Use of hit-and-run photos will be allowed: Jami Sherman's family says use of photos OK

The county attorney's office will be able show limited pictures of Jami Sherman's body in the upcoming trial of Edward Ness, the man alleged to have been driving the vehicle when Sherman was struck and killed, while Ness' attorney argued last week that it will make a jury too biased against his client.

Sherman was struck and killed by a vehicle on Leighton Road west of Ronan early in the morning of July 1. In a district court hearing last week, Kragh argued against the use of the pictures saying "They serve no purpose but to make the jury mad."

Deputy county attorney Mitch Young said he reserved the right to use any and all photos as potential exhibits, saying they play in important role as evidence in the case.

Kragh stressed that Edward Ness is not being charged with negligent vehicular homicide, and therefore the photos of Sherman's body are irrelevant. Ness faces a felony charge of tampering with physical evidence for his alleged role in washing and making reparations to his Toyota Corolla that he was driving when he allegedly struck Sherman.

"There is no question that damage was done to the automobile in this case," said Kragh, adding that all photos of the vehicle are acceptable.

But he described the photos of Sherman's body as "inflammatory."

But Young argued that the photos are necessary to show the damage done to Sherman's body.

"The evidence is Jami Sherman's body," Young said, adding that photos of bodies are routinely used in cases involving someone's death and that the jury is advised to be fair in how they weigh those photos.

"The jury has the right to see the extent of injuries to Jami Sherman's body," he said.

Young explained that he didn't intend to show each and every photo, just the ones that showed how the body ended up after the incident.

Young said it is important to illustrate how Ness allegedly struck her with enough force to send her body up and over the vehicle, not merely clipping her like Ness claims.

"It wasn't a matter of the victim being clipped," — she was run over, Young said.

Kragh countered that by saying "She was hit hard enough to be killed. What more needs to be said? You don't need photographs to do that," he added.

Kragh also said he was concerned about all the media coverage the case has been receiving and feared that it was going to be difficult to find a fair jury. He stated that the real reason why the state wanted to use the photos was to provoke the jury into finding Ness guilty.

Judge Kim Christopher ruled that the county attorney's office could use a limited amount of photos and asked Young to identify specific photos he intends to exhibit, allowing the defense to review the selected photos.

"These photos would be very difficult to see," Christopher said.

Russ Sherman, Jami's father, said the family supports the use of the photographs, but that they will leave the courtroom when they are displayed. Marty Corse, who works with victims' families in the county attorney's office, told the family they will give them an appropriate amount of advance notice before the photos are introduced as evidence, Sherman said.

"For this trial, they need to see it, but we will probably leave the courtroom. But the jury needs to see them, to see what he left there," Sherman said. "When you see that it's very dramatic. I want his immediate family to see what he did."

A trial is set for Dec. 18.