Hannah Payne Murder Trial: Guilty on All Counts

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A Georgia jury found Hannah Payne guilty on all counts in the murder of 62-year-old Kenneth Herring after she witnessed him hit another car and drive off in 2019. {snip}

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After days of testimony in a Clayton County courtroom, prosecutors and Hannah Payne’s defense attorney had one final chance Tuesday to make their cases to the jury before deliberations got underway.

“They didn’t show beyond a reasonable doubt that certain things happened,” said Matt Tucker, Payne’s defense attorney.

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{snip} Prosecutors say Hannah Payne followed 62-year-old Kenneth Herring before getting into an argument with him and firing the shot that killed him. {snip}

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Throughout the trial, jurors heard a lot, including 911 calls and Payne’s interview with police, among other things. They also heard from witnesses and from Payne herself.

“The audacity to take the stand and blame everybody else,” Hunter said.

The defense says Payne acted in self-defense because after confronting Herring, she claims he started attacking her. Tucker says Payne was just trying to help out after witnessing a crash.

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“In her mind, she was a young individual trying to help out,” Tucker said. “No good deed goes unpunished.”

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“This is not some killer, this is not some murder,” Tucker said. “She’s some young girl who got caught up in the wrong situation.

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Payne’s attorney, Matt Tucker, asked her to give the courtroom a play-by-play of what happened leading up to her allegedly following, shooting and killing 62-year-old Kenneth Herring.

Payne told Tucker there was a state officer present at the initial crash that she was a witness of. She claimed that the officer told her and another witness at the scene outright that Herring was inebriated.

At some point, Payne said Herring started revving his engine and pulled away from the scene of the initial crash.

She testified that at the time, she was on the phone with a 911 dispatcher who asked if she had been able to grab his tag number. She said when she realized she hadn’t, and thought no one else did either, she got in her car.

She told the court that Terry Robinson, the man she believed to be the state officer, told her to “go,” insinuating he wanted her to follow Herring.

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During Monday’s testimony, Payne continuously stated that she wasn’t following Herring, but rather just staying behind him, so she could give the dispatcher a play-by-play of what he was doing and where he was, in order to help them find him when they got to the scene.

On Monday, Payne’s lawyer asked her if, at any point, Payne had disclosed she was carrying a firearm. She said she didn’t tell the dispatcher about her gun and said at that point she hadn’t been in fear.

At one point, Payne testified that Herring’s car stopped in a turning lane. She said she exited her vehicle, and approached Herring with her phone on speaker to show that she was in contact with 911. She said she told him the dispatcher asked both of them to return to the original accident site.

“We’re loud, it’s near an interstate, it’s a busy road and I can’t hear what he’s saying to me. But as I’m getting closer to him, I hear him ask me who the ‘f’ am I,” Payne told the court. She said she told him she was nobody, but she knew what the dispatcher wanted because she was on the phone with them.

“Apparently, I was close enough for him to reach out of the car and knock my phone out of my hand. He grabbed me by my wrist and pulled me into the vehicle,” Payne testified. “I wasn’t aware that I needed adequate space to stay away from him, or anybody.”

“At some point, my shirt had gotten grabbed. And he ….,” Payne paused, “… he pulled my wrist and pulled me into the vehicle, and he said ‘I have something for you.’”

She said Herring let go of her wrist and grabbed her by the back of her neck. She said Herring then hit the gas, moving his car forward.

“I saw my life flash before my eyes,” Payne testified. “I thought I was going to go down Riverdale Road hanging out the side of this car.”

Payne said Herring appeared to be reaching behind his front seats before “mashing the gas.” She said eventually, they crashed into her car and that’s when she drew her weapon from her a holster on her right hip.

She said Herring then grabbed her hand with the gun in it and tried to yank it away from her and pry it out of her hand.

The lawyer presented a toy gun to the jury and asked Payne to hold it and demonstrate how she felt Herring had a hold on her.

“As he’s pulling it is when the gun went off,” Payne said.

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“Clearly, trying to do the right thing is not the right answer,” Payne said as she began to cry.

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