Greene County judge overrules jury decision in Matt Chism murder

Ty Gaither, Cedar County Prosecuting Attorney, announces that on July 25, 2016, Joshua Brown was sentenced by Greene County Circuit Judge Calvin Holden.  Joshua Brown was found guilty by a Greene County Jury on May 5, 2016, of Felony Murder, Hindering Prosecution, Possession of Methamphetamine and Tampering with Evidence in the death of Cedar County Deputy Matthew Chism.

Judge Holden stated from the bench that he personally disagreed with the Jury’s findings of fact and gave a recitation of what he believed were the facts that the jury should have found occurred   on the night of November 2, 2014.  Judge Holden overruled the objection by Prosecutor Gaither that under the law, at a jury trial, it was the job of the jury not the judge to decide issues of fact. Judge Holden stated he believed that the Prosecutor should never have charged Joshua Brown with felony murder for his involvement in the death of Deputy Chism. Furthermore, the Judge gave his opinion that Deputy Matthew Chism was not following proper police procedure when he gave chase to passenger William Collins as he fled the vehicle involved in a police pursuit.  Judge Holden stated the Deputy had no probable cause to believe that the fleeing Collins, who subsequently killed Deputy Chism, was guilty of committing a crime, since the police pursuit began as a traffic stop.

After Judge Holden set aside the Felony Murder Conviction by the Greene County Jury, he sentenced Joshua Brown to 10 years in prison as a prior and persistent drug offender, said sentence to run concurrent with the 14 years Brown is already serving on a probation revocation for possession of controlled substances.  This means that Joshua Brown received no additional time from Judge Holden for his involvement in the death of Cedar County Deputy Matthew Chism. The possible range of punishment for a prior and persistent drug offender is 10 years to Life. Judge Holden expressed his concern that he was required to give Joshua Brown the minimum 10 year sentence and could not instead send him to a drug treatment program.

The Cedar County Prosecutor would like to thank the Greene County Jurors for their diligent and attentive service during the three day trial. Furthermore, Mr. Gaither thanks the Jury for their verdict, unfortunately thrown out by Judge Holden, finding Joshua Brown guilty of Felony Murder. The Prosecutor’s Office would also like to thank the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office, the El Dorado Police Department, the MSHP and the many Law Enforcement personnel who helped obtain the Jury conviction and were supportive of the Chism family for the last 18 months.

Finally, to the citizens of Cedar County, Prosecuting Attorney Gaither affirms his opinion and that of the Greene County Jury, that Joshua Brown is guilty of felony murder, that Judge Calvin Holden’s decision is incorrect, ignores the law and the facts, and improperly sets aside the decision of the jury. Judge Holden’s decision will be appealed to the Southern District Court of Appeals.