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Tuck Thompson -
Hostile reaction to prosecutors by the Alabama judge who freed "Honeymoon Killer" Gabe Watson has raised doubt about whether Watson will ever face a hometown jury on charges of murdering his bride Tina in Queensland in 2003.
Watson's family and friends packed the Birmingham courtroom of chief criminal circuit Judge Tommy Nail, who granted Watson a $100,000 bond despite failing to establish his likely innocence as required by state law.
A grand jury indicted Watson in October on two capital murder charges alleging Watson plotted his then wife's murder in Alabama to collect insurance money and settle a jealous score.
Under Alabama law, a person accused by indictment of a capital offence must overcome the presumption of his guilt to be entitled to bail.
Judge Nail made no such determination but his icy reaction to prosecutors indicated he doubted the merits of the case before seeing its evidence.
"Motive is not sufficient to convict somebody," Judge Nail lectured prosecutors. "You must have evidence."
The facts in the Watson case have never been revealed in an Alabama court and no trial was held in Queensland after Watson agreed to plead guilty to manslaughter. He was jailed for 18 months.
The Alabama bond decision left Tina Watson's family shaken.
"I'm not even clear about what happened. We are disappointed," said Tina's father, Tommy Thomas, who has spent seven years trying to get the case to trial.
"If at the end of the day we can get the bulk of the evidence presented, we'll get the right outcome."
Townsville's coroner heard weeks of evidence against Watson before deciding he should face a murder charge. Prosecutors later reduced the charge to a minor type of manslaughter, essentially causing death by being a bad dive buddy.
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