District Attorney Shadrach Johnson stated: “I don’t want anyone to be confused about this murder charge. This is not a case of euthanasia. If a doctor simply provides the drugs that a patient uses to end his or her life, that is a special class of crime in Mississippi: physician-assisted suicide. But if a physician administers those drugs himself, it’s murder, plain and simple—even if it’s done as a so-called mercy killing. But this is a case where the physician had a personal stake in keeping his patient silent about a fact that could destroy his reputation, and also his marriage. That is why Dr. Cage has been charged with first-degree murder.”

Adams County sheriff Billy Byrd said that his department has been working around the clock to be sure that the DA’s office is fully prepared to give Dr. Cage the speedy trial guaranteed by law. “Some Mississippi counties drag around for a year or more getting ready to prosecute,” Byrd commented. “But this poor woman was dying from cancer when she was murdered, and her family deserves justice. I’ve met extensively with the relatives, and they are really broken up about what happened. I don’t want to bias anybody, but I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a case where the facts were so clear. But I’ll leave that to DA Johnson to sort out with the jury.”

Jury selection will begin ten weeks from today. At this time Dr. Cage is not confined at the Adams County jail, but at the Federal Correctional Institution at Pollock, Louisiana. Special Agent John Kaiser of the FBI explained: “Dr. Cage is being held in protective custody. He’s a material witness in a major federal investigation, and his life is in danger.” Asked if Dr. Cage would be in danger if held in the Adams County jail, Agent Kaiser declined to comment.

Dr. Cage will be defended at trial by noted African-American civil rights attorney Quentin Avery of Jefferson County, Mississippi, and Washington, D.C. To date Dr. Cage has made no statement in his own defense. But in a telephone interview yesterday, Mr. Avery said: “It should not be overlooked that Viola Turner’s brother was murdered by the Double Eagle group in 1968. Events surrounding that crime could very well impact this case.” Natchez mayor Penn Cage, the son of the defendant and a former Houston prosecutor, declined to comment on either the trial date or the statements by District Attorney Johnson, Sheriff Byrd, or Mr. Avery.

NATCHEZ EXAMINER

January 3, 2006

Knox Likely to Be Removed from FBI’s Most Wanted

by Keisha Harvin