A 39-year-old Graysville, Tn., woman found guilty by a Sequatchie County jury last year of felony first-degree murder is asking the courts for a new trial.
Her previous trial – according to court documents filed by defense attorney Sam Hudson on behalf of Susan Lynette Baker– was riddled by errors, some of which “adversely and significantly affected her ability to consult with and assist defense counsel in preparing for her defense.”
“The court erred by refusing to dismiss the indictment for first degree murder – felony murder,” according to the motion, even though prosecutors were “not required to prove the elements of premeditation, deliberation and/or intent to kill the victim on the part of the defendant.”
It was also an error for the court to refuse to reinstate Ms.
Baker’s bail after it had been revoked, despite the fact the reasons for the revocation were removed, defense attorney Hudson argued in the motion.
“Defendant’s continued and unnecessary incarceration for over a year before trial exacerbated (Baker’s) mental condition,” he wrote, “and adversely and significantly affected her ability to consult with and assist defense counsel in preparing for her defense, all in violation of defendant’s due process rights guaranteed under the Tennessee and the United States Constitutions.”
A hearing on the motion for a new trial is scheduled for July 27 in Sequatchie County Circuit Court before retired Judge Buddy Perry, who presided over Baker’s first trial.
Ms. Baker was sentenced to serve at least 51 years in prison in the Feb. 2, 2011, slaying of Bledsoe County resident Clifford Carden Jr. being convicted on all three counts against her: felony murder, especially aggravated robbery and setting fire to personal property.
The murder conviction carries a life sentence, requiring her to serve 51 years in prison before she becomes eligible for parole.
According to testimony in the 2014 trial, Ms. Baker was arrested after her alleged accomplice, Whitwell resident Thomas Bettis, approached Sequatchie County authorities.
Bettis, 39, told officers that Ms. Baker used Carden’s own gun to shoot him while he was giving her and Bettis a ride in his 1996 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, according to evidence presented to the jury. Further, he said he helped Ms. Baker dump the body in the Sequatchie River, where it was later found, because he was afraid she might also kill him.
In January, Bettis pleaded guilty to facilitation of felony murder and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.