Unbeknownst to Gilbert or his attorney at the time of the trial, the jury considered whether Gilbert was innocent or guilty in a room where an antique Confederate flag and a portrait of Confederate President Jefferson Davis hung.
The room, decorated with other related memorabilia, is also named for the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the organization founded in the 1890s in Nashville to memorialize Civil War ancestors and memorials.
The ruling, issued Friday, found Gilbert’s defense provided enough evidence to show how a jury could be influenced while deliberating in such a room, while also making it clear Tennessee’s attorneys didn’t adequately respond to the allegations.
Bravo. More like this, please.