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Hamilton County: Acquited man says juror would find him guilty of ‘being stupid’

By: Monica Mercer
(Contact)

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Brian Rutherford

One juror’s personal letter to Brian Rutherford struck a lighthearted chord in his otherwise dismal life, something he hopes will get better after being acquitted of abusing and killing his ex-girlfriend’s young daughter.

“She said about the only thing they could have found me guilty of was being stupid,” said Mr. Rutherford, who at first defended his ex-girlfriend, Traci Carpenter, but wound up taking the heat for an admittedly bad mother.

It took a two-week trial to try to get to the bottom of who caused the fatal head injury to 18-month-old Sierra Carpenter, which prosecutors said happened in Mr. Rutherford’s Hixson home on April 25, 2006. She died two days later, the victim of what doctors called “severe child abuse.”

But the jury took just 58 minutes last week to find Mr. Rutherford, 28, not guilty. His attorneys said the verdict exposed the tragic shortcomings of a botched case.

“That’s not justice for Sierra,” Mr. Rutherford said.

Speaking out for the first time in the case, Mr. Rutherford in person is as quiet and calm as he was during three police interrogations in which a detective repeatedly tried to get him to confess.

Sitting in a downtown law office, he said he gained 55 pounds in jail, immediately bought two new outfits after his release Monday and frequently considered during the trial that he might never walk free again. Though he’s still angry, he said he has no grudges, acknowledging prosecutors had to make him “look a certain way” in order to get a conviction.

Mr. Rutherford, who has his own 5-year-old daughter, said he was most puzzled at prosecutors’ unwavering belief that he could have hurt Sierra. He said throughout the trial he was innocent.

During closing arguments, Assistant District Attorney Jay Woods even called Mr. Rutherford’s entire defense a bunch of “bull.”

“It was extremely uncomfortable, sitting through the trial with someone telling you you’re a baby-killer,” Mr. Rutherford said. “I think about (Sierra) all the time. I should never have had to go through this.”

His defense never let up on its scathing criticism of the Hamilton County District Attorney’s Office, saying prosecutors condoned a “beyond incompetent” investigation that had blatantly ignored evidence pointing to Ms. Carpenter.

Prosecutors never presented direct evidence that Mr. Rutherford hurt Sierra, but two defense witnesses testified Ms. Carpenter had a habit of repeatedly poking Sierra in the head to make her behave. Doctors testified that head injuries are cumulative in effect.

“They set upon Brian, in part I think, because they decided it was more likely that the boyfriend was the killer than the mother,” defense attorney Myrlene Marsa said. “(The investigation) was misguided from the beginning. Nobody ever questioned it.”

The 21-year-old mother is charged with aggravated child neglect and could receive up to 25 years in prison if convicted. She has a court date set for early December, but no trial date has been scheduled.

Ms. Carpenter did not respond to calls seeking comment.

The DA’s office declined to comment for this article, citing the ongoing case against Ms. Carpenter.

Assistant District Attorney and lead prosecutor Leslie Longshore said after the acquittal that Ms. Carpenter’s charge will not be upgraded to homicide. She said she still believed Mr. Rutherford was guilty.

“It’s hard to cure blindness,” said Hank Hill, Mr. Rutherford’s second defense attorney. “I have told those prosecutors they’re the only two people in that (Hamilton County criminal courthouse) who feel the way they do.”

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