Opinion ID: 1725524
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Ballot Applications

Text: Testimony Pertaining to Count III. Lisa Brown ¶ 10. Leish Lisa Brown, a student residing in Jackson who had worked for candidate McFarland during the summer of 1991, testified that she did not sign the ballot application marked Exhibit S-3, nor did she authorize anyone else to do so. Further, she testified that she did not know Sewell and had never signed her name in the presence of Sewell. According to Brown, she received a ballot and signed the ballot envelope, which is part of Exhibit S-3, but she had never requested this ballot. ¶ 11. Hicks testified that he had made a positive identification that candidate McFarland was the writer of the Lisa Brown signature on the ballot application in Exhibit S-3. Further, he testified he had made a positive identification that Sewell was the writer of the Sandra D. Sewell attestation signature on this exhibit. Testimony Pertaining to Count IV: Cassie L. Neyland ¶ 12. Milton Neyland testified for the State that he was the husband of Cassie L. Neyland for some 52 years and that she suffered from diabetes and poor circulation leading to the amputation of a leg. He stated that he was familiar with her handwriting. After examining the Cassie L. Neyland signature on the ballot application marked Exhibit S-4, he testified that it was not his wife's writing; it was not his handwriting; he did not know who wrote the signature; and, he did not know Sewell. ¶ 13. According to Hicks's testimony, he made a positive identification that candidate McFarland was the writer of the Cassie L. Neyland signature on Exhibit S-4. He also made a positive identification that Sewell was the writer of the Sandra D. Sewell attestation signature on Exhibit S-4. Testimony Pertaining to Counts V and VI. S.P. Turner and Louise Turner. ¶ 14. Willie Turner, the son of Louise and S.P. Turner, testified that his parents were in an old folks home in Hammond, Louisiana, on September 19, 1991, the day that Louise Turner purportedly signed the ballot application marked Exhibit S-5, and the day S.P. Turner purportedly signed the ballot application marked Exhibit S-6. According to Willie, Louise Turner did not sign Exhibit S-5 because she could not write and used an X for her signature. Additionally, Willie also declared that S.P. Turner did not sign Exhibit S-6 because he could not write and likewise signed with an X. On cross-examination, when Sewell's counsel insinuated that the mark with straight, crossed lines to the far left of the signature was S.J. Turner's X, Willie maintained that [t]hat's not my father's `X' ... [h]is hands tremble; he couldn't hardly make an `X'. Willie testified that he recognized the voter's address on the application as his parents. However, he stated that the mailbox had been removed shortly after his parents had moved to the nursing home and that no mail was being sent to the Wilkinson County address. ¶ 15. Mike Wunnenberg, the administrator of Heritage Manor Nursing Home in Hammond, testified that S.P. and Louise Turner had been residents of the nursing home since May 23, 1991, as confirmed by Exhibits S-9 and S-10, which were nursing home records for the month of September, 1991. ¶ 16. Hicks testified that he had made a positive identification that candidate McFarland was the writer of the Louise Turner signature on Exhibit S-5. Further, he stated that he had made a positive identification that Sewell was the writer of the Sandra D. Sewell attestation signature on Exhibit S-5. Additionally, Hicks maintained that he had strong reason to believe that candidate McFarland was the writer of the S.P. Turner signature on Exhibit S-6. Hicks also declared that he had made a positive identification that Sewell was the writer of the Sandra D. Sewell attestation signature on Exhibit S-6. Testimony Pertaining to Count VII. Eric R. Stewart. ¶ 17. Eric Reshon Stewart, who had once lived on the same street as candidate McFarland, testified, after examining the Eric R. Stewart signature on the ballot application marked Exhibit S-7, that he did not sign the ballot application; he did not authorize anyone else to sign it; he does not know Sewell; and, he has never signed any document in her presence nor asked her to attest to any such document. He testified that the address on the application was his address in September, 1991, except that P.O. Box 364 was not part of his address. ¶ 18. Hicks testified that he had a strong reason to believe that candidate McFarland was the writer of the Eric R. Stewart signature on Exhibit S-7 and further stated that he had made a positive identification that Sewell was the writer of the Sandra D. Sewell attestation signature on Exhibit S-7. Testimony Pertaining to Count VIII. Lottie James. ¶ 19. Wevlyn James, the Wilkinson County Tax Assessor/Collector, and one of the persons indicted for vote fraud who pleaded guilty to the charges, testified that Lottie James was her grandmother. According to Wevlyn, her grandmother, who passed away before the trial, was living in New Orleans with her daughter during September and October of 1991. Wevlyn stated that she was familiar with Lottie's handwriting, and after examining Exhibit S-8, testified that the signature on the ballot application and the signature on the ballot envelope, not involved in this count, were not Lottie's signatures. Wevlyn testified that, shortly before the October 8th election, she received a telephone call from candidate McFarland, who asked if he could have a ballot sent out for Lottie. According to Wevlyn, a ballot application was then mailed to her parent's home, which is the address on the application. Thereafter, Wevlyn stated that she took the ballot and ballot envelope and put them, unmarked and unsigned, in candidate McFarland's car. She testified that she had not seen the ballot application at any time during these events and did not know who signed it. ¶ 20. Hicks testified that he had made a positive identification that Calvin McFarland was the writer of the Lottie James signatures on both the ballot application in Exhibit S-8 and the ballot envelope, and that he had made a positive identification that Sewell was the writer of the Sandra D. Sewell attestation signature on the ballot application in Exhibit S-8. ¶ 21. On July 17, 1993, the jury found Sewell guilty on all eight counts of vote fraud, deliberating less than one and one-half hours. On August 2, 1993, the court sentenced Sewell on Count I to five years and a $1,000 fine and on Count II to five years and $1,000 fine with two years suspended and Count II to run consecutively to Count I, with the total sentence under Counts I and II being eight years and $2,000 in fines. The sentences for Counts III through VIII were five years on each count, to run concurrently with Counts I and II. ¶ 22. Sewell, on August 13, 1993, filed a Motion for New Trial and/or Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict. A hearing on the motion was held on October 25, 1993. The judge denied the motion. At that time, Sewell made an Ore Tenus Motion to reduce her sentence and the judge, likewise, denied that motion. ¶ 23. On December 9, 1993, Sewell filed her Notice of Appeal and a Designation of Record.