Jurors say prosecutions case left doubt in their minds

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

After 22 months in jail, Lucas Goodrum is free.

The 23-year-old Scottsville man was acquitted Monday of six criminal charges in Daviess Circuit Court, location of the capital murder trial surrounding the May 4, 2003, attack on Western Kentucky University freshman Melissa Katie Autry, 18.

In an emotionally charged courtroom, jury foreman John Fentress read the not guilty verdict six times and Goodrum was discharged from the custody of the court as security called for quiet. The jury took about three hours to reach its verdict.

While incarcerated, Goodrum said he most missed the little things … being able to walk outside and being able to open your own door.

Thats the most frightening thing in the world, knowing my life could be taken away because of a lie. Ive learned not to take life for granted and small things count.

While Goodrum and his family cried tears of joy after Fentress read the verdict, Autrys aunt, Virginia White, sat red-faced across the aisle, sobbing for a different reason.

I have this terrible fear of hes been turned loose, she said. Im terrified not for myself, but for the whole world. I dont feel like justice was done. Both of them should be off the streets … Im sure the jury made the best decision they could possibly make with what was presented to them.

Autry, of Pellville, was beaten, raped, stabbed and set on fire in her Hugh Poland Hall dorm room. She died three days later of third-degree burns at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.

Goodrum was also charged with first-degree rape and sodomy, or complicity to those crimes, and first-degree arson. He was arrested May 10, 2003, solely on the word of 22-year-old Scottsville native Stephen Soules.

Soules was also arrested in the case on May 12, 2003 he pleaded guilty a year ago to charges of first-degree rape and sodomy, as well as complicity to those crimes, arson by complicity, murder and first-degree robbery.

Goodrum did not criticize Soules or the prosecution.

Im not going to hold no harsh feelings toward nobody, he said. Id be a lesser man if I did. It was kind of backward the past two years. It was guilty until proven innocent in my case, but justice prevailed today so I cant complain.

Court testimony from investigators shed light that Goodrums alibi he testified that he arrived and spent the night at the Scottsville home of his father, Mike Goodrum, about an hour before Poland Halls 4:08 a.m. fire alarm sounded was not checked out before his arrest.

Investigators also testified that a few other people of interest in the case were not interviewed more than once, if at all, and the investigation almost completely halted after Goodrums arrest.

Several jurors said they felt more investigative work should have been done in the case and one alternate juror, Sandra Yeiser, even went so far as to call the investigation shoddy.

Another juror, David Austin, a 57-year-old bar owner, said several on the panel were not entirely convinced of Goodrums innocence, but were forced to acquit because of a lack of evidence.

We all had mixed emotions, he said. A lot of us felt in our hearts maybe he was guilty, but there was no physical evidence. The judge said without a doubt and there was doubt, so there was nothing else we could do. You have to go by your heart and what the evidence shows.

During closing arguments, Warren County Commonwealths Attorney Chris Cohron referred to the defense teams presentation as smoke and mirrors and urged jurors to return a verdict of guilty.

After the jury returned its verdict, Cohron said the investigation will not continue and the case will end with Soules final sentencing in April.

All along, the question was would they believe Stephen Soules or Lucas Goodrum and his family. I think the jury answered that question, he said. Weve never wavered whatsoever in our belief that (Goodrum) was guilty, but we respect the jurys verdict.

We had an eyewitness placing him at the scene and we had faith in that eyewitness. All we can do is present the facts that are given us by the investigating agencies … I think all the investigating agencies did all they could.

Soules, who had given varying statements to police and yet another, slightly different, statement on the witness stand, was deemed by alternate juror Diane Demeter to be wishy-washy.

Its very possible there was someone beside Stephen there, but it wasnt Lucas. I know that, she said, adding that the case made her think twice about the death penalty. You just cant depend on law enforcement to do everything right.

Gerald Elvis Brown, Soules former cellmate, testified for the defense that Soules told him it was another man not Goodrum with him in Autrys dorm room the night of her attack.

All this was was a man who committed a very terrible crime and was trying to draw somebody else into the case, said David Broderick, the Bowling Green-based attorney for Goodrum. There wasnt any physical evidence. Lucas Goodrum was innocent, as we said all along. It shows the system works. Obviously, it sounds terrible, but once you have all the proof, it was all very clear.

Goodrum said he now plans to put the past behind him, focusing on helping with his familys horse ranch in Texas and eating homemade fried chicken and cornbread.

Its kind of frustrating to spend two years in jail, falsely accused, but I got the rest of my life to move on, he said. I knew the truth would prevail.  Daily News ·813 College St. ·PO Box 90012 ·Bowling Green, KY ·42102 ·270-781-1700