the officer before he was shot. If the appeals court rules against Marquette, he will go to trial in September. The shooting drew regular protests in the north Alabama city, and the three officers were fired after personnel hearings. Marquette is white. While the attorney general's brief didn't contest that Marquette feared for his life, he argued that witnesses in a pre-trial hearing failed to establish that Marquette was at Perkins' house on legitimate police duty, and therefore 'there remain open questions regarding whether he had a legal right" to be there. The brief, written by the Assistant Attorney General Kristi Wilkerson, pointed to conflicting testimony from the two officers who were with Marquette when he shot Perkins. One officer testified that the three officers were at Perkins' house to investigate a misdemeanor menacing charge since Perkins had previously pulled a gun on the tow truck driver in an attempt to repossess Perkins' truck earlier that night. The other officer testified that he was unaware of a menacing investigation, saying that he believed they were there to assist in 'keeping the peace.' Alabama law requires a court order for law enforcement to be involved in a vehicle repossession — which the officers didn't have. Testimony from a state agent who investigated the shooting, Jamie King, also conflicted with both officers' accounts of the moments leading up to the shooting. King said that while Marquette may have feared for his life, the three officers were not positioned in an effective way to keep the peace or to investigate menacing since they were intentionally out of Perkins' view until seconds before the shooting. Marquette's attorneys have argued that there is more than one way to conduct police operations. In light of the ambiguity, Marshall's office said deference should be given to the trial court's position, and that a jury "alone is in the best position to determine the trustworthiness of testimony presented to it.' All parties in the case are prohibited from speaking to the media. ___
Associated Press
09-07-2025
- Associated Press
Alabama attorney general pushes for trial of an ex-officer accused of fatally shooting an armed man
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A former Alabama police officer charged with murder for shooting an armed Black man in the man's front yard during a dispute with a tow-truck driver shouldn't be granted immunity before going to trial, the state's attorney general says. In a court brief filed late Tuesday, Attorney General Steve Marshall said a lower court was correct in ruling that former Decatur police officer Mac Marquette, 25, failed to show 'a clear legal right to prosecutorial immunity' when he fatally shot Stephen Perkins on Sept. 29, 2023. Shortly before 2 a.m., Marquette and two other officers accompanied the tow truck driver to repossess Perkins' pickup truck at his home in Decatur. When Perkins emerged from his house pointing a gun at the truck driver, Marquette fired 18 bullets less than two seconds after the officers emerged from a concealed position and identified themselves as law enforcement, according to body camera footage. The appeals court decision, and the fate of the trial, hinges on Alabama's ' stand your ground ' law, which grants immunity from prosecution to anyone who uses deadly force as long as they reasonably believe they're in danger and are somewhere they're rightfully allowed to be. Alabama allows judges to determine if someone acted in self-defense before a case goes to trial. After a Morgan County judge denied Marquette immunity in April, the ex-officer's lawyers asked the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals to overturn the decision. The appeals court said the circuit judge's decision was a 'gross abuse of discretion' because the judge didn't give enough weight to Marquette's assertion that he feared for his life after Perkins pointed his gun at the officer before he was shot. If the appeals court rules against Marquette, he will go to trial in September. The shooting drew regular protests in the north Alabama city, and the three officers were fired after personnel hearings. Marquette is white. While the attorney general's brief didn't contest that Marquette feared for his life, he argued that witnesses in a pre-trial hearing failed to establish that Marquette was at Perkins' house on legitimate police duty, and therefore 'there remain open questions regarding whether he had a legal right' to be there. The brief, written by the Assistant Attorney General Kristi Wilkerson, pointed to conflicting testimony from the two officers who were with Marquette when he shot Perkins. One officer testified that the three officers were at Perkins' house to investigate a misdemeanor menacing charge since Perkins had previously pulled a gun on the tow truck driver in an attempt to repossess Perkins' truck earlier that night. The other officer testified that he was unaware of a menacing investigation, saying that he believed they were there to assist in 'keeping the peace.' Alabama law requires a court order for law enforcement to be involved in a vehicle repossession — which the officers didn't have. Testimony from a state agent who investigated the shooting, Jamie King, also conflicted with both officers' accounts of the moments leading up to the shooting. King said that while Marquette may have feared for his life, the three officers were not positioned in an effective way to keep the peace or to investigate menacing since they were intentionally out of Perkins' view until seconds before the shooting. Marquette's attorneys have argued that there is more than one way to conduct police operations. In light of the ambiguity, Marshall's office said deference should be given to the trial court's position, and that a jury 'alone is in the best position to determine the trustworthiness of testimony presented to it.' All parties in the case are prohibited from speaking to the media. ___ Riddle is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Associated Press
09-05-2025
- Associated Press
Alabama ex-officer insists he had 'stand your ground' right when he shot an armed Black man
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A former Alabama police officer who shot an armed Black man is trying to win back his claim to self-defense before his upcoming murder trial, and appealed a judge's pretrial decision as a 'gross abuse of discretion.' The appeal hinges on Alabama's ' stand your ground ' law, which grants immunity from prosecution to anyone who uses deadly force as long as they reasonably believe they're in danger and are somewhere they're rightfully allowed to be. Mac Marquette, 25, is charged with murder in the fatal shooting of Steve Perkins shortly before 2 a.m. in September 2023. Marquette and two other officers were accompanying a tow-truck driver to repossess Perkins' pickup truck at his home in Decatur. When Perkins emerged from his house with a gun, Marquette fired 18 bullets less than two seconds after identifying himself as law enforcement, according to body camera footage. Court documents filed on Thursday said the judge erroneously ruled against Marquette based on his assessment that Marquette didn't sufficiently prove he had a right to be on Perkins' property. Alabama allows judges to determine if someone acted in self defense before a case goes to trial. The judge said Alabama law requires a court order for law enforcement to be involved in a vehicle repossession — which the officers didn't have. Marquette's lawyers say the judge should have given more weight to the fact that Perkins pointed his gun at the officer before he was shot. They say Marquette reasonably felt that running away from Perkins would've put him in more danger than standing his ground. The defense also says the officers had a legitimate reason to be there, based on the 'custom, pattern, and practice of the Decatur Police Department' and because their supervisor authorized it. Both officers who were with Marquette testified they weren't there to assist in the repossession, but were instead there to 'keep the peace' and to 'investigate' Perkins for pulling a gun on the tow-truck driver in an earlier repossession attempt. The state agent who investigated Perkins' death testified in March that the way that the officers set up wasn't standard for either of those tasks, but also said that Marquette had a reason to fear for his life. All parties in the case are prohibited from speaking to the media. The hearing comes on the heels of two years of intense protest about Perkins' death in the northern Alabama city of approximately 60,000 people. A Black man experiencing a mental health crisis died in Decatur Police Department custody in April. Body camera footage showing police officers punching and tasing him repeatedly reignited debate over police misconduct in the area. Marquette's attorneys requested a postponement of the trial originally set for June, and a chance to present oral arguments in front of the Alabama Criminal Court of Appeals. ___ Riddle is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
