Sanders seeks new venue for 2nd trial in murder
By Anthony James
Jul 17, 2012, 18:00
Edna Mae Sanders, the woman accused of killing her husband by pouring boiling oil on him, has filed for a change of venue in her retrial of the case.
Brian Alexander, Sanders' attorney, said he is seeking the change because of the intense coverage the case has received.
"We're trying to get out of range of people that know about the case," Alexander said Tuesday.
Sanders spent nearly five years in jail after being convicted and Alexander said he believes it would be difficult to get an impartial jury in Hancock County.
Sanders is accused of pouring boiling oil on her husband Sherman on July 27, 2006. Sherman died a week later from his injuries. Sanders was sentenced to life in prison.
But in 2010, the Mississippi Court of Appeals overturned the conviction and ordered it back to Hancock County. In April, Circuit Judge Lawrence Bourgeois set Sanders' bond at $150,000.
Two hours after the bond hearing, Sanders posted bond and was reunited with family in a tearful reunion at the Hancock County jail.
"It's not often that a lawyer gets to be in this position with a chance for a new trial. Obviously, I'm elated," Alexander said in April after Sanders was released from jail. "We believe with great confidence that now our hands are untied, the second trial is going to be a completely different story."
A hearing date for Sanders has not been set, Alexander said.
