Joseph Ard and his attorneys in 1996.
Madalyn Coffey
The scene of the shooting.In 1996, Joseph "Jody" Ard was sentenced to die after a jury decided he caused the death 17-year-old Madalyn Coffey and the 35-week-old fetus she was carrying.
Prosecutors convinced the jury that Ard shot Coffey intentionally. The fetus, according to the prosecution, died from lack of oxygen. Ard, on the other, hand, said that the .44 caliber gun went off accidentally during a struggle. There were no witnesses to the shooting.
Ard became the first South Carolinian to be sentenced to death for killing a fetus. Later that year, the S. C. Supreme Court upheld that decision.
A new defense team continued working for Ard after the conviction. They found what they believed was a key piece of evidence that was not included in the first trial.
They brought the new evidence forward during a re-trial this month. The defense's core argument was that Coffey had gun residue on her hand which pointed to the defense's theory that Coffey and Ard were fighting for the gun when it accidentally fired.
The prosecution chose not to seek the death penalty in this trial.
In the end, the jury convicted Ard of involuntary manslaughter and the judge sentenced him to 5 years in prison for each count.
Because Ard had already spent nearly 19 years in the corrections system, he received credit for time served.
According to defense attorney Aimee Zmroczek, Ard accepts responsibility for the deaths, but maintains he did not shoot Coffey on purpose.
Ard, now 41-years-old, is expected to be released from prison this week.
Man to walk free after serving 11 years on death row - wistv.com - Columbia, South Carolina |