Her first manslaughter trial ended in a hung jury. Now, things are getting political.

The first trial ended in a hung jury. Now, an ex-George County jail nurse is set for trial on a manslaughter charge again, and her attorney appears to be ready to bring politics into the conversation on the witness stand.

Subpoenas went out to more than 30 witnesses, including one to the district attorney and another for records on an alleged illegal meeting of the George County supervisors and a former defense attorney.

Mary Lee Holmes, former George County jail nurse Carmon Brannan’s attorney who was nearly sanctioned for posting evidence in the criminal case on social media, subpoenaed the district attorney to testify about his upcoming run for a judge’s seat at the manslaughter trial of Brannan.

Holmes wanted District Attorney Tony Lawrence to address, in part, the timing of his announcement in May about his upcoming run for a seat on the state Court of Appeals.

Special Judge Richard McKenzie shot down that request and another involving Lawrence, saying the information was not pertinent in the prosecution of the criminal case.

The defense also wanted Lawrence to talk about a letter Donna Dixon wrote that said the district attorney shared information about what caused her son’s death before any criminal charge had been filed.

Lawrence is prosecuting the case along with Assistant District Attorney Cherie Wade.

Holmes is representing Brannan at her trial in Warren County. Jury selection is slated to begin Monday.

Brannan first went to trial in January, but a mistrial was declared after a jury deadlocked in an 11-1 vote to convict her. The defense was granted a change of venue for the second trial, which is why it was moved to Warren County.

If convicted at her trial next week, Brannan could go to prison for up to 20 years.

Brannan is accused of causing the Sept. 24, 2014, death of jail detainee William Joel Dixon, who died seven days after he went without insulin.

The crime

Lucedale police arrested Dixon on DUI, drug and child endangerment charges after police found him passed out in his car with two children inside.

The George County jail reportedly had insulin to treat Joel Dixon on hand, including some his mother brought to the jail and another batch a Lucedale police officer fetched from Dixon’s car.

Brannan was the lone registered nurse at the jail.

The defense maintains Dixon had a history of drug and heath problems and did not see the doctor who treated his diabetes regularly or take the insulin on a regular basis.

In addition, the defense says Dixon never asked for insulin while he was in jail.

A demand for records

So far, more than 30 witnesses have been subpoenaed to testify at the trial, including George County Supervisor Kelly Wright.

Prosecutors also subpoenaed George County supervisors to obtain any and all recordings or minutes or notes of what Lawrence has described as an “illegal meeting” between supervisors and attorney Paul H. “Bud” Holmes. At that meeting, Bud Holmes said, he met with four supervisors who expressed an interest in resolving pending civil litigation involving Brannan before proceeding with the criminal trial.

Lawrence was stunned when he found out about the meeting.

“In 15 years, I have never had the George County supervisors involved in a criminal prosecution,” Lawrence said. “It troubles me to learn they are meeting with defense attorneys.”

County supervisors do not decide when a criminal trial will proceed.

Board Attorney Robert Shepard responded to the request for records from the meeting, first saying he was unaware it had occurred until after the Sun Herald reported on it.

Shepard said he has since checked with Chancery Clerk Cammie Byrd, who is Brannan’s sister, and as far as he knew, the meeting was actually a work session.

Byrd, he said, also indicated she had posted a notice about the meeting in advance of the session. There was no copy of the notice in the court file, but, Shepard said, Byrd indicated she could produce if needed.

As Chancery Clerk, Byrd is responsible for preparing the minutes of meetings of the Board of Supervisors, but Shepard said “as far I know,” there are no minutes or recordings of what transpired between supervisors and Bud Holmes at that meeting.

The defense also tried unsuccessfully to get the judge to allow information about a federal lawsuit filed against Brannan on behalf of Dixon’s family as well as Brannan’s two lawsuits for defamation and slander, one against a juror in her first trial and the other against the victim’s mother.

This story was originally published July 19, 2018 at 12:00 AM.