"Does this mean we still have to go to jail?"
David Swanger
Discuss amongst yourselves...
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3 teens guilty of murder
03/09/02
ROBERT K. GORDON
News staff writer
Zachary Cain cried in Mark Harper's lap, and Jeremy Cain fell face down to the
floor when a Bessemer Cutoff jury found Friday that the three teenagers had
murdered grocer Jimmy Hill.
The jury of seven men and five women took about two hours to reach their
verdict, which was announced at 5:45 p.m. Deputies whisked away teary jurors
after the courtroom was cleared.
Circuit Judge Mac Parsons ordered Zachary Cain, 16; Jeremy Cain, 17; and Harper,
17 all dressed in khaki pants and casual shirts into custody to the Jefferson
County Jail in Bessemer. When they are sentenced in four to six weeks, they face
10 years to life in adult prison for clubbing Hill to death with aluminum bats
after a long-running feud last year.
"Mom, don't leave, please don't leave," Jeremy Cain cried out after the jury
forewoman read the verdict. Harper showed no reaction.
"Does this mean we still have to go to jail?" Zachary Cain asked his lawyer.
"I'm not going to jail, they're going to have to shoot me; I'm not going to
jail."
Gasping with anger, he seethed at the jury's verdict. "Intentional murder, those
people are crazy," he mumbled to himself at the defense table.
Jeremy Cain tried to calm him: "Don't do anything."
"Just kill me," Zachary responded.
The defendants' families wailed in grief. Several shouted "I love you" as the
convicted murderers were led in handcuffs into Parsons' chambers.
Hill's family remained calm after the verdict was read.
"All I wanted was justice, and that's what we got," said Jenny Hill, Hill's
widow, outside the courthouse. "This is the anniversary of his death. He died on
the eighth. But this day is like every other day hard. I hope this is over."
Prosecutors said a feud between Hill's stepson, Greg Allen, and Harper
culminated in Hill's death. Harper would cruise past Hill's house, blaring his
car stereo. Allen attacked Harper at least twice, according to testimony.
The day of the beating, April 7, 2001, the defendants drove slowly by Hill's
Pleasant Grove house and Hill came out to confront them. Zachary Cain and Harper
got out, armed with bats. Jeremy Cain had a stick. During the heated
confrontation, defense witnesses said, Hill kissed Harper on the mouth to show
his disrespect.
Jeremy Cain grabbed Harper's bat and struck Hill on the leg, driving him to one
knee. Zachary Cain connected with a blow to Hill's head. His brother struck
Hill's back. Down on all fours, the younger Cain struck Hill on the back of his
head.
Hill died the next day.
Chris Stano, 18, who witnessed the beating from Jeremy Cain's truck, is charged
with murder in the case. He supplied key testimony against his friends.
The defendants, who had been free on bail, were cool during jury deliberations
Friday. Jeremy Cain paced the floor talking on a cell phone. Both brothers
necked with their girlfriends.
After the verdict, defense lawyers Roger Appell, Richard Jaffe and Sheldon
Perhacs left the courthouse without comment.
"I'm impressed with the verdict," said Assistant District Attorney Jonathan
Cross, who tried the case with Ted Mills. "The jury saw past the defendants'
ages and the vilification of Jimmy Hill."
Defense lawyers had attempted to paint Hill as violent. They said he was looking
for a fight when he confronted the teens.
During closing arguments, Zachary Cain struggled to hold back tears as Cross
held an aluminum Louisville Slugger bat over his head and demonstrated Hill's
beating. "Jimmy Hill was a man who liked to talk dirty sometimes, but he was a
father, a husband and a member of the community," Cross said. "And he never laid
a hand on the defendants."
Defense lawyers said the defendants' youth caused them to use bad judgment in
going to Hill's house and that Hill an adult should have known better than to
confront them. "Jimmy Hill got hurt because he planned for this to happen,"
Perhacs said.
Appell told the jury that there was no evidence that Jeremy Cain struck any
fatal blows. "Jeremy was protecting himself after Jimmy Hill kissed Mark
Harper," Appell said.
Harper's lawyer, Richard Jaffe, told the jury in his closing that the state's
star witness, Stano, lied to them.
"Mark Harper is guilty of nothing but being a dumb teenager," Jaffe said.
Testimony showed that Harper struck no blows, but jurors convicted him of murder
for aiding and abetting the Cain brothers.
Stano is expected to plead guilty to Hill's death. Prosecutors said they will
recommend that Stano be treated as a youthful offender, which would mean
probation, or no more than a three-year prison sentence.
Once the packed courtroom was cleared Friday, Parsons allowed the three teens to
visit with their parents and lawyers in the jury room. Other family and friends
said their goodbyes and I-love-yous as the teenagers emerged. The sobbing
defendants, hands cuffed behind their backs, leaned forward to accept hugs and
kisses. One by one, the former Pleasant Grove High School students disappeared
behind a door that led them to the adjoining county jail. News staff writer Kim
Bryan contributed to this report.