Justice
It's been nearly two years since James McClelland was shot to death on a deserted Jasper County road.The McClelland family has waited during that time for closure. All they are seeking is... Justice
By JIMMY GALVAN Managing Editor

For Kurt and Amy McClelland, the wheels of justice in Jasper County have moved painfully slow the past couple of years.

This December, it will be two years since James McClelland was shot to death by Jack Willie "J.W." Dotson.

According to sheriff's reports, a nearby resident heard gunshots on Dec. 15 and saw James McClelland's truck sitting in the middle of a dirt roadway. The man told officers that he and two water well workers went to investigate and found James McClelland behind the wheel of his truck.

"My whole family wants to see closure on this case," said Kurt McClelland. "This has been very hard on me. For us to bump into this man, you don't see any remorse in him. I saw him at the football game and there was no way I could sit there and watch my children run back and forth right beside him.

"I just don't want to be anywhere he is at," Kurt McClelland said. "My daughter cheers at the football games but he's there and I am the one who has to leave. It's tough."

In those two years, Kurt McClelland has had to be without his friend and dad while his children have had to ask questions about where their Paw-Paw is now. Questions that two years later are still very difficult to answer.

"My dad was my best friend," Kurt McClelland said. "I didn't tell my children anything. My wife talked to them. Whenever my son asks about his Paw-Paw, I usually change the subject. It's very difficult. From time to time, my son wants to know where his Paw-Paw is and I just have to be ready to change the subject."

Kurt McClelland has an older daughter who will turn 16 soon and he said she is having a difficult time with the situation.

"For many years she was the only grandchild and she was pretty tight with him," Kurt McClelland said. "She is the typical grandchild that grandpa spoiled. She's taking this very hard. We still talk about it but it's hard.

"The best way for me to cope with it is to not talk about it and stay busy," Kurt McClelland said. "I work all the time and when I'm not working, I'm doing something with family or friends. I have to stay busy. If I have time by myself, then it bothers me."

The McClellands' frustrations boiled over last week when Dotson's second trial date was postponed because a report from the Department of Public Safety crime lab had not been received in time for the start of the trial. Dotson's first trial date was cancelled when his attorneys filed for a continuance in the case.

Stacey Chambers with the Jasper County Sheriff's Department said he understands the family's frustrations with the slow prosecution of the case but he also believes the end result will be a conviction.

"There was one crucial piece of evidence that needed to be sent off," Chamber said. "Right now, we are just waiting on the DPS lab and we are just one murder trial in the state. In understand that the family is upset.

"This all goes back to (former DA Ted Walker) not doing anything and (current Jasper County DA Steve Hollis) trying to push these cases through," Chambers said. "We could have gone to trial without this evidence and had a very good case but this allows us to have everything we need for the case. There is just no reason to gamble with this case. It's been this long, we don't need to blame people but just wait a couple more months and get this evidence back. I understand (the McClellands) think we are dragging our feet but this is not Steve's (Hollis) fault."

Hollis also said he understands the family's frustration with the case but the evidence was needed for the trial.

"I decided that it would be better to delay the trial, as inconvenient as that was for everybody, so that this evidence would be available when we tried the case," Hollis said. "I understand their frustrations because I've talked with them every time they've called or shown up at this office. I've answered all their questions and attempted to reassure them that this case will be tried."

Kurt McClelland said he was told by the district attorney's office that because of the relationship between Walker and the sheriff's office, the "case fell through the cracks."

Kurt McClelland said he doesn't really care who is to blame for what he perceives as mishandling of the case.

"The way I look at it, both parties are responsible," Kurt McClelland said. "We have elected officials to do the job. It seems after two years, this case fell through the cracks.

"Someone or some department is ultimately responsible for following protocol and that is the person or department that I want to see stand up and say they messed up and apologize," Kurt McClelland said. "But right now, everybody is pointing fingers at everybody else. No one wants to stand up and say they messed this up."

Hollis said, "On Nov. 7, Mr. Dotson's attorney and I met with representatives of the Sheriff's Department to physically review the evidence in this case. All concerned had already seen photos of and reports on these items, but we do these reviews closer to trial so that its all fresh in our minds. This is when we discovered that some items were still at the DPS labs. The Sheriff's Department immediately contacted both labs and was informed that the reports wouldn't be available before trial. We then looked at trying the case, Dec. 3, but they couldn't guarantee us the reports before then either.

"As far as who's to blame goes, you've got the DPS lab, who hasn't provided us with the reports, and the Sheriff's Office and my office, who discovered at the same time that the reports were missing," Hollis said.

As of now, it appears that Dotson will remain a free man until the first of the year when another trial date is set.

"So now we have to wait another two months and this man just gets to walk around free," Amy McClelland said. "It's very frustrating. My husband hasn't had his father; my children haven't had a grandfather and he's out being able to live a normal life.

"He's at the football game and he shot someone to death," Amy McClelland said. "Seeing him live his life as normal has been very hard on us."

Chambers said that on indictments, the only requirement is that indicted individuals cannot acquire any new weapons after an indictment.

Even though the McClellands are upset with how the case is being handled, they also are thankful for the work Hollis has done on the case.

"This case was stale while Walker was in office," Chambers said. "It was just sitting there. If Steve would have been in office, this case would have been handled fast and furious."

Dotson went an entire year without being indicted on the arrest with Walker in office. Hollis' office indicted Dotson Feb. 27, 2007 on murder charges.

"I understand that the DA's office doesn't want to take this case to trial without this evidence but my problem is leading up to this point," Kurt McClelland said. "They have had at least a year and a half to get this evidence to the crime lab and returned. And no one did it or followed up on it.

"Steve Hollis has done more than Ted Walker ever did," Kurt McClelland said.

It is also very hard for the McClellands to understand what motive Dotson, 54, had in shooting his best friend James McClelland, 55.

"They were best friends who hunted, fished and worked together all the time," Kurt McClelland said.

Dec. 15 was a normal day for the two best friends. They started the day by driving to Brookeland to collect some money on work that had been completed.

"Their normal routine was to drive down through the hunting club and were headed home," Kurt McClelland said, who received notice of his father's death while working in Houston.

"My mother called and told me my dad had been shot," Kurt McClelland said. "I asked how bad and where was he at? She said 'you don't understand, he's been shot.' There are three sides to every story. His side, my father's side and the actual truth and one side we will never know."

Kurt McClelland said the hardest part of this whole process has been the time waiting for the final closure.

"Right now we are just standing back and letting the judicial system run its course and after two years, you start losing faith in it," Kurt McClelland said.

"Whatever the outcome of the trial is, we just want this over with," Amy McClelland said. "Everyone needs closure on this."