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Danny Cecil will be home for Christmas, just a few houses away from one of the girls he was convicted of molesting.
That's because the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals overturned Cecil's convictions Friday, citing jury misconduct of a DHHR employee.
"We conclude that the cumulative effect of each of the instances of juror misconduct discussed above made it impossible for the appellant to receive a fair trial. We are mindful that the independent investigation conducted by two of the jurors did not bear fruit, which arguably lessens the prejudicial effect, but notwithstanding that fact, the mere fact that members of a jury in a serious felony case conducted any extrajudicial investigation on their own is gross juror misconduct which simply cannot be permitted. Without meaningful censure, failure to properly punish such behavior would encourage or allow its repetition. Given the independent investigation by these jurors and the fact that another juror advised that the alleged victims' testimony should be given more weight than that of the appellant contrary to the judge's instructions and our law, we have no choice but to vacate the appellant's convictions," the court's opinion states.
Please click here to read the entire West Virginia Supreme Court opinion.
Cecil was convicted in 2006 of molesting two teenage girls who stayed at his Winfield home several years apart. He was sentenced to up to 45 years, but appealed his convictions on several grounds.
Putnam Circuit Judge O.C. "Hobby" Spaulding oversaw the trial and upheld Cecil's convictions prompting him to appeal to the West Virginia Supreme Court which turned down several issues but found fault with jury misconduct.
"The Supreme Court had concerns about some things that may have happened during jury deliberations," says Putnam County Prosecutor Mark A. Sorsaia, who tried the case. "There are many things that can go wrong in a criminal trial, and judges and prosecutors do there best to avoid problems. Being on a jury is a difficult job, and mistakes can happen. We will meet with victim families and move forward in this case."
Reaction from one of the girl's parents came quickly.
"We’re very disappointed in the outcome but we had the truth on our side before and we will have the truth on our side again," states Pam James in an email to PutnamLIVE.com. "We have always said that he was convicted before and we have no doubt he will be convicted again."
The James family still lives down the street from the Cecil family. Pam says seeing Danny Cecil walking free, who is out of prison pending the new trial, will be hard for her teenage girl.
"I think the hardest part will be for our daughter, knowing he is only a couple of doors away approx. 140 feet," James says. "I do not feel it is fair to her. She just recently started staying by herself again out of fear. She does not feel safe in her own home."
Cecil is living at his home after meeting a $20,000 bond set by Spaulding during a Monday hearing.
Sorsaia's office has not announced a date for Cecil's re-trial. Prosecutors are very busy preparing for the Michael Merrifield murder trial which is scheduled to start in the coming weeks. That means the Cecil trial won't be happening very soon, which angers the James family.
"I’m very disappointed that the trial will not be for a few months," Pam states. "We would much rather get it over with fast so he will be put back in jail and not be on the streets."
While the James family is dealing with the recovery of their daughter, Pam is concerned that there may be more than the two girls who came forward and testified against Cecil.
"My prayer is that if there are any other victims out there that they would come forward," Pam says. "Our daughter has gotten stronger over the past couple of years and we are very proud of her. Her and our other daughter have become best friends."
Though she doubts it will ever happen, James hopes Cecil will plead guilty so that the girls will not have to endure testifying in a second trial.
"We also pray that Danny would do the right thing and come forward and confess so we can all move on with our lives," James says. "We never wanted him to spend years in prison. I hated it when his son graduated and he wasn’t able to be here for the graduation. How can anyone take pleasure in someone else’s misery? They were our friends, and neighbor. He was like a father to our daughter."
PutnamLIVE.com attempted to contact Danny Cecil so that he could respond. Two calls at his home were answered by female voices who quickly hung up when PutnamLIVE.com asked to speak with Cecil.
