Hamilton County, Tennessee: Frederick Anderson, 48, of Atlanta, is standing trial on two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, three counts of using a weapon in the commission of a felony, three counties s of aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary. As reported by chattanoogan.com while the criminal trial was ongoing, Anderson had a telephone conversation with his wife in which they discussed her upcoming testimony. Apparently Anderson told his wife that they had to get their s*** together and then proceeded to correct her remembrance of what he was wearing on the night in question.
Criminal Judge Barry Steelman allowed the jailhouse tapes to be admitted as rebuttal evidence so the jury now gets to decide if Anderson’s wife’s testimony is accurate or if it was coached by the Defendant. Judge Steelman stated that Defendants are not supposed to discuss testimony with potential witnesses. Criminal defense attorney Mary Ann Green denied it was coaching, saying the two were refreshing each other’s memories on the events in which he is facing serious criminal charges.
[warning]Prisoners are always warned that their telephone conversations are recorded.[/warning]
Of course Mr. Anderson is not the first and certainly not the last criminal defendant to have his jailhouse conversations taped and used against him. I;m sure nobody will forget the jailhouse tapes of Casey Anthony both video tapes of visits and audio of her telephone conversations while she was in jail. Ultimately Casey Anthony was acquitted of the most serious charges, but was convicted on four counts of lying to police.
James “Bob” Ward is now on trial in the same Florida courtroom as was Casey Anthony and jailhouse video has been introduced in the trial to show the jury the his reportedly bizarre behavior. The Florida millionaire murder case is now going to the jury for deliberations reports ABC News.
[notice]Update: Frederick Anderson was convicted of all nine criminal charges against him and now faces 25-40 years in prison if served at 100%. Two (2) of the gun charges require 6 – 10 year mandatory sentences to be served consecutively reports the Times Free Press[/notice]
The lesson here is your conversations and interactions with people during visits while you are in jail are being recorded. The State will most likely be able to use these recordings against you. If you are charged with any crime seek and heed the advice of your criminal defense attorney, who will advise you about your behavior and conversations while you are in jail. The only conversation not allowed to be recorded or used are those which you have with your attorney – these fall under attorney-client privilege.
The Chattanooga attorneys of Purple Law Firm are experienced in criminal defense — contact an attorney today.
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