Page 11 - Flathead Beacon // 10.29.14

FLATHEADBEACON.COM NEWS OCTOBER 29, 2014 | 11 Jordan Graham Appeals Murder Conviction
Kalispell woman was sentenced to 30 years in prison after she pushed her husband off a cliff in Glacier National Park
By JUSTIN FRANZ of the Beacon
Lawyers for the Kalispell woman who murdered her husband of eight days in Glacier National Park have filed an ap- peal in federal court.
In a 127-page appeal filed on Oct. 17, attorneys representing Jordan Graham argue that federal prosecutors distorted and withheld evidence in order to con- vince the jury that the 23-year-old wom- an had planned on murdering Cody Lee Johnson the night of July 7, 2013. The at- torneys also argue that the government breached its plea agreement when it asked for a life sentence earlier this year.
“The government’s effort from be- ginning to end was nothing but a ka- leidoscopic set of theories in search of evidence,” writes attorney Michael Do- nahoe. “Evidence the government was willing to distort and shape to suit its purposes.”
Graham and Johnson were married June 30, 2013 but soon after she started having second thoughts about their nup- tials. Late on July 7, the couple was hav- ing an argument near The Loop on the Going-to-the-Sun Road when, accord- ing to Graham, in a sudden fit of rage she pushed Johnson to his death over a 300- foot cliff. Graham initially covered up the murder and said that Johnson had left their Kalispell home with “car bud- dies,” but four days later she led friends and family to his body. On July 16, dur- ing an interview with the FBI, Graham admitted that she had pushed her hus- band off the cliff.
During her murder trial in Decem- ber, Graham agreed to plead guilty to second-degree murder if prosecutors dropped the charges of first-degree mur- der and making false statements.
Then, just two days before her sen- tencing on March 27, Graham attempted
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Galen Hawk faces negligent homicide charges following death of 3-year-old boy
By BEACON STAFF
A 26-year-old man from Ninepipes has been charged with negligent homi- cide after accidently shooting a 3-year- old boy in the back last week, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
On Oct. 22, authorities responded to a residence between Ronan and St. Igna- tius where a 3-year-old boy had suffered a gunshot wound to the torso. The fire- arm was a small-caliber handgun. The toddler, later identified as Lonato Ma- ran-Allen, was taken to the hospital in Ronan, where he later died.
Charging documents say Hawk saw the boy holding his gun and took it away from him. Hawk said the boy then ran down the hallway, looking back toward him while pretending to shoot a toy gun
at Hawk. Hawk said he pointed his gun at Lonato in response and pulled the trigger, believing the gun wasn’t loaded because the magazine was in his pocket. Hawk was intoxicated at the time.
Hawk was not related to the victim but was a resident in the house where the shooting occurred, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Hawk appeared in Lake County Jus- tice Court in Polson on Oct. 24. He did not enter a plea and his bail was set at $100,000.
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Andy Nelson and Micheal Donahoe, attoneys for Jordan Graham, speak to the media on March 27, 2014, after their client was given 30 years in prison for murdering her husband of eight days in Glacier National Park. BEACON FILE PHOTO
to withdraw her guilty plea, arguing that the government – which asked for a life sentence, but nothing less than 50 years – was trying to punish her for first-de- gree murder rather than second-degree murder. U.S. District Judge Donald Mol- loy denied her request to withdraw the plea. He then sentenced Graham to 365 months in federal prison.
In the appeal that was filed in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Gra- ham’s attorneys say that the government changed its version of events multiple times throughout the case. According to Donahoe’s appeal, the government ini- tially argued that Graham had “walked away” from Johnson while the two were
“THE GOVERNMENT’S EFFORT FROM BEGINNING TO END WAS NOTHING BUT A KALEIDOSCOPIC SET OF THEORIES IN SEARCH OF EVIDENCE.”
Michael Donahoe, defense attorney
having an argument on the cliff before running back and pushing him, even though Graham said in a partially re- corded confession that she never walked away. Donahoe called the prosecution’s initial theory a “feckless effort to con- trive adequate time for reflection to sup- port malice/premeditation.”
Later the government increased the charges to first-degree murder and in- troduced another theory – that Graham had actually lured Johnson on to the cliff, blindfolded him and then pushed him off. Donahoe then writes that the government reverted back to the origi- nal version of events when it couldn’t in- troduce the blindfold as evidence during the trial.
“For this reason alone (the) appel- lant’s conviction ought to be reversed and she should be deemed eligible for retrial on manslaughter theories only,” Donahoe writes.
Prosecutors are now preparing a re- sponse to the appeal before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals can either issue a ruling or allow for oral arguments.
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Lake County Man to be Charged in Shooting Death of Toddler