Juror: Castor Hurt Case By Taking Stand

BY JOHN PATTERSON
SALISBURY POST

J.C. Castor's decision to take the stand in his own defense was not enough to convince jurors that he shot Golden Billings in self-defense.

And, in the opinion of one juror, Castor's decision to tell his own version of how Billings was killed didn't strengthen his case, it weakened it.

''Castor didn't do himself any favors by taking the stand,'' said the juror, who wished not to be identified. ''I don't think it helped him at all, because his testimony didn't fit everything else that we'd heard.''

Specifically, Castor testified that he fired the fatal shots only after Billings made a move for his handgun. But Castor's girlfriend, Tia Barringer, and Billings' wife, Jennifer, both testified that Billings' gun was tucked into the back waistband of his pants the night - Jan. 9, 1998 - he was killed.

''Both of the girls (Barringer and Jennifer Billings) testified that his (Billings) gun was tucked into the back of his pants,'' said the juror, who spoke by telephone Thursday night. ''He (Billings) would not have been able to draw a gun. And even if Billings would have made a motion for his gun, that didn't justify Castor shooting him. Castor's claim just didn't hold water.''

Jurors also seemed to be swayed by a number of photographs of the crime scene - Billings' mobile home in southern Rowan County, near Kannapolis.

But perhaps most intriguing for jurors was the evidence presented about Castor's prior conviction for the 1971 murder of 81-year-old Pearl Walker. Especially interesting, the juror said, were the similarities District Attorney Bill Kenerly pointed out between Walker's murder and Billings' murder.

''The prior conviction wasn't the sole reason for the conviction, but it did carry some weight,'' the juror said. ''The District Attorney (Kenerly) did an excellent job in his closing statements of using charts and everything else to tie things together.''

According to the juror, choosing life or death for Castor was ''truly more complex'' than finding him guilty.

''You can say you're a capital punishment proponent, but when you have to stand up and face a fellow and tell him you're going to put him to death ... that's a whole different ball game,'' the juror said. ''It was very emotional for everyone. It was just a wearisome process.''

Eventually, the jury was unable to agree unanimously on whether Castor's previous murder conviction - the single aggravating circumstance - outweighed the mitigating circumstances, which count toward leniency.

All but one juror felt Castor's aggravator - Walker's murder - outweighed the mitigating circumstances presented by his attorneys. Because they could not reach a unanimous decision on that issue, Judge Thomas Ross declared the jury deadlocked and imposed a sentence of life without parole for Castor.

Despite the strong convictions of the lone juror, the members of the panel - together for almost three weeks - got along well and worked hard, the juror said.

''It was a good bunch of people. They voted their conviction and everybody gave it a lot of thought. Nothing was taken lightly.''