Channon Christian & Chris Newsom: Time for Justice

Justice is not being served for a young Knoxville couple that was heinously, brutally, and savagely tortured, raped, murdered. Their bodies were then severely desecrated. In the early morning hours of Jan. 7, 2007, Chris Newsom and his girlfriend Channon Christian were carjacked and held captive in a house on Chipman Street in Knoxville. Newsom's body was discovered in the vicinity that afternoon burning alongside railroad tracks. Christian's body was found stuffed in a trashcan inside the house a couple of days later.
On the night of January 6, Christopher and Channon had dinner together at a local restaurant.  Afterwards, Channon spoke with her mother and told her they were going to a friend's house to watch a movie.  At some point during the trip, the couple was hijacked, bound and blindfolded and taken back to Davidson's apartment. Once there, several people allegedly raped Christopher in front of his girlfriend.  Afterwards, he was shot multiple times.  His body was then set on fire, in an apparent attempt to cover up evidence, and dumped near the railroad tracks. When the perpetrators were finished with Christopher, they allegedly turned their attention to Channon.  For two days, she was beaten, and gang raped.  When her killers finally had their fill of her, poured bleach down her throat, in an attempt to cover up evidence.  They did not dump her body but instead placed it in a trashcan inside the apartment. She had been strangled but died of asphixiation in the trash can with a bag over her poor head.
Davidson, Cobbins and Thomas have all been indicted on 16 counts of felony murder growing out of rape, robbery, kidnapping and theft, 2 counts of premeditated murder, 2 counts of especially aggravated robbery, 4 counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, 20 counts of aggravated rape and 2 counts of theft.
Coleman was indicted on 12 counts of felony murder growing out of rape, robbery, kidnapping and theft, 1 count of premeditated murder (Christian), 1 count of especially aggravated robbery (Newsom), 4 counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, 20 counts of aggravated rape and 2 counts of theft.
Boyd has been charged federally with being an accessory after the fact in a carjacking.  He was not listed in the indictment.
The first of four (three men, one woman) individuals who are awaiting first degree murder trials in criminal court was convicted yesterday in a Knoxville courtroom of first degree murder, among a multitude of other charges from the atrocious night these young people lost their lives. And a fifth has previously been convicted in federal court for helping the alleged leader of the carjacking. The first monster, Letalvis Cobbins, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. This is absolutely unacceptable for what these people did to Channon and Chris; the death penalty was on the table, and the jury allowed this one to live the rest of his life in prison. The details of the case are numerous and unbelievable, but anyone who has heard this story will never forget it. Non one should ever endure what Channon and Chris went through; this should only happen in bad dreams and scary movies. It is believed that the jury did not give Cobbins the death penalty because he did not actually participate in the murders, although he did participate in the rape of Channon, and he did have opportunities to let both of them go while the ringleader and other monsters were not present. He did not do this. His lawyer called him a "coward" for not doing the right thing and letting them go. He's much more than that. The people of the jury were merciful: he escaped death. The fates of Channon and Chris were in his hands; he was not merciful;he didn't help them escape. The next trials for the other monsters will be approaching in the near future, and the media has had only a few small blurbs about this heinous crime.
America needs to know what these people did to these poor young people who were about to graduate from college. They were 21 and 23 at the time that their lives were taken from them. Their parents, family and friends will never have closure. No one should ever have to bury a child, but this atrocity goes far beyond that. Channon's parents had to see the photos of her poor body after it was ravaged by multiple people for 24 hours. They had to hear Cobbins state that Channon offered herself to him after he had already raped her if he let her go. They will never see her again. Cobbins will see his worthless family (some of whom drove in from Memphis to testify about his traumatic childhood; they left shortly thereafter and didn't wait to hear Cobbins' fate). Chris' parents, the Newsoms, were present at Cobbins' trial as well as all of the other preliminal trials right along with the Christians. They will have to publicly endure the same pain that the Christians have endured by bringing this torture back into their minds, not that it ever went away for either family.
This needs to be brought to the attention of everyone. This should fall on no deaf ears. These young people deserve more than this; this is injustice. It's sad that other irrelevant information is broadcast for everyone to see, but these people deserve to have their story heard. They and their children deserve justice. Even if you don't believe in the death penalty, take some time and research what happened to Channon and Chris. You will.
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