Former Prosecutor Presents ‘Trials of the Century’

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Jesse Mercer statue

MACON — An effective closing argument can seal a defendant’s fate and a Mercer lecture series will offer a chance to review the prosecutions’ arguments in two high profile cases: the trials of Charles Manson and O.J. Simpson. Former district attorney Charles H. Weston Sr., now a senior lecturer in Criminal Justice at Mercer University, will present “Trials of the Century,” two lectures on his interpretation and representation of the prosecution’s closing arguments in each case.
 
The first presentation, which will be on the trial of mass murderer Charles Manson, will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 25. The second, focusing on the trial of National Football League great O.J. Simpson who was charged with the murder of his ex-wife, will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 1. Both lectures will be held in Room 110 of the McCorkle Music Building on Mercer’s Macon campus.
 
Both events are free and open to the public. The events are sponsored by Alpha Kappa Delta and Mercer’s William Fielding Ogburn Department of Sociology.
 
Weston has spent more three decades as a prosecutor before accepting an appointment to lecture in criminal justice at his alma mater. A graduate of Mercer’s College of Liberal Arts and the Walter F. George School of Law, Weston spent his entire 31-year career as a prosecutor. He got his start as an assistant district attorney in the Macon Judicial Circuit of the state court system and worked his way up to chief assistant prosecutor before winning election as the chief prosecutor for the Macon Judicial Circuit, a position he held for seven years. Upon his retirement, he was appointed prosecutor emeritus and spent three years traveling the state working as a special prosecutor.
 
About Mercer University:
Founded in 1833, Mercer University is a dynamic and comprehensive center of undergraduate, graduate and professional education. The University has 7,300 students; 11 schools and colleges – liberal arts, law, pharmacy, medicine, business, engineering, education, theology, music, nursing and continuing and professional studies; major campuses in Macon and Atlanta; four regional academic centers across the state; a university press; teaching hospitals in Macon and Savannah; an educational partnership with Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in Warner Robins and Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta; an engineering research center in Warner Robins; a performing arts center in Macon; and a NCAA Division I athletic program. For more information, visit www.mercer.edu.
 
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