Did politics play role in prosecution of Stephen Nodine? | Forensic Files

did politics and your desire for reelection play any part in the way you handled this case no not at all not at
all do you understand why the defense is saying it kind of looks that way there was the sort of the quick
indictment was it a coincidence that election day was 8 Days hence or it was a coincidence in the sense
that there was a grand Juran session uh it was in the sense that law enforcement in a joint meeting decided
they wanted to proceed with presentment to a grand jury as opposed to making an independent determination of probable
cause to bring a charge does it make you angry that this charge has been made um you know it doesn't make me
angry that the defense attorneys make that charge because that's what defense attorneys in my mind do uh they're all
about smoke mirrors what they can do to to further the advocacy of their client um I think when people make it that
aren't the defense attorneys it angers me a little bit Yeah because I think that most people know that I'm probably
the least political person in Baldwin County politics runs through this case I mean like it or not and let me just ask
you I mean the charge has been made by uh Angel's family among other people that you declined to prosecute for
murder in an effort to embarrass your predecessor first off anybody who knows me knows that
there's nothing that could be further from the truth on that I I am um never going to let somebody who killed a woman
get away with it for anybody's Vendetta or anything there's nothing that could be further from the truth uh but second
of all I don't think they understand that politically it was a heck of a lot harder to do this and do the right thing
than it would have been to just prosecute him to me when the evidence continues to not support it and when you
have the prosecution releasing things that you know the da da moment of we might have this or we may have this and
anything that looks like you might do it but then withholding everything that disproves it that seemed to indicate a
decision to me a decis ision to to prosecute him for murder come what may whatever the evidence may
be

"48 Hours"' Richard Schlesinger questions former Baldwin County D.A. Judy Newcomb and her successor, current D.A. Hallie Dixon, about how each handled the case against Stephen Nodine, a Mobile County commissioner who was charged with murdering his mistress, Angel Downs in May 2010.

Brief Summary

A district attorney defends his handling of a murder case amid political accusations and discusses the challenges of prosecuting in a politically charged environment.

Key points

Political Motivations Questioned. The interviewee denies that politics influenced their handling of the case.

Episode highlights

Political Motivations QuestionedThe interviewee denies that politics influenced their handling of the case.“I am never going to let somebody who killed a woman get away with it for anybody's Vendetta.”1:37Apr 13, 2014

Episode quotes

There's nothing that could be further from the truth.

Response to accusations of political motivation.

1:37WatchApr 13, 2014

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