From the Times Daily

By Dennis Sherer
Staff Writer

.
Florence – A Tennessee man charged with capital murder in the stabbing death of a Greenhill resident in 2007 pleaded guilty Wednesday to avoid the possibility of being sentence to death, courthouse officials said.

Greg Leon Nard, 27, of Iron City, Tenn., entered the plea late Wednesday before Lauderdale County Circuit Court Judge Mike Jones.

Nard’s trial was scheduled to begin Monday and prosecutors said they would ask that he be sentenced to death if convicted.

As part of the plea agreement, Nard will not appeal the life without the possibility of parole sentence that comes with the conviction.

Nard, along with his father, William David Nard, 49, and friend, Norman Earnest Widdowson, 44, also of Iron City, were charged with the Jan. 27, 2007, homicide of James Gregory Wright, of Greenhill. Investigators said Wright was beaten and stabbed.

When the three were arrested Feb. 2, 2007, investigators said a disagreement over a $70 debt was likely the motive.

The slaying occurred at Wright’s home on Lauderdale 130.

Greg Nard and his father were indicted on capital murder charges in May 2008 and both faced the death penalty.

Lauderdale District Attorney Chris Connolly said at the time the father and son were charged with capital murder because there was evidence Wright died while two other felonies – first-degree robbery and first-degree burglary – were committed.

Widdowson pleaded guilty to murder in February.

He was sentenced to 20 years in prison but will be eligible for parole.

William David Nard’s trial is scheduled for October.

Connolly said when defense attorneys informed him Wednesday morning that Greg Nard was willing to plead guilty, he contacted Wright’s family to get their input.

“We agreed to allow him to plead guilty only after talking to Mr. Wright’s family,” Connolly said. “If they had not supported allowing him to plead guilty, we would not have agreed to the settlement.”

The guilty plea does not eliminate the need for a trial, however.

Alabama law requires a mini-trial to be held when a defendant pleads guilty to capital murder. He said a jury will be chosen Monday and the prosecution will call two or three witnesses. Afterward, the jury will be informed of the plea agreement and asked to convict Greg Nard of capital murder and recommend he be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Defense attorney Jamy Poss declined comment, saying he did not want to the taint potential jurors.

As part of the agreement, Poss will not make objections during the mini-trial or cross examine witnesses.

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