Labron C. Neal was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without parole for the Aug. 11, 1996 double murder of two area teens, but prosecutors and one of the victim’s mothers say that is not enough.

If there’s someone who deserves the death penalty it’s Labron Neal, Jackson County State’s Attorney Mike Wepsiec said.

One of the victim’s mothers, Renee Campbell, labored through tears to say that there is not a day when she does not think of her murdered son, how any sentence less than the one delivered would have been an insult to her family and how she wished Neal was eligible for the death penalty.

Advertisement

Sleeping has been difficult waking up in the middle of the night filled with rage, Campbell said as her husband delivered a stern, glazed glare across the courtroom to the Neal family.

I still have a hard time believing Austin is not with us.

Neal, 18, of Carbondale, was convicted Sept. 9 on six-counts of first-degree murder in the August 1996 shooting deaths of Terrance Mitchell, 16, of Carbondale, and James Austin Campbell, 15, of Murphysboro, outside a party at Carbondale Mobile Homes.

Campbell’s father, James Allen Campbell, is an SIUC associate professor in curriculum and instruction.

Neal’s conviction came in the second trial of the case. The first trial ended in a hung jury July 24 after 10 days of testimony and 25 hours of deliberation. The first jury was deadlocked at 11-1 for a guilty verdict. Jackson County Circuit Judge William Schwartz then declared a mistrial.

Testimony in the retrial lasted six days with about five hours of jury deliberations. Neal was eligible for 20 years to life in prison. He was not eligible for the death penalty because he was a minor when he committed the murders.

Emotion swept the courtroom as glares were exchanged and Neal’s mother, Luzetta Neal, lectured Mitchell’s mother, Cynthia Love, while taking the stand about her feeling of loss.

Advertisement*

Love’s crying echoed through the courtroom as Wepsiec submitted her written testimony because she was emotionally unfit to take the stand.

Neal also testified, saying he did not shoot the two teens. He also said he cared for Mitchell and did not know Campbell very well. At this time, Luzetta stormed out of the courtroom saying My god is superior to this court. Labron will be OK.

Defense attorney Paul Christenson said his client will appeal the case within the 30-day window required by the courts, holding to his beliefs that Neal is innocent and did not receive a fair trial.

Christenson said the appeal will be based on four allegations:That Neal did not receive a fair trial because of the media coverage of the case and how it may have influenced jurors toward a conviction;

The court’s denial of a change of venue motion was incorrect;

The late admission of the murder weapon in the first trial came during a critical time in the case and should not have been allowed;

And flimsy evidence did not support the verdict.

Christenson also blasted Schwartz and Wepsiec for ignoring Neal’s testimony that Reggie Cavitt was the trigger man. Christenson also criticized investigators for not conducting a thorough investigation into Cavitt’s possible involvement.

Our job in this trial was making sure the right person was going to jail, and forgive me your honor, but not everyone was as concerned about that as I was, Christenson said in open court.

Schwartz replied during his concluding speech that few cases in recent memory had as much impact on the community as the Neal case. But he stressed that the justice system worked, and investigators should be commended for their swift work.

Schwartz also pounded at Neal’s juvenile record and time he served in social work programs and correctional facilities.

I don’t know where you lost your social conscience, Labron, but it’s always someone else’s fault, and you were never there, he said.

Jail fails to serve as a deterrent to your actions. After you last got out of jail you murdered two young men. Life without parole protects society from people like you. You have no concept of the value of human life.

Upon those closing comments Schwartz delivered the sentence.

The families of Campbell and Mitchell left the courthouse together without comment on the sentence.

Schwartz, Wepsiec and Christenson all said after the sentencing they are relieved the trial has come to a close. Wepsiec also said that the victims’ families reactions and meeting with him after the sentencing will be kept confidential.

It’s been a really trying case emotionally for the families. It’s been trying on myself as well, he said.

The community was shocked by the great sense of loss, and the fact that this kind of case really happened here.