Michelle Byrom

This is one of the cases that I tend to come across in which I am just not sure how I feel about. But, unlike so many others that leave me feeling this way, this is not a case that I think I need to know more information to make a decision. There is plenty information out there about the case. What it really comes down to is who and what you believe.

If you ask the prosecutors in this case Michelle Byrom is completely guilty of hiring a friend of her son's to kill her husband. Then again, a prosecutor is almost always going to say that. It is only on the rare occasion that you find a prosecutor say that someone they, or their office, convicted is not guilty and that a mistake was made. If you ask the defense, an innocent woman was railroaded and spent fourteen years on death row. But, here again that is not an unusual statement. So, you cannot really listen to the lawyer's in cases such as these, or any case really, if you want to make an independent conclusion. That is a good thing though because all cases in our justice system should be decided on the facts and evidence and not a theory or what someone wants to throw out and see what sticks.

On June 4, 1999 Edward Byrom Sr. was murdered in his home in Iuka Mississippi. At the time of his death his wife, Michelle was in the hospital and his son, Edward Jr. was in the home with him. Yet, authorities seemed to take Edward's initial statement and that his mother had hired his friend, Joey Gillis to kill his father. This was done despite the fact that it was later said that a GSR test was done on both Edward Jr. and Joey Gillis and yet it was Edward Jr. who tested positive. Some reports say that Gillis was offered 10-15,000 dollars for the job where others it seems sticks with the $15,000. Once speaking to Edward Jr. investigators made their way to the hospital to interview Michelle who was allegedly under heavy medication. There seems to be a bit of a dispute as to what exactly Michelle was in the hospital for. Some say she was admitted after seeing her doctor and being diagnosed with double pneumonia. Some say that the pneumonia was brought on by the fact that Michelle had purposely ingested rat poisoning due to some psychological issues. Other reports say that Michelle did not ingest the poison willingly but had been forced to do so by her abusive husband. Either way it was a fact that she was in the hospital and under medication when the investigators went to her room.

Most reports state the that interview with the investigators was an interrogation. She was told that her husband was dead and that her son had implicated her. Allegedly she was told she should not let her son “hang” for the crime and basically she should “fess up.” In the end it appears that she was said to have “taken responsibility,” at least at the time. Once she was well enough to leave the hospital it was reported that she was immediately taken to the jail wearing only two hospital gowns (one on backwards) and booked.

Michelle would go on trial in late 2000 but a lot had occurred before her trial would begin. First it seems that her son, Edward Jr. would strike a plea deal with the prosecutors that would require him to testify against his mother. He would plead guilty to conspiring to murder his father and receive a sentence of thirty years. He would go to his mother's trial maintaining that his friend, Joey Gillis had killed his father. However, it does not seem that investigators ever had enough evidence to charge Gillis in any way. In fact, Gillis would maintain that he had never killed Edward Byrom Sr. But, he would admit to helping Edward Jr. get rid of the gun that was used, a 9 mm that had belonged to Edward Sr.'s father, and took a plea of guilty for being an accessory after the fact. Still it seems that by the time the trial commenced Michelle was maintaining she was not involved.

While reading an appeal filed by Michelle later there was an allegation that the prosecutors had stated that Michelle had allegedly attempted to hire “at least one other person” prior to Gillis to kill her husband. I found nothing that mentions who this person was, how that information was obtained or if this person even testified against Michelle at her trial. The defense would call no witnesses but would claim through their opening, closing and cross examinations that Edward Sr had been an abusive man. It was said that he had a dark room in which he spent hours watching pornography and had also allegedly forced Michelle to have sex with other men and videotaped them. In fact this room is the room in which he was murdered in. For their part it is said that in their closing statements the prosecutor made the comment that if Michelle was as abused as the defense had alleged, “Why didn't she just leave him.” That comment sparked controversy, if not then, then many years later.

Aside from not calling any witnesses the defense would later be criticized on two other points. The first was their decision to dismiss the jury after they had convicted her and left sentencing solely up to the judge in the case. The second questionable decision they made was not entering any mitigating evidence before her sentencing. It was later argued that Michelle had been a “lifetime victim of physical, sexual and emotional abuse” going back to her childhood. The judge in the case would sentence Michelle to death.

In 2014 Michelle came within less than a day of being executed by the state. After many failed appeals however, the courts had changed their mind. The state Supreme Court had reversed her conviction and ordered a new trial. They cited “numerous problems” with her trial including the ineffective counsel but there was more. It is unclear exactly when Edward Jr. changed his story but by some accounts despite his testimony against her it seemingly occurred prior to her trial. The state court stated that the fact that the jury was never told of his confession was an error and contributed to their conclusion.

Having someone else change their story or even confess to a crime, especially to save someone is not necessarily unusual or even enough to change a jury's decision. One thing I have often remarked that I disagree with in the justice system is how one spouse can get out of testifying against another and yet those same provisions are not given to parents. I would gander to guess that when a someone is accused of a crime a person would be more willing to testify against their spouse than they would a child. The Casey Anthony case is a prime example. Her parents were required to testify against her. Most believe that Cindy Anthony lied on the stand and took responsibility of things her daughter did, such as computer searches. Even the prosecutors after the trial discussed filing perjury charges against her as they had proof that Cindy could not have done some of those searches. But, in the end they did not and while many of us may have been upset about the eventual verdict, I for one never blamed her mother for that. That is what mothers do. They protect their children in any way they can for the most part. In the same respect it would not be unheard of for a child to do the same for a parent they are particularly close to. However, it appears that in this case it was a bit different.

First there was a letter that Edward Jr. wrote to Betty. In the letter he said “You are all I have, and they're taking that away from me now, but Mom I'm gonna tell you right now who killed Dad cause I'm sick and tired of all the lies. I did and it wasn't for money, it wasn't for all the abuse, it was because I can't kill myself.” Now of course that in and of it self would be nothing but he apparently went into great detail with a psychologist at some point. Then there was the issue of the GSR test in which Edward Jr. had tested positive. Prosecutors would argue throughout her appeals that they did not believe Edward Jr's confession and still maintained that their prosecution of Michelle was valid and she had been involved in hiring someone (obviously they alleged Joey Gillis) to murder her husband.

By June 26, 2015 a new trial date had still not been set by the state but Michelle, while no longer on death row, was still in prison. The state offered her a deal. If she took an Alford Plea they would consider her case as time served and she would be released from prison. This is always a touchy issue when it comes up in this manner. In general an Alford Plea means that the defendant maintains their innocence but agrees to the plea saying that the prosecution had enough evidence to either convict them or at least quite possibly convince a jury in their guilt. This is most commonly done prior to there ever being a trial. However, on the rare occasion it happens after a conviction has been overturned by the courts. In fact, the only other case that comes to mind for me is the case known as The West Memphis Three case. In that case they had not had their convictions overturned as of yet but because a new judge had been assigned and things that had come up in the case it was thought that the likelihood of it happening was great so the state offered the defendants the Alford Plea. In both that case, as well as this case, I believe this was offered for two reasons. The first being that the prosecution knew that they no longer had the evidence or complete confidence (despite what they may have said) that they could get another jury to convict. The second reason lies with the fact that by taking the Alford Plea the case is essentially closed and while guilt is not admitted it does prevent the defendant from suing the state for wrongful imprisonment. Many argue that anyone who takes an Alford Plea is obviously guilty. I disagree, especially in cases like this. Michelle Byrom had already been convicted once by a jury and while the courts had ruled that there were many errors in her case, including the fact that her lawyers did little to defend her, she could not guarantee a better outcome despite a new trial. She had spent fourteen years on death row, she could have ended up there again. This Alford Plea allowed her to go home. She took the plea and walked out of prison that day.

Edward Jr. had been released on supervised probation in 2013 and Joey Gillis had been released in 2009. Michelle went to live with her brother and his family in Tennessee.

If anything Michelle's case shined a light on the issue of domestic violence in Mississippi. In an interview done in 2015 Michelle discussed the issue and the article that accompanied this had some startling facts. It was said, and apparently there were medical records to back this up, that Michelle had often been beaten to the point in which she had to seek medical care while married to Edward Sr. who was almost twice her age when she married him at the age of seventeen. The many doctors she had seen could have reported the injuries but domestic violence is not one that they are mandated to reports. From time to time Michelle claims a doctor would suggest a shelter but those are few and far between in Mississippi. Michelle claims that she attempted to get away a few times but Edward always found her and Edward Jr. and in the end she just stopped trying.

A 2014 study showed that Mississippi was seventh in the country for most women murdered by men in domestic violence. It is said many of the women in Mississippi prisons are there because they acted against their abusers. At the time Michelle Byrom went to death row she was the only woman there. She was later joined by a woman named Lisa Jo Chamberlin. Chamberlin was placed there after she was convicted of double murder, one allegedly carried out with her boyfriend, in 2004. She remained the only woman on death row after Michelle's release but in 2017 her conviction too was overturned and a new trial was ordered. A 2012 study said that Mississippi was the worse state for women to live based on their domestic violence laws, their protection for women and for their views on women in general. In 2015 it was said that Mississippi was one of only four states who had never had a woman in Congress or a woman Governor. In fairness to the latter I can confirm that Indiana has never had a woman Governor, although we have had a woman Lieutenant Governor, including currently.

While Michelle Byrom avoided execution and was released from prison she still has a felony on her record due to her Alford Plea. Did Michelle Byrom hire someone to kill her husband? More and more evidence points to the fact that she did not.