Ex-Coast jail nurse wants out of prison while she appeals manslaughter conviction
A judge is expected to decide Thursday whether to allow former George County jail nurse Carmon Brannan to bond out of jail while she appeals her conviction in the death of a diabetic jail inmate.
Brannan, 53, has been in custody since July 30, when a Warren County jury convicted her in the Sept. 14, 2014, death of William Joel Dixon.
Dixon, 28, died in his cell at the George County jail after he went seven days without insulin.
Brannan is expected at the 1 p.m. hearing in George County Circuit Court.
Special Judge Richard McKenzie is presiding.
The appeal
Defense attorneys Mary Lee Holmes and Paul “Bud” Holmes filed the appeal.
In it, they argue the criminal indictment against Brannan was flawed because prosecutors called it misdemeanor manslaughter. The charge is a felony, but it’s called misdemeanor manslaughter under Mississippi law.
As a result, the defense said the jury could have been easily confused into believing they were convicting Brannan of a lessor crime.
In addition, the defense says prosecutors failed to prove Brannan meant to provide inadequate medical treatment to Dixon, a requirement to convict her of the manslaughter charge in Dixon’s death.
Other allegations in the appeal include that Brannan was unable to put on a proper defense.
The attorneys say the judge denied them the opportunity to reveal testimony about Dixon’s medical history, past drug use and efforts at drug rehabilitation, in addition to other matters.
After Brannan’s conviction, her attorneys asked for her release under house arrest pending a ruling on appeal. The judge was going to grant the request until District Attorney Tony Lawrence objected.
The crime
Dixon was in jail at the time of his death following his arrest on DUI, drug and child endangerment charges.
Brannan was the lone registered nurse at the jail at the time.
In the days before Dixon’s death, guards said he was throwing up, unable to eat and slurring his speech.
Guards tried to get Branann to help Dixon but she blamed his sickness on methamphetamine withdrawals.
In return, Brannan blamed jailers for Dixon’s death, saying they could have called 911 to get him help.
Ultimately, prosecutors said it was Brannan’s responsibility, as the jail’s medical person in charge, to check on Dixon, give him insulin, or send him to the hospital for further evaluation.
Brannan’s return to George County will the first since her conviction.
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This story was originally published August 16, 2018 at 5:00 AM.