Appellate attorneys win overturn of two convictions of Rev. Kenneth Fairley. According to Hattiesburg American, the "5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday overturned two of the Rev. Kenneth Fairley's three convictions of conspiracy and theft of government money." Fairley had been convicted on two counts of theft of government funds and one count of conspiracy to defraud the government. The appellate court vacated the theft convictions and remanded the conspiracy conviction to the lower court to determine if the sentence imposed on the remaining count should be changed because of the vacated theft convictions.

The court of appeals sided with arguments made by Fairley's appellate attorneys that the indictment and jury instructions were in error. The attorneys argued that indictment confused elements of the crimes charged and in essence, charged the defendant with a hybrid and non-existent crime. Apparently, the jury had been given three versions of the elements of the crimes in the jury instructions and the jury had crossed out words on the verdict sheet further evidencing improper jury instructions.

Written by:   Alexandra Siskopoulos, Esq.

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