Judge grants bond for ex-George County jail nurse while she appeals manslaughter conviction

Special Judge Richard McKenzie on Thursday granted bond for ex-George County jail nurse Carmon Brannan while she appeals her manslaughter conviction in the death of a diabetic inmate.

He set bond at $200,000.

Brannan remains in custody until she posts bail.

District Attorney Tony Lawrence argued against her bond. He said in the thousands of cases he’s prosecuted, he’s only seen a bond set during an appeal two other times.

The courtroom was packed with supporters of both the victim, Joel Dixon, and Brannan, who had many family members present.

“I don’t understand,” said Donna Dixon, the victim’s mother. “I don’t understand it. She killed my son and she gets out of jail.”

The judge gave Brannan a daily curfew, and she’s not to leave her home between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. She’s also not to speak to family, drink alcohol, or have a weapon.

McKenzie also scolded Brannan for not yet paying restitution of costs associated with her initial court-appointed attorney, which is for indigent defendants that can’t afford one. After she hired her own lawyers, she was ordered to pay back the costs of more than $2,000 and promised to do so, but as of Thursday had only paid $150.

Brannan had been in custody in Warren County since her July 30 conviction for manslaughter in Dixon’s Sept. 14, 2014, death.

Dixon died after going seven days without insulin.

The nurse denied Dixon treatment even after he was experiencing slurred speech, vomiting and other issues. Guards repeatedly tried to get Brannan to help Dixon.

Defense attorneys want Brannan’s conviction thrown out because the prosecutors called the charge misdemeanor manslaughter, which a felony, so it likely confused jurors.

District Attorney Tony Lawrence fired back, saying no one of the defense questioned the indictment until now.

But the defense said they were also unable to properly defend Brannan because they could not include testimony about his past medical and drug rehab records. Dixon, they said, usually didn’t tell doctors he had diabetes.

In addition, they said Dixon had a history of refusing his insulin and had done so during previous jail stay.

But, Lawrence said, “the law says if they are in our custody, we treat what is in front of us. They (the defense) doesn’t like that because the decisions she (Brannan) made caused his death. If Hitler himself was in the George County jail, we have to give him medical help.”

This story was originally published August 16, 2018 at 3:33 PM.