The First Verdict

On April 17, 2001, the jury found Baugh guilty on all six counts. Meanwhile, while the jury was deliberating, defense lawyer Gere Quinn made a motion for a mistrial, charging that prosecutor Clint Rucker was not licensed to practice law in Georgia.

The allegation was true — Rucker's law license had been suspended because he failed to pay his bar association dues. Rucker claimed the non-payment was an oversight and said he was embarrassed by the situation.

Judge Jerry Baxter denied the mistrial following a hearing on the matter. Baugh was sentenced to life in prison, but that all changed when her lawyers successfully appealed her case. On July 10, 2003, the Georgia State Supreme Court found that hearsay testimony by lead investigator William Anastasio had been erroneously admitted during the trial. Anastasio had been allowed to testify to statements made to him by Herndon's employees and girlfriends as well as Baugh's mother-in-law, and to compare these statements to information given by the defendant.

The Verdict