Prayer Breakfast and State v Autumn Wood

Prayer Breakfast: I attended the annual One Nation Under God Prayer Breakfast last Tuesday. This event is sponsored by the Florence Exchange Club and most every year features a dynamic speaker. This year was no exception. Dr. John Ed Mathison, a retired Methodist minister, used a dollar bill in delivering a message about the importance of God in the founding of our Nation and the importance of keeping Him in our daily lives.

The event concluded, as always, with attendees singing “God Bless America.”

State v Autumn Wood: Autumn Wood was 17 years old when she killed 14 year old Brooklyn Hollins in March of 2011 by stabbing her in the chest at an un-supervised house party in Florence. Her murder trial was set to begin on November 18th. I spent many hours this week preparing for the trial.

On Wednesday, November 13th, after a round of motion hearings, I met with members of Brooklyn’s family to discuss the upcoming trial. We discussed the inherent uncertainties involved in a jury trial. The emotional meeting concluded with the family authorizing me to make an effort to settle the case with certain prison time.

On Thursday, November 14th, at 3 p.m. Autumn Wood stood before Judge Mike Jones and pled guilty to manslaughter. The agreement reached with her includes a sentence of 10.5 years in prison. Her formal sentencing hearing is scheduled for December 19th.