J. Russell "Rusty" Pigott
Attorney at Law
Legal Office of
Old South Development Co.
Thank you for visiting my website. I have lived in the South Alabama area for over 35 years and have been practicing law since 1993. My office would appreciate the opportunity to serve you. Please feel to contact us.
WE ARE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT AS OF MARCH 1, 2006, WE HAVE SHIFTED THE PRIMARY FOCUS OF OUR PRACTICE TO REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT, WITH THE ADDITION OF OLD SOUTH DEVELOPMENT CO. TO OUR CLIENT LIST.
OLD SOUTH DEVELOPMENT BUILDS AND DEVELOPS RESIDENTIAL AND CONDOMINIUM COMMUNITIES IN SOUTH ALABAMA. THEIR NEWEST PROJECT IS SOUTHERN OAK VILLAGE, A CONDOMINIUM PROJECT JUST EAST OF FOLEY NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF THE FOLEY BEACH EXPRESS AND U.S. HIGHWAY 98. Visit their website at
Other Areas of Practice
Although we have shifted the primary focus of our practice, we will continue to serve our clients in the following matters:
Criminal Defense/DUI - traffic tickets, DUI and all misdemeanor cases in the Municipal Courts of Foley, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Summerdale, Elberta and Robertsdale, as well as State Trooper and Sheriff's Dept. cases in the District Court at the Foley Satellite Courthouse.
Personal Injury/Civil litigation - we will gladly offer referrals to firms experienced in the trials and appeals of automobile accident cases, premises liability, insurance claims, and all manner of civil litigation.
Probate & Estate - preparation of wills, trusts, powers of attorney, living wills, probating of estates
Real Estate - deeds, sales contracts, mortgages, foreclosure, environmental cases, homeowner's associations, liens, condominiums, and construction development.
call (251) 943-3535 or email rpigott@gulftel.com for more information
Coming in the fall of 2006, Southern
Situated ¼ mile northwest of the intersection of U.S. Highway 98 and the Foley Beach Express, just east of
* The fabulous beaches and waterways of the Alabama Gulf Coast.
*
* The Wharf, with national retailers, as well as local, retail stores, world class concerts in their 10,000 seat outdoor amphitheater, top restaurants, a world-class marina, and an internationally acclaimed destination spa www.thewharfal.com
* Waterparks and Themeparks, including
* Golf courses: Whether you live to golf or just hit the links occasionally, you find some of the best golf courses anywhere in
* Great local schools www.gulftel.com/foleyhs
* Things to do in Foley: www.foleycvb.com
With pre-sales starting in the 140’s, you can buy your vacation destination and use your savings to enjoy everything the
Investors, ask us about GO Zone investment opportunities at Southern Oak
For more information, visit our website at
www.southernoakvillage.com or contact Dana Tapia at (251) 979-2656 or danatapia@gulftel.com
Southern
One of many residential projects offered by
Old South Development Co.
Recent Cases
"WALKING"AWAY FROM DEATH ROW"
GREG KNIGHT ESCAPES LETHAL INJECTION IN STUNNING REVERSAL OF FORTUNE
Foley man escapes death penalty for June, 2000 murder
On Tuesday (November 30, 2004), in a stunning reversal of fortune, Baldwin County Circuit Judge Charles Partin re-sentenced Gregory Knight, 26, to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the June, 2000 murder of his wife.
The sentence came shortly after the Baldwin County District Attorney’s office announced that it would no longer seek the death penalty for Knight, following the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals October 1, 2004 ruling that vacated his previously imposed death sentence.
The District Attorney’s announcement came on the heels of a vigorous effort by Knight’s defense attorneys to spare the man’s life. In a 41 page sentencing memorandum filed with the Court before the hearing, Knight’s attorneys, William Scully of Daphne and Rusty Pigott of Foley, argued that the circumstances of the case, in light of the ruling by the Court of Criminal Appeals and the prior rulings of the court, precluded the imposition of the death penalty. “The Defendant believes that the appropriate sentence is, and must be, life without parole”, Pigott concluded in his memo.
Knight was convicted of capital murder in August, 2001. Court records show that the medical examiner testified that Knight’s wife, Letisha, was stabbed 32 times with a butcher knife. Police records show that Knight killed his wife while they were sitting in a vehicle at an abandoned trailer-home off
Knight’s attorneys originally argued that the jury that convicted Knight should have been allowed to consider “heat of passion” manslaughter as a lesser included offense of capital murder. Court records show that in the weeks preceding the murder, Knight discovered that his wife’s second child was not his and that the real father of the child was one of Knight’s acquaintances. In the hours before the murder, Knight saw his wife riding around with another man, who Knight believed his wife was having an affair with. She eluded his efforts to contact her that night. The next day, when he and his wife were riding around in a car together, his wife received a telephone call from the man Knight had seen her with the night before. That telephone call triggered a “reactive psychosis”, according to defense psychologist Dr. Robert DeFrancisco, which brought on an extreme emotional outburst that resulted in Knight killing his wife while they were sitting in her car.
However, Circuit Judge Charles Partin declined to instruct the jury on this lesser included offense. Following their guilty verdict, the same jury recommended that Knight be sentenced to death by a vote of 10-2.
On September 19, 2001, Partin followed the jury’s recommendation and sentenced Knight to death. In his sentencing order, Partin noted that one particular fact, evidence of Knight’s 1996 conviction for robbery in
That ruling sent Knight’s defense attorneys back to work. “Although we were aware of the
Pigott said he spent several days in Escambia County Florida Circuit Court searching through records and closed files, trying to find anything that could help his client. “We discovered a similar
That discovery gave new life to Knight’s present case, since evidence of Knight’s 1996 conviction was used by prosecutors to show that he had previously been convicted of a crime involving the use or threat of violence, an aggravating circumstance under Alabama death penalty law.
With this new information, Knight’s attorneys filed a motion with Circuit Court Judge Charles Partin to vacate his death sentence. Partin, however, denied the motion on November 15, 2001, which set up an automatic appeal to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals.
On October 1, 2004, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed Knight’s conviction but set aside the death sentence and remanded the case back to Baldwin County Circuit Court for a new sentencing hearing before a jury. In their ruling, the appeal’s court agreed with Knight’s attorney’s assertion that his
The appeals court also agreed with several other issues raised by his attorneys, in their ruling overturning his death sentence.
Partin had originally scheduled a jury trial for the sentencing for the week of December 6, 2004. But shortly before Tuesday’s hearing, which was initially scheduled to address a defense motion challenging the evidence that could be presented to the jury, the District Attorney’s office conceded the issue and informed the Court that it would no longer proceed with efforts to reinstate Knight’s death sentence. Scully and Pigott then argued that the only appropriate sentence was life without parole. Partin agreed.
“It is professionally rewarding to be associated with a difficult case that, for all practical purposes, ends up sparing your client from execution” Pigott said.
“Criminal defense, especially defending persons charged with capital murder, is usually not the most popular job one can have but it’s what makes our system work and we believed that justice was served by today’s decision”.
“This was a terrible incident”, both Scully and Pigott said, referring to the murder. “Nevertheless, our client is Greg Knight and we have a duty to defend him to best of our abilities, regardless of how unpopular our efforts may be” the attorneys said.
“When a defense attorney does everything legally possible to defend his client, the odds that an innocent person will be convicted or that a death sentence will be erroneously applied are very remote” Pigott said. “It took awhile to get there but the law that protects all of us prevailed today”.
Tuesday’s court proceedings are not the end of this case. The case will be sent back to the Court of Criminal Appeals for a final opinion. Following that decision, Knight will still be able to continue his appeal to the Alabama Supreme Court, where Pigott says he will argue that Knight should have been able to pursue the “heat of passion” defense at trial, which could reduce the charge to manslaughter.
Justice finally served
Norman Pettibone is finally a free man. On September 29, 2004, Norman's case was settled when Circuit Judge Charles Partin accepted an settlement agreement that allowed Mr. Pettibone to enter a best interest plea, receiving a time served sentence and 6 months of unsupervised probation. A best interest plea involves one stipulating that there is sufficient evidence to convict while maintaining one's innocence. The settlement ended a near 7 year court battle which saw Mr. Pettibone imprisoned for over 5 of those years. Pettibone's attorney, Rusty Pigott of Foley, said his client was pleased with the outcome but had lost over over 5 years of his life in prison for a crime he insists he did not commit.
Loxley man gets freedom after long court odyssey
Plea deal ends case that had been tried thrice before
Thursday, September 30, 2004
By BRENDAN KIRBY
Staff Reporter
BAY MINETTE -- Norman Lee Pettibone is free -- officially.
The Loxley man's circuitous journey through the criminal justice system, which included three trials for the same 1998 robbery, ended Wednesday with a plea bargain in front of Baldwin County Circuit Judge Charles Partin.
Under terms of the agreement, Pettibone entered a plea of guilty to the third-degree robbery charge and received a 15-year sentence with everything suspended except for the more than five years he already has spent in prison.
He will serve six months on unsupervised probation and pay $50 to the Alabama Crime Victims Compensation Fund, along with court costs.
Pettibone's attorney, Rusty Pigott, and prosecutors haggled over the details of the plea bargain for months. The hang-up was Pettibone's reluctance to pleading guilty for a crime he insists he did not commit. From the time of his arrest, he has maintained that he was a victim of mistaken identity.
But after Wednesday's brief hearing, he said he did not want to chance a fourth jury trial that could re-impose the 99-year sentence he originally received.
"I'm free. I want to stay free. This is the only thing that will ensure I stay free," said Pettibone, who now works at Standard Furniture Manufacturing Co. in Bay Minette.
District Attorney David Whetstone said he remains convinced that Pettibone committed the March 5, 1998, robbery at Mo's Big Rose convenience store on
"We had a very, very strong independent witness who said that it was he, and she never wavered," he said.
But Whetstone said prosecutors have determined that Pettibone has beaten a drug addiction and no longer poses a threat to society. He said his office has limited resources to seek yet another retrial in a case that has been overturned twice before.
Pettibone's first trial, in April 1999, ended in a hung jury. A second trial later that year resulted in a conviction, but Pettibone eventually won a new trial after a key prosecution witness recanted his testimony.
Prosecutors took the case to trial once more in October 2001 and again won a conviction. But Pettibone, who filed his own brief after his court-appointed lawyer determined the defendant had no case, won a reversal from the Alabama Supreme Court. The high court ruled that the prosecutor improperly mentioned Pettibone's previous conviction.
Pettibone, 49, said he believes police focused on him as a suspect based on a bogus tip and then influenced the clerk to identify him from a photo array -- an accusation law enforcement officials have denied.
Pettibone said he believes he knows who committed the Mo's Big Rose robbery -- a man from his neighborhood who matched the original description given by the clerk. But he said authorities have shown no interest in pursuing the case.
Whetstone said Wednesday that he has never received such information but would investigate it if it were credible.
Pettibone said he is disappointed that Whetstone never adequately investigated how recanted testimony was allowed to be offered to a jury in the case. He said he hopes to convince federal authorities to take up the matter.
"I'm glad it's over, but I still consider this to be the epitome of injustice," he said. "I'm going to try to get somebody to look into this. ... I've got to do something to draw attention to the injustice I have received in
WPMI NBC-15 Television
May 19, 2004
New hope of freedom for a local man behind bars
Last Update: 5/19/2004 11:30:02 PM
Posted By: Ron Reams
(MOBILE, Ala.) May 19 -- A local man, facing life behind bars as a habitual offender, is one step closer to tasting freedom. With the Alabama Supreme Court over-turning his conviction, his fate is now in the hands of Baldwin County District Attorney David Whetstone. Norman Pettibone realizes the odds were against him from the start. “A black man, in the Deep South, accused of committing a crime against a white female, with an all white jury. You might as well bend over and kiss your butt goodbye because they're going to find a way to convict you.” “They have absolutely no evidence to link me to this crime. No more than a lady saying that's his picture… that's him.” He's gone to trial three times for a crime he says he didn't commit. The first time the jury couldn't reach a verdict. At his second trial he was convicted and sentenced to 99 years to life. But after the trial, the state’s key witnesses came forward telling the judge Pettibone was being set-up. “And his testimony was that he lied at my trial because the prosecutor and the police officer instructed him to do so. In exchange they were going to give him three years probation.” From his jail cell in Atmore, he began acting as his own attorney, successfully arguing his case before the state’s highest court… but it wasn't enough. The Alabama Attorney General asking the Supreme Court to keep Pettibone locked away... but that request was denied late last week. “I had a passion. I had a passion to win this case. I had a passion to try and clear my name and I think I’ll be able to do that this time." His fate is now in the hands of Baldwin County District Attorney David Whetstone. In an earlier interview, the district attorney told NBC 15 he would have to think twice before retrying the case. “We're going to look at it. He's been there some time. We’re looking at his background to see if we think we should use state resources to continue and we'll make that decision very quickly." For Norman Pettibone it's already cost him the last four years of his life. His attorney, Rusty Pigott, admits his client has made mistakes in the past… but he says it's obvious Pettibone did not commit this crime.
But Norman Pettibone has refused to give up. In fact just last week the Alabama Supreme Court ruled in his favor for a second time. “I'm innocent,” Pettibone states emphatically. “I don't deserve to be here. I can't give up.” He was convicted and sentenced to 99 years to life for holding-up a gas station along Highway 59 in Loxley.
bravenet.com