Hunter
04/27/22
A former University of Iowa student accused of killing his parents and sister last year has asked a judge to move the trial out of Linn County because of media coverage.
The Gazette reports 21-year-old Alexander Jackson made the request, saying the coverage has been “pervasive and inflammatory,” making it impossible to find impartial jurors.
Jackson’s attorney, Tyler Johnston, submitted over 60 exhibits of the coverage, social media posts, and comments on those posts. He says the articles and coverage paint his client in a bad light, and pointed out that people in the community either know or are familiar with him and his family members.
Johnston said that moving the trial to the other side of the state, where media outlets don’t overlap, would eliminate or lessen media coverage. First Assistant Linn County Attorney Monica Slaughter said at the hearing that the coverage has been factual and far from inflammatory. She also said thorough questioning of jurors would eliminate prejudices and allow the seating of an impartial jury.
6th Judicial District Chief Judge Lars Anderson agreed to leave the request open for at least a week to allow media coverage of the hearing to also be submitted and the prosecution to make any response before making his ruling on the request.
Jackson told arriving officers the morning of June 15th last year that he had been awakened by gunfire and was shot in the foot as he struggled with an intruder. Investigators found no evidence of forced entry and found a Browning rifle they believe was the murder weapon.
Jackson is in jail on a $3 million cash-only bail. He’s been charged with three counts of first degree murder in the deaths of his father, 61-year-old Jan Jackson, 68-year-old mother Melissa Jackson, and 19-year-old sister Sabrina Jackson.
