Judge to jurors in death penalty case: Don’t talk about Atlanta Braves

It was a moment of levity in a death penalty case.

And it came at the expense of the lowly Atlanta Braves, owners of the worst record in the major leagues.

Monroe County Superior Court Judge Tommy Wilson on Thursday was reminding alternate jurors at a competency hearing for an accused cop killer not to discuss the case among themselves.

The proceeding was to decide whether Christopher Calmer, an unemployed computer technician, is competent to stand trial for allegedly killing a Monroe sheriff’s deputy in a gun battle at his parents’ house near Interstate 75 and Bolingbroke in September 2014.

“Again,” Wilson said, “you are not to discuss this case or talk about it whatsoever. Talk about … football if you so choose.”

Then he paused, looked down at some paperwork, and added, “Not the Atlanta Braves.”

Many in the courtroom gallery laughed.

The accused, seated between his two attorneys, kept his head planted on an oak table, a posture he had assumed for much of the three-day competency trial.

Ninety minutes later, he was deemed competent for the case to proceed.

This story was originally published August 18, 2016 at 2:59 PM with the headline "Judge to jurors in death penalty case: Don’t talk about Atlanta Braves."