These are the 60 people who wrote letters supporting ex-George County jail nurse

When readers saw 60 letters of support were written for former George County jail nurse Carmon Brannan before she was first set for sentencing in the death of a diabetic jail inmate, some took to social media, called or emailed to ask for a complete list of those who had written in.

The court received the letter in 2017, when Brannan, 54, first entered a no contest plea to manslaughter in the September 2014 death of William Joel Dixon.

A Warren County jury in July convicted Brannan in his death. A judge sentenced her to 15 years. She is being held in the Warren County jail.

Her attorneys are asking for her release on an appeal bond while she waits for a higher court to determine whether to overturn the conviction. An appeal bond hearing is set at 1 p.m. Aug. 16.

It’s a common practice for a defendant in a criminal trial to submit letters to the judge from friends and family attesting to the defendant’s good character, in hopes of leniency.

Here’s a complete list of those who wrote in. Some of the letters appear to be copies of the same typewritten note, but with different signatures on them:

Below is a complete list of those who submitted letters and some of the comments:

1. Jo Ann Weaver, member of First United Methodist Church in Lucedale and friend
   
   
2. Marilyn Massey, UMC Lucedale, church secretary
   
   
3. Walt Stubblefield, church member
   
   
4. Eileen Ward, church member
   
   
5. Gayle Gill, church member
   
   
6. Sandra B. Smith, retired teacher
   
   
7. Karen Scott, registered nurse, friend and colleague
   
   
8. Logan Christian, friend and UMC Column’s Society member and RebelTHON vice-president
   
   
9. Melanie Christian, teacher and first cousin
   
   
10. Mary Brannan, aunt
    
    
11. Gussie Vise, retired George County school teacher and family friend
    
    
12. Lisa Landon, longtime friend and retired agent with the MSU Extension Service
    
    
13. Margaret Celeste Brannan Pinson, aunt: “Carmon’s case will probably hurt medical care in the state of Mississippi if the doctors and nurses cannot perform their duties without threat of criminal charges. In Carmon’s case, the nurse to inmate ratio was too high for good nursing care.”
    
    
14. David Michael Courtney, friend
    
    
15. Ann Hebert, church member
    
    
16. Dean Howell, former George County sheriff: “Carmon was an efficient, loyal and dedicated employee. She was well qualified to make accurate decisions concerning the inmates’ medical needs. I cannot recall any problems with Carmon’s medical decisions at the George County Regional Jail. Carmon requested an additional nurse be hied to assist her in providing care for the inmates. We were aware that the need for an additional nurse was valid, but, due to limited funds we were unable to grant her request.”
    
    
17. Disabled girl (name withheld)
    
    
18. Tonya Harbison, friend
    
    
19. Marie Yonge Moore, friend
    
    
20. Allyson Drinkard, friend
    
    
21. Donna Bragg, music director, First United Methodist Church of Lucedale
22. Dorothy Strickland, Brannan’s aunt
    
    
23. Sheila Sellers, friend: “I wish you have been a “fly on the wall” the many times Carmon asked for prayer for unnamed prisoners. I say this to emphasize she was a compassionate nurse in an often taxing workplace.”
    
    
24. Randy McLeod, friend
    
    
25. Marlow Lewis, friend
    
    
26. Chuck Turner, friend
    
    
27. Stanley Thompson, friend
    
    
28. Carla Steele Shows: “Carmon showed professionalism and compassion when treating my brother while he was incarcerated in Lucedale. He is now an asset to his community and a productive citizen due in part to people God put in his path like Carmon Brannan.”
    
    
29. Eddie Ray Turner, friend
    
    
30. Nancy Berry, friend
    
    
31. Debbie Brannan, relative
    
    
32. Dawn Eubanks, retired teacher and friend
    
    
33. Preston Goff, former George County jail warden
    
    
34. Lisa Wagoner, friend, CPA and CFP
    
    
35. Stephen Tipton, friend
    
    
36. Jim Yonge, family friend
    
    
37. Dee Boykin, CPA and family friend
    
    
38. Sonya Jenkins, friend and local business manager
    
    
39. The Eubanks, local business owners
    
    
40. Kelly Tipton, friend
    
    
41. Kathy Hudson, friend
    
    
42. Annette Hinton, cousin and neighbor
    
    
43. Beverly Williams, relationship unknown
    
    
44. Ramona Mason, friend
    
    
45. David Chauvin, friend
    
    
46. Bobby Fairley, warden, George County jail: “I have been Carmon’s immediate supervisor for the last six months. I found her to be consistently pleasant, tackling all assignments with dedication and a smile. I have found Carmon to be personal, professional and dedicated in her position.”
    
    
47. Gary White family of White Construction
    
    
48. Bryan Chaisson, friend
    
    
49. Bryan Chaisson Jr., friend
    
    
50. Zach Boudreaux, friend
    
    
51. Terry Nyman, friend and fellow church member
    
    
52. Harmon Brannan, father: He recalled how happy he was when his eldest daughter, Carmon Brannan, became a nurse and how unhappy he was what working in that profession has caused her. “Drugs are rampant in George County,” he said. “It hurts to know my daughter working her whole adult life to save lives is now facing punishment because of an inmate on meth.” He said his daughter asked for more help to care for the inmates and that request went “unheeded by county officials and the warden.”
    
    
53. George County Sheriff Keith Havard: He described the Brannan family as “good wholesome pillars of our community,” and said for the Dixon’s family, though he didn’t personally know Joel Dixon. He also pointed out that work condition at the jail were “strenuous” and said it would be “next to impossible to perform your duties as a lone nurse with proficiency.”
    
    
54. Forrest County Chancery Clerk, Jimmy C. Havard
    
    
55. George County Supervisor Fred Croom
    
    
56. George County Supervisor Larry Havard
    
    
57. George County Supervisor Kelly Wright
    
    
58. Greene County Sheriff Stanley McLeod: “I found Carmon to be an efficient, well-qualified nurse. Anytime she had questions about a Greene County inmate, she would call for information. I was well satisfied with the care Carmon gave our inmates. A large percentage of the Greene County inmates are in jail on drug charges. I am asking your Honor to consider Carmon’s career as a nurse for 28 years with no prior problems when you are deciding her sentence. I am asking you to be lenient and have mercy on Carmon.”
    
    
59. State Rep. Doug McLeod
    
    
60. Chancery Clerk Cammie Brannan Byrd, sister and registered nurse: “As a nurse, I attest my voice that the criminal system should have absolutely no role in dealing with medical errors unless we are talking about cases of sabotage or willful and recurrent violation of safety rules when harm was foreseeable.”
    
    

This story was originally published August 3, 2018 at 10:30 AM.