Mississippi high court affirms conviction on dogfighting

The Mississippi Supreme Court has affirmed a man’s conviction on three felony counts of dogfighting.

NATCHEZ, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Supreme Court has affirmed a man’s conviction on three felony counts of dogfighting. The decision came Thursday. Tommie Queen was arrested in 2017 and found guilty in November 2019. Adams County Circuit Judge Debra Blackwell sentenced him to nine years. On appeal, Queen’s attorney Damon Stevenson said the judge should not have let an investigator from an animal protection group testify as an expert. Stevenson also argued Blackwell should not have heard the case because she worked in the district attorney’s office when Queen was charged. Blackwell said she did not work on the case as a prosecutor.