An Augusta woman who has spent more than six years in prison in connection with the death of her profoundly disabled adult son is entitled to a new trial, a judge ordered Wednesday, Dec. 7.
With the prosecutor’s acknowledgment that Angela Mercer wasn’t given a fair shot at trial because the indictment accusing her of murder was so flawed that it made her June 2016 conviction unfair, Judge John Flythe signed an order granting the motion for a new trial.
Mercer, 53, was convicted of murder at the conclusion of a one-day bench trial in Richmond County Superior Court. Judge J. Carlisle Overstreet found Mercer guilty of murder of the death of her 23-year-old son Robin Lee Adams.
Adams suffered from a rare genetic disease, cri-du chat syndrome. He couldn’t talk or walk or perform any daily activity such as feeding himself or grooming. He also vomited every time he was fed and attempts to provide nourishment through a feeding tube or IV were impossible unless he was tied down, according to court testimony and documents.
Adams’ mummified remains were found in his room at Mercer’s home in October 2012. Mercer – who admitted she stopped taking her son to doctors in 2008 after she was told nothing more could be done – said she found Adams dead in February 2012.
Defense attorney Tanya Jeffords, only recently hired to take Mercer’s case, contended there was no evidence that Mercer neglected or abused her son. Even the prosecutor agreed there was no evidence Mercer intended to abuse or neglect her son.
Mercer continued to attend to his daily needs, including feeding, after she was informed there was no further medical intervention which would improve his condition, Jeffords said.
Mercer was initially charged with concealing the death of another. The medical examiner listed Adams’ cause of death as undetermined. He changed that finding to homicide after consulting a forensic anthropologist who opined Adams’ bones revealed anemia. Because anemia can lead to malnutrition and that can lead to death, Dr. Daniel Brown said he changed Adams’ cause of death to homicide.
With the judge’s ruling Wednesday, Mercer is expected to plead guilty to concealing the death of another and be released from prison where she has been serving a sentence of life in prison.
