Dewitt Appeal Denied

Today at Harrison County Circuit Court, Judge Larry Bourgeois upheld the initial verdict in the case of former Hancock High Basketball Coach Leslie Danielle Dewitt.
Dewitt was found guilty on two counts of touching a child for lustful purposes.
Dewitt’s attorney had filed a motion for a new trial based on claims that one juror was not completely honest when questioned about his residency in Hancock County during the selection process. Separate motions were filed requesting a lesser sentence and asking for a bond appeal.
Judge Bourgeois denied a retrial and rejected the notion to reconsider the sentence. He will deliver an order regarding the possible bond appeal on Tuesday. Assistant District Attorney Alison Baker said, “The law provides that the juror situation, that being the basis for a new trial, the law was clear that it is not a basis for a new trial. It doesn’t invalidate the verdict. As far as their arguments for reconsideration of the sentence, again we never know how a judge is going to rule, but looking at the law, the law provides a sentence of 30 years.”
Dewitt’s attorney was unavailable for comment after the hearing.