A Tennessee man was sentenced to prison years after fatally shooting and beating a man, a crime prosecutors described as “really disgusting, actually.”
Marvin Jermane Davis, 51, was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon more than five years after shooting and beating Michael Williams, 32. Williams died four months after the incident from the injuries Davis had inflicted on him.
According to courtroom reporting by the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Assistant District Attorney Jason Demastus told the court that surveillance video captured the entire crime, saying, “[T]he victim appeared to be disabled, unable to move his legs, crawling around grasping at the defendant, and the defendant just continued striking him with the barrel of the gun.” There was no hesitation. “He kept firing until he got the desired result.”
Davis’ defense attorney, Dan Ripper, told the court that, despite Davis’ lengthy criminal record, the video evidence from the Jan. 3, 2020 incident was a “one-off” event. Ripper appeared to blame Williams for creating the “circumstances” that led Davis to commit the violent act, saying, “I don’t think Mr. Davis set out to violate the laws. You have a situation in which the victim, while not causing it, created the conditions for it to occur.”
According to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Ripper went on to claim that Davis was provoked by Williams and acted out of fear.
During the trial, Demastus said the case was “really disgusting, actually.” After the verdict was announced, he insisted that the video evidence proved Davis’ crime against Williams was premeditated.
The jury convicted Davis of involuntary manslaughter but acquitted him of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison, including six years for voluntary manslaughter and 12 years for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, plus time served.
