The Auburn Plainsman A SPIRIT THAT IS NOT AFRAID www.theplainsman.com
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Vol. 117, Issue 21, 20 Pages
LOCKHART SENTENCED TO DEATH Jeremy Gerrard ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Courtney Lockhart, convicted of the March 4, 2008, capital murder of 18-year-old Auburn student Lauren Burk, was sentenced to death by lethal injection Wednesday. On Nov. 18, 2010, a jury unanimously recommended a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. Wednesday, Judge Jacob Walker III heard arguments from both sides before deciding to override the jury’s decision and give
Lockhart the death penalty, flooding the court with emotion from the families of both parties. “My reaction was happiness, and I was not surprised,” said Jim Burk, Lauren’s father. “As I said when I was on the stand, any parent that went through what we went through, losing a daughter like we did, there is no way if a person is a human being, they would want anything other than the death penalty for the person that murdered their child.” Walker said he came to his conclusion after weighing evidence
and precedent that was not made available to the jury during the trial. For his sentencing, Walker was allowed to consider additional crimes committed by Lockhart, including five robberies, firing a weapon at police and attempting a kidnapping all around the time of Lauren’s death. At Wednesday’s sentencing, four members of the Burk family addressed the court with impact statements, including Lauren’s father, who said he wished Lockhart’s daughter would never have
to experience anything similar. “I’m sorry for your family, but don’t bring my daughter into this,” Lockhart said in an outburst. “I wish you didn’t bring my daughter into it,” Jim said. At these reactions, the court took a recess before reconvening for sentencing. While the defense argued the unanimous decision by the jury was reason enough to dismiss the death penalty, the prosecution relied on Lockhart’s intent and emotional appeal as they » See LOCKHART, A2
LOCKHART
TOOMER’S UPDATE
Toomer’s task force digs deep
ROD GUAJARDO / EDITOR
David Hoilett, Atlas Geo Sampling Company, and Gary Keever examine a soil sample.
Efforts to survey soil, ground water continue
interval,” McCauley said. “If that’s the case, then groundwater, which is far deeper than that, hasn’t been impacted.” McCauley said even if the herbicide had reached the groundwater, there would be little public health concern as it would be highly diluted. He also said the city of Auburn receives its water from lake water, not the groundwater in question. McCauley said his team was also taking soil samples at depths up to 20 feet to determine how far the herbicide had traveled. The samples are being sent to the chemistry department for analysis and should be returned within a week. Meanwhile, Gary Keever, professor of horticulture and task force head, said signs of the tree’s exposure to the herbicide should be visible soon. “Based on herbicide experts, we don’t expect the herbicide to move up in the tree until the buds break,”
Eric Austin MANAGING EDITOR
The Toomer’s oaks task force continued working this week to save the poisoned oaks and to determine the extent to which the lethal herbicide spread. “We’re essentially just trying to find out where it is and how far it’s migrated,” said Tom McCauley, environmental programs manager for the University Department of Risk and Safety. McCauley and a team of contractors from the Birmingham-based firm Highland Technical Services Inc. drilled wells around the oaks to determine how deep the groundwater flows. “We feel pretty confident that the material hasn’t migrated beyond a four foot
Keever said. Keever said the buds are currently “swelling,” and as the weather warms the tree will show its first leaves of spring. At that point, he said he expects them to brown and then shed. He said the tree could attempt to grow its leaves several more times, or if the herbicide is concentrated enough, the tree could die after the first shedding. He said his team would be examining the buds every seven to 14 days and informing the Auburn Police Department of their findings. “From a legal standpoint, the police want to determine the herbicide actually got in the tree,” Keever said. “If not, you could say, well something else killed those trees.” Keever said the Toomer’s incident has shown the diversity and the versatility of the University. “That’s one of the things that I’ve been most
ROD GUAJARDO / EDITOR
David Hoilett extracts a sample of soil from Toomer’s Oaks to measure the toxicity. impressed with,” Keever said. “It’s not as if we’ve got to go to other universities or industry. They’re right here. They might be upstairs, or over in the chemistry building, but we had all the expertise we needed right here.”
Keever said he hopes the incident will make the Auburn community more conscious of the campus landscape. “How many people thought about trees on campus before this, other than rolling Toomer’s corner?”
Keever said. “I hope next fall, when the football team is playing, people think about the campus when they’re out there, that they use trash bins, that they don’t intentionally dump their grill in the base of a » See TOOMER’S, A2
Updyke preliminary hearing canceled his notice of appearance Feb. 22. Because of the high probability of a majority of the jury pool in Lee County having affiliations with the University, Threatt said he is considering applying for a change of venue. “At the very least, if I call up 100 jurors from Lee County and 60 of them have relationships with the University, then what that does is it shrinks the diversity of
Jillian Clair NEWS EDITOR
The preliminary hearing for Harvey Updyke, the man accused of poisoning the Toomer’s oaks, originally scheduled for March 2, has been canceled. The motion to cancel the hearing was filed in conjunction with the withdrawal of Updyke’s third attorney, Jerry Blevins. Updyke’s fourth attorney, Glennon Threatt, submitted INSIDE
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Commentary » A5
the jury pool, resulting in a jury that may not be adequately representative of the community,” Threatt said. However, Threatt said he is still discussing the case with District Attorney Robbie Treese. “I wouldn’t be talking with him in good faith if I had already decided that we were going to seek a change of venue,” Threatt said. As the case currently
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stands, Threatt said the preliminary hearing, originally scheduled for March 2, will most likely be held sometime in mid-April. From there, the case will be heard by the grand jury sometime in May, and if an indictment is returned, the pretrial will probably be held in June. If convicted of criminal mischief in relation to the Toomer’s oak poisonings, Updyke, 62, could face up to |
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10 years in prison. Threatt said there may be additional state or federal charges filed against Updyke. Threatt said he thinks the state will also pursue restitution, which means if Updyke is convicted, he would have to pay the cost of the University’s efforts to save the trees. Although Updyke admits he called into the » See UPDYKE, A2 |
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UPDYKE
Recycled paper