KILLEEN, Texas — Civil Rights and criminal attorneys are sharing their thoughts on the Marvin Guy trial.
Guy is charged with capital murder for allegedly shooting and killing Killeen police detective Chuck Dinwiddie during a no-knock search warrant operation on May 9, 2014.
“It is absurd. It is a true travesty of justice,” said national Civil Rights attorney Lee Merritt when discussing the nine-year wait Marvin Guy had before he was granted a trial.
Merritt was also the attorney in Michael Dean's case, which involved a former Temple Police officer that was charged with second-degree manslaughter over a traffic stop on Dec. 2, 2019. Carmen DeCruz, the officer involved in the case, was eventually found not guilty on all charges.
“Everyone is entitled under the sixth amendment to a speedy trial, and Marvin Guy certainly has been denied that,” Merritt said.
In the same nine years Guy awaited for trial, the family of Killeen police detective Chuck Dinwiddie says they've been awaiting justice.
“Nine years--our family is furious. We just want to see that the Texas court system serves justice,” said Kathryn Dinwiddie, Detective Dinwiddie's sister, during an interview with 6 News in April 2023. “We have not had justice provided to this public servant who was serving this community.”
Guy is accused of shooting Dinwiddie during a no-knock raid in 2014. Since then, Guy has been in the Bell County Jail, costing the county around $300,000.
“Someone being held in pretrial detention without ever been convicted of a crime, serving nine years waiting for trial is about a clear constitutional violation that I've ever seen,” Merritt said.
Merritt claims that when police entered Guy's home, “he had every right to protect himself.”
Merritt also says Guy's trial will be a test of the 'Stand Your Ground' law and how no-knock warrants are used. In 2021, multiple years after the shooting, the City of Killeen got rid of no-knock warrants.
“The reason that no-knock warrants were put in place was to protect the safety of the officers," said 6 News Legal Analyst Liz Mitchell.
As for the 'Stand Your Ground' law, Mitchell says "The castle doctrine or stand your ground is not applicable in this case if the state proves the defendant was engaged in criminal activity.”
She says that will have to be decided in court.
“It’s the most important case happening in the country right now," Merritt said. "Because it's one of those cases where it's clear that if Marvin guy was white, this kind of thing would simply not be allowed.”
"Our brother Charles David Dinwiddie was a beloved public servant and deserves justice," Kathryn said.
Stay with 6 News as we continue to follow this trial.
Also on KCENTV: