Alabama diving trial

The state argued successfully that Watson could be tried in Alabama for something that happened in Australia by claiming he plotted the killing in the state. The trial was delayed for 10 months because of concerns that layoffs linked to budget shortages would prevent court officials from providing adequate security. By Sun Staff. Share Facebook Twitter Email. What to read next. Katelynn Berry, 26, was reported missing on New Year's Eve, but her father said he last saw her on Dec.

By Joe Bowen. South Dakota. Teacher's pot brownies mistakenly served to 'several' at card game, police say. By Hunter Dunteman. The annual state of the judiciary address falls on the second day of the legislative session. One of Watson's lawyers said the man — who is free on bond and has remarried — was anxious to get the trial started.

He's ready to get this trial behind him so he can be a free person," defense lawyer Joseph Basgier said after a hearing last month. The state has subpoenaed people from as far away as Australia and California to testify about what happened that day on a dive boat called the Spoilsport, but it's unclear how many will take the stand.

The defense has subpoenaed potential witnesses including former Alabama Attorney General Troy King, who pushed for state charges against Watson. The case has aroused deep passions both in Australia and the United States, with hundreds of people joining sites on Facebook to show support either for Watson or the Thomas family.

Tina Watson's sister, Alanda Thomas, counted down to the start of the trial by posting messages to a group called "Call for Gabe Watson to do what is right! Once Watson finished his sentence in Australia in November , the country deported him to the United States with an agreement from Alabama and federal prosecutors that he wouldn't face the death penalty.

Such a deal is required under Australian extradition law. Watson's attorneys asked an Alabama judge to throw out the state charge, arguing he was being tried twice for the same offense, but the judge refused. The state argued successfully that Watson could be tried in Alabama for something that happened in Australia by claiming he plotted the killing in the state. Those charges were based on the premise that Watson hatched the plot to kill his wife while in Alabama.

The doctrine of double jeopardy -- which says that a person cannot be tried or punished twice for the same crime -- did not apply because two separate sovereigns, a state government and a foreign government, were seeking to prosecute, said John Lentine, a Birmingham criminal defense attorney and law school professor. After his sentence was complete, the Australian government held Watson for a short time in immigration detention in light of its policy of not extraditing anyone who might face the death penalty.

Australian authorities deported him back to the United States after getting assurance from U. Watson was then arrested, in November , in Los Angeles.

In the opening arguments of Watson's U. But defense attorney Brett Bloomston said that Tina's father was the beneficiary on her workplace insurance policy. Watson filed for some expenses from a travel policy, but it was denied on a technicality, Bloomston said.

His client did sue an insurance company when it denied him an accidental death benefit, the attorney said. The defense argued that Tina Watson was wearing too much weight with her suit when she died, and that a strong current, her relative diving inexperience and a pattern of anxiety during dives were contributing factors.