A Hattiesburg man’s 2016 murder conviction was affirmed by the Mississippi Court of Appeals after the judges said the man had received a fair trial.
V’Nell L. Miskell was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced as a habitual offender to life in prison without eligibility for parole or early release in the 2014 shooting death of Johnny Cooper.
Miskell claimed in his appeal that Forrest County Circuit Judge Jon Mark Weathers erred in its application of Batson v. Kentucky (1986) in jury selection, by denying his request for a confession instruction, and after the State made improper remarks during its closing argument. The Court of Appeals found no error and affirmed the conviction.
The case centers around the shooting death on Sept. 11, 2014, of Cooper, whose body was discovered at Timberton Park in Hattiesburg. His body was found submerged in water in the ditch/creek near the softball fields and an autopsy later revealed he had been shot six times.
Miskell’s brother, Vernell Miskell, provided a sworn statement to police that the morning after Cooper had been murdered, Miskell came to his house and admitted to Vernell he had murdered Cooper. According to Vernell’s statement and trial testimony, Miskell was with Cooper smoking weed at the park the evening before the body was discovered. While Cooper, a known drug dealer, was counting his money, Miskell shot him once.
Cooper ran and Miskell continued to shoot him until he fell into the ditch, where Miskell shot him again. Vernell also testified at trial that he found in Miskell’s clothes a nine-millimeter firearm and later sold it. Later, while in jail on an aggravated assault charge, Vernell wrote another statement that said Miskell had not told Vernell anything regarding Cooper. At trial, Vernell admitted he wrote the latter statement at Miskell’s request, because he did not want to get his brother in trouble. He further admitted that his initial statement was true.
Presiding Judges Tyree Irving and Kenny Griffis and Judges Donna M. Barnes, Virginia C. Carlton, Eugene Love Fair, Jr., Jim Greenlee and Sean J. Tindell concur. Judges Jack L. Wilson and Latrice A. Westbrooks concur in part and in the result without separate written opinion.
