Pittsburg Co. Judge Declares Mistrial Due To Concerns Of Tainted Jury Pool

A Pittsburg County judge declares a mistrial during jury selection for a murder trial after prosecutors and defense attorneys expressed concerns the jury pool was tainted.

Bart Jameson’s family said they don’t feel like they will ever get justice in this case.

“I am empty,” said Bart Jameson’s mother Donna Jameson.

It has almost been a year since Donna Jameson’s son was shot and killed.

“Bart was such a free spirit, he never lost a friend,” said Donna Jameson.

Prosecutors charged Brenda Savage with Bart’s murder. Officers responded to an accidental shooting call on January 30th, 2019. They say they found two men and Savage in the back of the home. An affidavit said Savage told police, “she did shoot Bart.” It said, “Brenda didn’t seem to be bothered by the situation.” A witness told police, “Brenda shot Bart for no reason.”

For almost a year now, as Donna deals with the pain of losing her son, she had also done everything she can to keep fighting for him.

“I have my good days and my bad days, but I am determined to see justice for Bart,” said Jameson.

Savage’s attorney Blake Lynch sent us this statement:

“The defense on this case made a motion for mistrial that was denied. The motion was based on concerns that social media had spread false information about the case. The State's motion for mistrial - which is what was ultimately granted - was based on fear that the jury might have inferred some actual evidence from defense's questioning during voir dire. Our position is that the State's motion should be treated as a dismissal and further that if the State is afraid of the jury hearing the actual facts of the case - they should probably not be trying it in the first place.”

The Pittsburg County District Attorney Chuck Sullivan sent us the following statement:

“Both the state and the defendant are entitled to a fair and impartial jury. In order to make that happens, there are rules for voir dire (jury selection). Unfortunately, during voir dire, impermissible arguments and analogies were made by the defense to the jurors that tainted the jury pool to the point we felt we could not get a fair and impartial jury. My heart breaks for the family. We started this week, hoping we could end this week with a verdict that would give justice to Bart. We are devastated on his family’s behalf.”

Savage remains free on bond until a new trial is set.

“She is walking around enjoying her life and my son’s life is gone,” said Donna Jameson.