Today, a Fulton County jury deliberated for a total of two days before they returned a unanimous not guilty verdict in the Vinson Hardimon murder trial. This was a bitter-sweet victory for the defense because of the fact that the jury found Hardimon guilty of the two lessor offenses of Aggravated Assault and Possession of A Firearm in the Commission of a Felony.
As the jury foreman announced not guilty of the serious counts of Felony Murder and Malice Murder, there appeared to be a sigh of relief on Mr. Hardimon’s face. Soon enough, that expression changed when the last two lessor counts were announced guilty.
Judge Craig Schwall allowed both sides to argue what sentence Hardimon should receive, and after listening to witness impact statements the judge said,
Vinson Hardimon is a dangerous violent person and for that reason he was sentencing him to 20 years for the aggravated assault and 5 years for the weapons possession which will run consecutively.
Barring a successful appeal, Mr. Hardimon will have to serve a minimum of 18 years before he is eligible for parole based on Georgia’s sentencing guidelines.
HHE’s Dennis Byron spoke with defense attorney, Max Hirsh, after the trial and he stated , ‘his client was extremely confident from day one he would be found not guilty of murder’. He also added that he was ‘devastated at the harshness of the sentence where the jury cleared him of the responsibilities in the death of Mario Hamilton. Mr. Hardimon obviously plans to appeal the verdict and sentence.’
We also reached out to Prosecutor Linda Dunikoski for comment. However, she stated that she was not authorized to discuss the case at the moment.
Vinson Hardimon Takes Witness Stand
