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STATEMENT FROM DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHRIS D. HENNIS
On April 12, 2022, a Smith County Jury convicted Douglas Craft, age 61, of Second Degree Murder for the July 8, 2018, shooting of his twenty year old nephew, Austin Spivey. District Attorney Chris Hennis and Assistant District Attorney Chris Purdum prosecuted the case and presented the evidence at the trial.
Judge Stanley Sorey sentenced Mr. Craft to twenty-five years of incarceration in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Douglas Craft will have to serve every day of the twenty-five (25) year sentence.
District Attorney Chris Hennis stated: “Douglas Craft justified the shooting as being an act of self-defense. The District Attorney’s Office and a Smith County grand jury did not agree that this was a case of self-defense and indicted Mr. Craft for murder in October of 2018. After a one day trial, the jury deliberated for a little more than an hour and returned a verdict of guilty to Second Degree Murder. This senseless act of violence took the life of a 20 year old young man, who from all accounts was a very respectful, mild mannered person, and who had a bright future ahead of him. I want to thank the Smith County Sheriff’s Department and Investigator Jamie McClellan for the thorough investigation that was conducted and because of which, we were able to obtain a guilty verdict. I also want to thank my entire staff for their tireless work and effort on this case. Many hours were spent by my assistant district attorneys, investigators and victim’s assistance coordinator preparing this case to be brought to trial.”
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