Timothy Batts was convicted of felony gun possession after being tried for shooting and killing his 11-year-old daughter. The jury failed to reach a decision on a reckless homicide, but many are questioning why a similar case reached a very different outcome.
Batts accidentally shot his daughter in Hendersonville, when he mistook her for an intruder.
After the verdict, some were reminded of a similar case in nearby Goodlettsville, just one year earlier, involving 30 year old Robert Turner.
Last year, he was sentenced only to probation, after he pled guilty to criminally negligent homicide for leaving his gun out in the open.
His 7-year-old son got hold of it, and shot and killed his 5-year-old brother.
NewsChannel 5 legal analyst Nick Leonardo said there are two different outcomes, between somewhat similar crimes, based on the fact that Batts was a convicted felon, who was not supposed to have a gun. Batts was found guilty Thursday for that offense.
"I mean this particular case you have a felon that was not supposed to have a weapon and has a weapon and i think there are people out there who says but for the fact he had a gun, this child would still be present," Leonardo said.
However, Leonardo added that the outcomes in similar cases like these can also be different because of the power of the prosecutor in each case, and their willingness, or unwillingness, to cut deals with the accused, even choosing not to prosecute some cases.
"They have what's called prosecutorial discretion they have the right to determine if they're going to offer plea negotiations and a lot of it has to do with your ability to procure witnesses," said Leonardo.
As for Batts, he'll be sentenced for the felony gun possession charge in September.
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Timothy Batts Fails Drug Test On Probation
Father Charged In Fatal Shooting Of 11-Year-Old
11-Year-Old Shot, Killed In Hendersonville
