LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — The presumption of innocence is the right of any defendant in a criminal case, but a charge and mugshot are all it takes to be tried in the court of public opinion.
Lexington woman Angela Jackson says that's exactly what's happening to her son right now and her family is directly impacted.
"It's just not right. The thing is, they need to prove people guilty for sure knowing that that's the person before you televise them the way you are because not only is he got to deal with his face all on TV, even though he's an innocent man. This is gonna haunt him for a long time," said Angela Jackson.
The mugshot of 37-year-old Corry Jackson was shared across the area on Monday after he was arraigned for the murder of Timonte Harris on April 20.
Lakeisha Hill was also shot and later died from her injuries. Corry Jackson has not been charged with her murder.
"I hurt for the family because I wouldn't want to be either way- me or them. It's you know, it just wasn't right," said Angela Jackson.
Jackson says she knows her son isn't perfect. He was convicted of a felony years ago. But his mother says he's become a dad and matured.
"Once he got older, become a man, he changed. It was different and he's been no problem for no one," said Angela Jackson.
She says she's also heard from many people in the community that there's someone else the police should be looking at.
"Nobody ever came to me directly and said this is the person that did it, but it was told that he's just not the one," she explained.
According to the police citation, a witness who we're choosing not to name, living on the block the shooting happened, gave a description. It matched Corry Jackson's who was a block away.
Police arrested him and had the witness do a lineup, where they identified him. Police allege he was in possession of a firearm, which is illegal for a convicted felon.
The Lexington Police Department sent us this statement when we asked about the allegations:
The investigation is still active and ongoing, and we will not be able to have anyone for an interview. The Lexington Police Department is aware of social media posts and asking anyone with information or video related to this case to call Lexington Police at (859) 258-3600. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Bluegrass Crime Stoppers by calling (859) 253-2020, online, or through the P3 tips app.
As Jackson sits behind bars with a $500,000 bond, waiting for the system to run its course, his family has retained attorney Daniel Whitley.
"I would typically never do this. But I think there's such a large number of people who have reached out to me and the police and the prosecutors and the community by addressing this injustice. I think that people are very clear about who did it and who didn't do it. And I think everyone there to seems very clear that this young man didn't do it," said Whitley.
The way criminal cases work, prosecutors don't have to share evidence they have until criminal discovery.
"So, all the information that's holding a person in jail, I will not get access to until maybe he's indicted. So that's maybe two months from now, I'll get all the proof. In that time period, witnesses can be leaving, witnesses could overdose and die, all kinds of things can happen, and that person's stuck in jail," said Whitley.
Whitley, who has a well-known reputation in the community, says he wouldn't just stick his neck out like this for nothing.
"I think there's a big problem in our community of arresting people first and investigating second and when you do that innocent people's lives are put in jeopardy," said Whitley.
Yet, he isn't claiming anyone is acting maliciously.
"I understand the pressure and I understand the need we put on police to solve cases, but that's not what the constitution stands for and that's not what policing is about," he said.
Why aren't these witnesses coming to the police? Angela Jackson has one theory: Fear of retaliation.
"They want people to tell and talk but then they want to send them out there to the goons so they can kill them. Ain't nobody got time for that," said Jackson.
Police are asking anyone with information to call the Lexington police department or submit an anonymous tip to the Bluegrass Crime Stoppers. But anonymous and other tips need to be able to be corroborated to be used. So, they are asking for tips be as thorough as possible. Police say the who is important, but they also need the what, where, and why.
