A Cleveland County jury has found Dwight Stacy Justice not guilty of the first-degree murder of Jeremiah Swafford.
The Jury did find Justice guilty of felony child abuse, inflicting serious bodily injury, a verdict that could carry a prison sentence of at least 15 years.
Immediately after the verdict was read, testimony began in the sentencing hearing to decide exactly how long Justice's sentence will be.
During the trial, the defense contended that it was Jeremiah's mother, Kathy Lynn Swafford, who delivered the fatal blow.
Kathy Swafford's trial for the first-degree murder of her son is scheduled to begin in March.
On Thursday, the jury continually sought clarification of laws, interview transcripts, and further jury instructions, then after considering the evidence and testimony all day Thursday, the jury informed the judge that they were divided 8-4.
The Jurists, who at times seem frustrated and confused, decided to continue deliberations until today at 9:30 a.m. at the Cleveland County Courthouse.
History
On February 13, 2009, Justice placed a 911 call, claiming that Jeremiah had been injured in a fall and requested emergency medical assistance.
In the background of this recorded 911 call you can hear Jeremiah’s mother, saying, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry”.
Jeremiah arrived at the Cleveland Regional Medical Center by ambulance, with injuries so severe that he was airlifted to the Carolinas Medical Center, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.
Jeremiah passed away on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2009 at 3:15 p.m.
The autopsy report on Jeremiah describes a very violent and traumatic death.
Jeremiah had “blunt force head trauma with skull fractures, subdural hemorrhage, and retinal hemorrhages".
Jeremiah was literally beaten to death.
After Jeremiah’s tragic death, his grandmother, Kathy Jean Swafford, great-aunt, Cathy Cochran and other family members publically blamed the Cleveland County Department of Social Services for failing to protect Jeremiah.
A claim that the Cleveland County Department of Social Services publically denied in the child fatality disclosure summary they released February 20, 2009.
The report does show that the family had made at least four reports of abuse to Cleveland County DSS, the last of which occurred shortly before Jeremiah's death.
*photo used with permission from Unforgotten Angels
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