Franklin "JR" B Joyner
178 Mill Street
Chesterfield, South Carolina 29709
Date of Offense
December 4, 2019
Reporting Authority
This complaint has been forwarded to the South Carolina Bar
Statement
The Supreme Court characterized several statements in the State’s closing as “absolutely inexcusable” and found they “infected [the] trial with such a high degree of unfairness as to make [the] conviction a denial of due process.” Specifically, the assistant solicitor:
- Misstated his role as “present[ing] the truth” and implied a statutory duty to decide truth, not present evidence—misleading jurors that his personal assessment had evidentiary weight.
- Told jurors he would have “nolle prossed” (dismissed) the case if he believed someone else did it, signaling that his internal screening already determined Fortune’s guilt.
- Denigrated defense counsel, asserting “the defense attorneys’ jobs are to manipulate the truth… shroud the truth… confuse jurors… [and] do whatever they have to—without regard for the truth.” The Court held this characterization of defense counsel’s role was inexcusable misconduct.
