"There is absolutely nothing tying Ms. Blair to these murders. As a prosecutor, you don't (pursue the death penalty) unless you are 100 percent sure of guilt, It is reserved only for the worst of the worst."
This statement was made by Lee Davis in The Chattanooga Times Free Press. This is strange, there was absolutely nothing tying Casteel to the crime.
The three men killed on Signal Mountain were bad and Davis was so sure they had the right man. But he didn’t go after the death penalty. By what he said here he was not sure about Casteel's quilt
From an article on the Chattanoogan in 2004
Lee Davis
This appeared in the Chattanooga Times Free Press in 1998. It was written by C. Parke Masterson.
T.P.I. -- CRIM. 14.05
CRIMINAL TRESPASS
Any person who commits the offense of criminal trespass is guilty of a crime. For you to find the defendant guilty of this offense, the state must have proven beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the following essential elements:1
(1) that the defendant knowingly entered or remained on property or a portion thereof belonging to someone else;
and
(2) that the defendant did not have the owner's effective consent to enter
or remain.
[You may infer2 knowledge that the person did not have the owner's effective consent where notice against entering or remaining is given by:
(1) personal communication to the person by the owner or by someone with apparent authority to act for the owner; or
(2) fencing or other enclosure obviously designed to exclude intruders; or
(3) posting reasonably likely to come to the attention of intruders.]
"Knowingly" means that a person acts knowingly with respect to the conduct or to the circumstance surrounding the conduct when the person is aware of the nature of the conduct or that the circumstances exist. A person acts knowingly with respect to a result of the person's conduct when the person is aware that the conduct is reasonably certain to cause the result.
The requirement of "knowingly" is also established if it is shown that the defendant acted intentionally.
"Intentionally" means that a person acts intentionally with respect to the nature of the conduct or to a result of the conduct when it is the person's conscious objective or desire to engage in the conduct or cause the result.
"Owner" means a person in lawful possession of property, whether the possession is actual or constructive.
"Enter" means an intrusion of the entire body.
"Effective consent" means assent in fact, whether express or apparent, including assent by one legally authorized to act for another. Consent is not effective when:
(A) induced by deception or coercion; or
(B) given by a person the defendant knows is not authorized to act as an
agent; or
(C) given by a person who, by reason of youth, mental disease or defect,
or intoxication, is known by the defendant to be unable to make
reasonable decisions regarding the subject matter.
It is a defense to prosecution for this offense:
(1) that the property was open to the public when the defendant entered and remained; and
(2) that the defendant's conduct did not substantially interfere with the owner's use of the property; and
(3) that the defendant immediately left the premises upon request.
If evidence is introduced supporting this defense, the burden is on the state to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that (1) the property was not open to the public when the defendant entered or remained, or (2) that the defendant's conduct substantially interfered with the owner's use of the property, or (3) that the defendant did not immediately leave the premises upon request.11 If you find from the evidence that (1) the property was open to the public when the defendant entered or remained, and (2) that the defendant's conduct did not substantially interfere with the owner's use of the property, and (3) that the defendant immediately left the premises upon request, or if you have any reasonable doubt thereof, you must find the defendant not guilty of this offense.