(Story courtesy of WVLT News)
Knoxville, TN (WVLT) An East Tennessee family wants a convicted murderer to stay behind bars as his parole hearing approaches in the coming weeks.
Jesse Rogers pled guilty to first-degree-murder and attempted murder for the killing of John David Drummonds.
Drummonds’ niece, Angie Carter, said she was in shock decades ago when she got word her uncle was killed in 1993. She said her uncle was a great and personable person.
“I mean he made an impression on everybody so much so at his funeral, they were lined out the door to pay their respects. It was a shock how many people showed up for him. It made us feel good,” Carter said.
Angie’s husband, Lynn, was living in Powell when Drummond was killed.
“I thought it was crazy because back then you just really didn’t hear about this stuff back then,” Carter said.
Drummonds’ convicted murderer, Jesse Rogers, has his parole hearing on Oct. 14. Carter hopes he continues to stay behind bars.
“Why does he get a second chance? My uncle didn’t and he never will. It just doesn’t seem fair,” Carter said. “I don’t want the murderer released back on the streets. I don’t feel safe. If he was, I’d be in fear for the rest of my life.”
Carter said the family needs prayers as they’ll have to hear the details of the case again.
“This is hard on them,” Lynn Carter said. “This is like reliving this thing 30 years later that they’re having to go back through this.”
Rogers is currently in the Bledsoe County Correctional Complex. Rogers pled guilty to the murder in 1994, but his sentence began Jan. 12, 1993.
