Youth allegedly killed stepdad after mom hurt
Jimmie E. Gates
jgates@clarionledger.com
The murder trial of a Jackson teenager who was an honor roll student before being charged in the fatal shooting of his stepfather has been postponed.
Chauncey Harrison was scheduled to be tried in Hinds County Circuit Court before Circuit Judge Bill Gowan on Monday.
But Harrison's attorney, Dennis Sweet, has another trial scheduled at the same time.
Harrison was about to graduate from Forest Hill High School when police say he shot David Purrie on April 10, 2009. The 18-year-old now faces life in prison, if convicted.
Harrison allegedly killed Purrie, 38, about 24 hours after his stepfather was charged with domestic violence in an attack on Harrison's mother.
Harrison drove his mother, LaTonya Purrie, to the hospital and stayed with her after the assault.
Sweet has said it had to be traumatizing for Harrison to see his mother beaten and then the man charged with it let out of jail.
David Purrie was booked into the Hinds County Detention Center the night before he was killed on a domestic violence charge but was released the next day and ordered to attend counseling.
Records indicate he had no prior abuse-related convictions.
David Purrie was shot once in the abdomen at his Mobile Avenue residence.
"I don't think they will be able to prove murder," Sweet said.
But District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith has said that Harrison is charged with deliberate design murder, meaning he planned to kill Purrie. The charge means "preparation of an act, a design to commit a crime," Smith said.
Then-Jackson police Detective Amos Clinton said Harrison's motive in the shooting was that he was upset because of his mother being assaulted.
Harrison confessed to the shooting and a dying Purrie told authorities his stepson shot him.
Harrison remains free on a $25,000 bond.
David Purrie comes from a large family, in Washington Addition, Jackson, Ms. This family,composed of mostly boys has a gang history. They have terrorized the neighborhood for several decades. The grandmother's sixteen children were all alcoholics. Substance abuse is hereditary, and this family has a legacy of stabbing, shootings, and violent street fights, going back to the 50's. Knowing the family history, Chauncey was brave to defend himself, and wise to use a gun. Knives are the weapon of choice for the Purrie family and they are all plagued by kiloids from stab wounds. The Mississippi courts have some reparations to make with the public, due to recent scandals uncovered involving murder cases and paroles, but it is not fair to use this young man for an example.
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