{"id":1621491,"date":"2022-08-25T18:50:26","date_gmt":"2022-08-25T22:50:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1621491"},"modified":"2022-08-25T18:50:50","modified_gmt":"2022-08-25T22:50:50","slug":"former-alabama-police-officer-ben-darby-awaits-appeal-after-controversial-25-year-sentence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-alabama-police-officer-ben-darby-awaits-appeal-after-controversial-25-year-sentence\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Alabama Police Officer Ben Darby Awaits Appeal After Controversial 25-Year Sentence"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fformer-alabama-police-officer-ben-darby-awaits-appeal-after-controversial-25-year-sentence%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1621491&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Former Huntsville, Alabama, police officer Ben Darby awaits an appeal more than a year after a controversial 25-year sentence in a \u201csuicide-by-cop\u201d case going back to 2018.<\/p>\n<p>Darby\u2019s legal team has urged the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals to overturn his conviction and order a new trial. The <a href=\"https:\/\/standwithdarby.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Motion-for-New-Trial_Redacted.pdf\">motion<\/a> for a new trial was submitted in August of last year, more than a year ago.<\/p>\n<p>The case arose from an incident four years ago involving Darby responding to a call on April 3, 2018, of a man inside his own home with a gun to his head. The 911 call was made by Jeffrey Parker, with the man claiming he would \u201cblow his brains out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Darby arrived as the third officer on the scene armed with a shotgun. The officer ordered Parker to drop the gun that was pointed at Parker\u2019s head.<\/p>\n<p>Parker refused and appeared to move his gun toward the officers. Darby shot and killed Parker due to the imminent threat.<\/p>\n<p>It was later found that the firearm was a flare gun. An investigation by the Incident Review Board of the Huntsville Police Department cleared Darby of any wrongdoing. Body cam footage of the incident was also available and reviewed as part of the investigation.<\/p>\n<p>The other two officers were sent back to the academy for further training. The investigation revealed that the other officers had broken protocol by entering the house of the reportedly armed man and had violated standard safety precautions. Both officers later resigned.<\/p>\n<p>Darby returned to active duty, but within four months was charged with murder by the district attorney (DA). The officer was reportedly offered a plea deal involving no custody time if he accepted an aggravated manslaughter conviction. He refused.<\/p>\n<p>The closed trial that followed resulted in a 25-year prison term. Then Huntsville Police Chief Mark McMurray, now retired, sent a letter on Darby\u2019s behalf to the state\u2019s Attorney General Steve Marshall.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is an obvious legal incongruity here that demands clarification and resolution for the benefit of all law enforcement officers across the state, especially Officer Darby,\u201d McMurray <a href=\"https:\/\/standwithdarby.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Letter-to-Attorney-General.pdf\">wrote<\/a> regarding the case.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes an Alabama law enforcement officer have to wait until an individual points a gun at him before he can use deadly force?\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>McMurray also shared a statement in support of Darby immediately following the guilty verdict last year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile we thank the jury for their service in this difficult case, I do not believe Officer Darby is a murderer,\u201d McMurray <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/al-state-wire-trials-shootings-6c3086a61eefc9605d171e3446c1e844\">said<\/a>. \u201cOfficers are forced to make split-second decisions every day, and Officer Darby believed his life and the lives of other officers were in danger. Any situation that involves a loss of life is tragic. Our hearts go out to everyone involved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In April, McMurray also shared a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Cb_nIA0Lv64\/\">video<\/a> on Instagram in support of Darby\u2019s case.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am recently retired Huntsville Police Chief Mark McMurray and I stand with former Huntsville police officer William Ben Darby,\u201d he said in the video.<\/p>\n<p>The National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), representing 356,000 members in more than 2,100 lodges nationwide, also filed an <a href=\"https:\/\/standwithdarby.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/National-FOP-Brief_Redacted.pdf\">amicus brief<\/a> in support of Darby in the case.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLaw enforcement officers are increasingly facing criminal indictments as a result of a use of force on duty. The trend moving forward is uncertain. There is no precedent in Alabama regarding the proper jury instruction in a criminal case involving a police officer use of force,\u201d the brief concluded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn light of the foregoing, the FOP respectfully requests that Officer Darby\u2019s conviction be reversed,\u201d the FOP added.<\/p>\n<p>The Huntsville City Council voted to approve $125,000 toward Darby\u2019s legal defense. A city <a href=\"https:\/\/www.al.com\/news\/huntsville\/2018\/08\/taxpayers_to_pay_for_defense_o.html\">resolution<\/a> in 2018 noted that Darby\u2019s response was \u201cwithin the line and scope of his duty.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The verdict came just weeks after former white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/breaking-derek-chauvin-sentenced-for-murder-of-george-floyd\">convicted<\/a> of murdering George Floyd, who was black, in a high-profile case that led to an increased focus on race-related police actions.<\/p>\n<p>Some believe the timing may have influenced the decision in Darby\u2019s trial. In Darby\u2019s case, he was a white officer responding to a 911 call regarding Parker, also white, who said he planned to shoot himself.<\/p>\n<p>The jury believed Parker did not pose an imminent threat to Darby or other officers. The ruling stood in clear contrast to the police department\u2019s investigation, as well as the evidence of an armed man just feet away from three officers who refused to put down his weapon.<\/p>\n<p>Madison County DA Robert Broussard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/nation\/2021\/05\/08\/alabama-police-murder-parker-darby\/\">emphasized<\/a> that Darby had \u201cno business\u201d being a police officer. Attorneys for Parker\u2019s family emphasized Darby had only been an officer for about a year and a half at the time and shot Parker just seconds after entering the home.<\/p>\n<p>In contrast, Darby\u2019s legal team argued in the motion for a new trial that \u201cthe Trial court erred by excluding spectators from the courtroom thus violating the Defendant\u2019s constitutional rights to a public trial.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The motion also adds that<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former Huntsville, Alabama, police officer Ben Darby awaits an appeal more than a year after a controversial 25-year sentence in a \u201csuicide-by-cop\u201d case going back to 2018. Darby\u2019s legal team has urged the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals to overturn his conviction and order a new trial. The motion for a new trial was submitted &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1621498,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1621491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1621491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1621491"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1621491\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1621498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1621491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1621491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1621491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}