The Martin Firm - selected case information

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Natson gets life without parole
Mother of his baby asks jury to allow defendant to know his son

BY ALAN RIQUELMY
Staff Writer
Michael Antonio Natson, the former military policeman who faced the possibility of death for killing a Georgia Southern University student, will instead spend the rest of his life in prison.

The jury found Monday that Natson, 26, will have no chance of parole for the 2003 murder of Ardena Carter, 23. Jurors took two hours before returning to the courtroom of U.S. District Court Judge Clay Land with their final verdict in a case that began March 5.

The jury found Natson guilty on Friday of luring Carter from Statesboro, Ga., to Fort Benning on Sept. 11 and 12, 2003, and shooting her in the back of the head. It also found him eligible for the death penalty, though jurors couldn't agree on death or life without parole on Monday, which forced a verdict of the latter.

Land immediately sentenced Natson to life in prison with no possibility of parole on each of the three charges of which he was convicted -- murder, feticide and murder using a firearm.

The day began with witnesses telling jurors -- and Natson -- of the impact Carter's murder has had on their lives.

"You took a precious thing from us," said Diane Croomes, Carter's mother, as she spoke to Natson during the sentencing phase of the trial. "I don't think I hate you, but I forgive you. Otherwise, it would eat my insides.

"I do forgive you -- that's something I have to do," she added.

Carter's sister, Gail Goodwin, said hating Natson would not fix anything. "Neither decision would have brought my sister back," she said to Natson about the possible verdicts. "I'm just sorry that you put us all through this. Not only did we lose our sister, but they're (Natson's family) losing their son. May the Lord just have mercy on your soul."

Defense attorney John Martin put several of Natson's friends and family on the stand Monday to provide evidence that his client didn't deserve the death penalty. Natson's mother, Sheila Dupree, said she has not yet told Natson's younger half-brother about his conviction.

"He never would have thought in a million years that the verdict would come back guilty," she said. "When I tell him, we need to be there for him."

Dupree read a letter written by Ernest Dupree III, who is 12 years younger than his brother. She said when he asked about Friday's events in court, she replied that they had to return Monday and that he should write a letter explaining what his brother means to him.

"I love my brother, and my life is not going so good because I don't have the guidance I need," Dupree read. "The stress and misery tears me apart all the time."

Defendants' friends testify

Daryl Lewis, a longtime friend of Natson, testified he wanted to be angry for his friend, because Natson has remained calm throughout the proceedings.

"I just don't think it's possible to have a better friend than Michael Natson," he said. "Anyone who's come into contact with Michael should not have anything but positive things to say about him."

Felicia Rivers, the mother of Natson's 16-month-old son, testified Natson was the same person she knew in high school. She said Natson should receive a life sentence so he could still play some role in their son's life.

"He missed his first steps, his first words," she said of Cameron Michael Natson.

During closing arguments, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Lynch focused on Carter and how her family has been affected by the murder. Lynch said Natson has no remorse for killing Carter, intentionally killed her unborn child and is a danger to society.

"We've all had that one teacher in our lives that made all the difference," Lynch said. "Dena Carter would have been that teacher. Think of all the lives she won't get to touch because she was murdered by the defendant."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Solis said the defendant was arguing for mercy though he showed none for Carter. He asked jurors to look at Natson's actions immediately after the killing.

Natson took formal pictures with his girlfriend by the Chattahoochee River the weekend of the murder.

Slowly beating out the rhythm of a heartbeat on the podium, Solis said Carter's unborn child continued to live after her death.

"That fetus lived on until it actually died, and there isn't any statement of remorse about how that fetus was murdered," he said.

In his closing arguments, Martin said the prosecution wanted jurors to believe he was a danger to society when the only two sentence options were death or life in prison without the chance of parole.

"Life without parole is going to be a radical departure from the life he knows," Martin said. "I didn't hear anyone say that the execution of Michael Natson is going to alleviate anyone's pain."