1997 Birmingham homicides

This is a List of Birmingham homicides in 1997. 108 homicide cases were reported within the city limits during the calendar year. Note that not all homicides are ultimately ruled to be murder in courts of law.

A 2008 study by UAB researchers showed that 41 percent of victims seriously injured by violent acts died from their injuries in 1997, compared to 24 percent in 2007.

Listing by date

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• February 25: Miriam Rochester, 85, was beaten to death in her home on 2nd Avenue South. Alfonzo Morris was arrested hours later with some of Rochester's jewelry. DNA evidence also linked him to the crime. He was convicted in 2003 and sentenced to death, but the case was overturned on appeal. A 2008 retrial concluded without a verdict. A second retrial concluded in May 2008 with a guilty verdict. Morris was again sentenced to death on June 20. [1]
• July 7: Sherita Scott, 14, was gunned down in the early hours on a street corner in a West End neighborhood.
• Rodriques "ScooBoo" Turner, 21, was shot to death during an armed assault by a group of masked men on the porch of his brother Kenny's house in L&N City in North Birmingham. One of the assailants, Rayshon Kennon, was struck by Kenny Turner's return fire and paralyzed from the neck down. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and received a 15-year suspended sentence. Also charged were Harold Brownlee, Jr, and brothers Cordell and Torriel Wade. Brownlee was acquitted at trial in August 1999. The charges against the Wades were later dropped. Brownlee was charged in the 2011 murder of Jerry Crawford and Willie Turner III. He pleaded guilty to intentional murder and was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole. Cordell Wade was charged with manslaughter in the 2014 death of Denetria Johnson, whose car he struck while driving drunk on East Lake Boulevard.

See also

• List of homicides in 1997
• Birmingham homicides by year

References

• Birmingham News Digital Archives [2]
• Velasco, Eric (May 8, 2008) "Man convicted of capital murder in bludgeoning death." Birmingham News
• Robinson, Carol (May 25, 2008) "Birmingham trauma care keeps pace with rising violence." Birmingham News