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Photo courtesy Bruce Shields/The Ann Arbor News
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Orange Taylor III stands with his defense team while the verdict is being read. Taylor was found guilty on all four counts after both sides rested in his retrial which concluded earlier this week.
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After nearly five hours of deliberation, jury members in the re-trial of Orange Amir Taylor III came back with the verdict of guilty of felony murder, home invasion, larceny in a building and assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct.
The jury was composed of seven woman and five men. Two jurors were from Ypsilanti.
Taylor faces mandatory life in prison for the felony murder and criminal sexual conduct charges related to the death of Eastern Michigan University Student Laura Dickinson.
Dickinson was discovered on the floor of her dorm room in Hill Hall Dec. 15, 2006 naked from the chest down with pillow covering her face.
Prosecuting attorney Blaine Longsworth said the Dickinson family is "greatly relieved" and the verdict offers closure for both the Taylor and Dickinson family.
"It's hard to describe, we're just glad it's over," said Dickinson's father Bob Dickinson.Genero Cofield, Taylor's oldest brother said the family would continue to support him and appeal the ruling to the highest court if necessary.
"We just hope to go to the appeal process and get justice later on down the line," he said.
Cofield, an Ypsilanti resident, explained he and his family were prepared for a guilty verdict due to the relatively short time the jury deliberated.
But he said the decision was still tough to hear.
"Nothing can actually prepare you for the word guilty," he said.
Longsworth said he tried this case much as the first one, which resulted in a hung jury last October after approximately 17 hours of deliberation.
"I always thought the case was a very strong case and we didn't need to change or deviate from what we presented during the first trial," Longsworth said.
First Assistant Public Defender and Deputy Operation Chief Lorne L. Brown as well as Assistant Public Defender Laura Graham represented Taylor during the second trial.
In his closing statements Brown argued Taylor was made to be a "scapegoat" for a prosecution that could not prove its case that Taylor killed Dickinson.
The Washtenaw County Medical Examiner Dr. Bader Cassin, the last witness to take the stand, ruled March 5, 2007 Dickinson died of asphyxiation due to smothering and/or strangulation.
Cassin testified Friday there was a remarkable lack of apparent injury save a small scrape on the instep on Dickinson's left foot and a 1 to 1.5-inch mark on the left side of the neck.
Cassin said he took into account the pictures given to him of the scene and the manner in which the body was positioned when discovered in determining the cause of death.
The medical examiner also took into account results of a toxicology report he received March 2. No narcotics or sedatives were found in Dickinson's system.
The only chemicals present were caffeine and GHB or gamma-hydroxybutyrate, a depressant of the central nervous system.
GHB can also be found in the form of a drug, also known as the date-rape drug. However he said he could not rule out with any medical certainty if Dickinson was given the drug or not.He said bodies that are long dead show an increased amount of GHB.
Brown argued Taylor walked into Dickinson's room, saw her dead or dying on the floor and took "advantage" of the situation.
"You saw Orange Taylor going through the dorms, hood on, looking sinister but that does not make him a murderer," Brown told the jury during his closing statements Friday.
Washtenaw County Public Defender Lloyd Powell said his office presented a "top-notch defense" for Taylor and he said he accepts the jury's decision.
The prosecutor's office had the opportunity to call their own expert witnesses including a medical examiner.
However, Powell said after careful consideration his office decided it would not be in the best interest of their client.
Powell would not elaborate on his comments.
"I don't want to go into specifics because this case will no doubt be appealed," he said.
The public defender's office does not handle the appeal process.
Longsworth said he was not surprised by the jury's decision. He clarified it is typical for a guilty verdict to come after there is a hung jury the first trial.
David Nacht, a lawyer in the Ann Arbor community, said he also was not surprised with the outcome of the case.
"And I don't think most members of the community will be either," Nacht said. "It's a tough row to hoe for the defense when the prosecution can prove the defendant is at the scene of the crime."
Taylor was arrested Feb. 23, 2006 after test results from the Michigan state crime lab confirmed DNA found on Dickinson's right thigh matched Taylor's.
Cofield said his condolences go to the Dickinson family.
"This was a very tragic event for both families," he said. "Personally I'm glad it's over."
However, Cofield said he still believes his brother is not responsible for Dickinson's death.
"I believe my brother put himself in a very bad situation," he said. "He was in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Bob said he and his wife Deb would attend the sentencing, scheduled for May 7, to present a victim impact statement.
"There's no bringing Laura back but it helps that this was done," he said.
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