No decision in Burk case
Special to the News
Courtney Lockhart is charged with capital murder during a robbery, capital murder during a kidnapping and capital murder during an attempted rape. No bond is available for the charge of capital murder in Alabama.
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By Amy Weaver
Published: April 22, 2008
For more articles on the murder of Lauren Burk, click here.
No action was taken Wednesday morning at the Lee County Courthouse in the case against a Smiths Station man accused of killing Auburn University freshman Lauren Burk.
Courtney L. Lockhart, 23, waived his preliminary hearing, which was scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday, and is now seeking a gag order.
Lead defense attorney Joel Collins filed the order last week with District Court Judge Russell Bush, however, the judge did not act on it Wednesday morning. And there is no indication on when he will.
District Attorney Nick Abbett said it’s up to Bush to decide whether or not to hold a special hearing for the order before or after the grand jury convenes on May 5. Abbett still contends he will not discuss any aspects of the case with the media. He would rather save it all for the courtroom.
Lockhart is being charged with capital murder during a robbery, capital murder during a kidnapping and capital murder during an attempted rape. He was arrested three days after Burk was found lying in the roadway on North College Street after 9 p.m. March 4. The 18-year-old from Marietta, Ga., was transported to East Alabama Medical Center where she later died as a result of a gunshot wound. Around 9:30 p.m., her car was found in a parking lot on the university campus fully ablaze.
According to sworn affidavits read into the record at Lockhart’s initial appearance last month, Lockhart confessed to authorities that he forced Burk into her car, where he robbed her of her personal possessions. He drove her around, forced her to take off her clothes and shot her.
He then drove her car back to campus and set the vehicle on fire, the documents said.
Lockhart is being held at the Lee County Detention Center. There is no bond for capital murder in Alabama.
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Posted by ( auyard ) on April 28, 2008 at 5:12 pm
I agree with WarEagleGP ! I mean give me Courtney with each of his Achilles tendons cut so he couldn’t run, and I’ll give him a “special” dose of KCL(potassium chloride) via a 4inch 20gauge needle directly into his racing heart. Never mind the sodium thiopental(anesthetic) and pancuronium bromide(muscle relaxer)that the state injects (all injections done by computer)before the KCL. This is done because when injected, KCL causes enormous amount of pain as it travels through the circulatory system to the heart. By injecting these first 2 chemicals they are inhibiting criminals body from thrashing due to approaching death and numbing it to pain. So basically step 1 and 2 help the criminal not feel the KCL death approaching the heart…but I’m sure no one would complain if Courtney suffered!
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Posted by ( WarEagleGP ) on April 23, 2008 at 11:08 am
What is there to decide??? He should have been executed and buried already. He’s confessed, so why should taxpayers have to spend any more money on this worthless excuse for a human being?
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