HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — The man accused of killing a Huntsville police officer in March 2023 will be getting new court-appointed lawyers after he made multiple complaints to the court that he was unsatisfied with his two veteran attorneys.
Juan Laws is charged with capital murder in the shooting death of Officer Garrett Crumby at the Governor’s House Drive Apartments on March 28, 2023. Crumby and Officer Albert Morin were responding to a domestic violence call when they were both shot. Morin was injured but survived, Crumby was shot multiple times, according to investigators.
Court records show Madison County Circuit Judge Alison Austin this week approved motions by attorneys Bruce Gardner and Larry Marsili presented to the court on Jan. 27, to withdraw as Laws’ attorneys.
Attorneys Richard Jensen and Dustin Paseur were also appointed by Judge Austin to represent Laws, who could face the death penalty if he is convicted.
News 19 reached out to Laws’s newly appointed attorneys for comment on this case. Paseur sent us the following statement:
“First and foremost, I’m honored to be trying a case alongside my co-counsel, Richard Jensen, who has decades of experience and dozens of capital murder cases under his belt, and we both appreciate Judge Austin entrusting us with this case. We certainly understand the public interest in this high-profile and sensitive case and would like to thank the media for reaching out so that they can receive accurate reports so that they, in turn, can ensure that all aspects of this case are reported fairly and accurately. Mr. Jensen and I are committed to ensuring a fair trial for our client, where the legal process is respected and Mr. Laws’ rights are upheld, and that both sides are treated fairly. We have full confidence in the judicial system, as well as the prosecutors – Tim Gann, Tim Douthit, and Chris Donovan – who are not only superb attorneys, but who are all honorable and respectable men, and we know they will do their best as well to ensure that justice is served. Mr Jensen and I have a significant amount of work to do to get up to speed on this case and look forward to representing Mr. Laws to the best of our abilities.”
The decision to replace Laws’ attorneys comes after a series of complaints by Laws.
Laws has written the judge multiple times, complaining about poor communication with his attorneys. Gardner and Marsili are among the most experienced defense lawyers in Madison County, but Laws told the court they had failed to represent him adequately.
Laws had previously told the court he wanted to represent himself and later wrote a letter to the attorneys dismissing them.
During a hearing in December 2024, Laws told the judge he wanted to change his plea from not guilty to guilty. The judge advised him she was not ready to take a plea at that point and asked for a mental health examination of Laws to be completed.
Under Alabama law, a defendant can plead guilty even in a capital murder case. If the defendant chooses not to offer a defense, at any point, it’s conceivable they could be sentenced to death.
A status hearing in the case is set for May 5.
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