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For Immediate Release:
May 4, 2023

For press inquiries only, contact:
Amanda Priest (334) 322-5694
Cameron Mixon (334) 242-7491

Attorney General Steve Marshall Announces Court of Criminal Appeals Upholds Reckless Manslaughter Conviction in Madison County

(MONTGOMERY)—Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced that the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction of Anthony C. Wu, age 57, of Huntsville, for reckless manslaughter. Wu was convicted in the Madison County Circuit Court on March 30, 2022.

The evidence at trial showed that on the evening of November 24, 2018, Wu, who had been drinking and taking drugs, crashed into a house killing Joy Vaughn, a permanently disabled adult who was sleeping in her bedroom. The victim was pronounced dead at the hospital that same night. Wu was uncooperative with police officers and even pulled an ice pick on the responding officers who were forced to tase him to subdue him at the crime scene. Subsequent medical blood-alcohol tests confirmed that Wu was legally intoxicated at the time of his crime.

Madison County District Attorney Robert Broussard’s office successfully prosecuted this case and obtained a guilty verdict. Wu was sentenced to twenty years’ imprisonment for his reckless manslaughter conviction. Wu sought to have his conviction reversed on appeal.

The Attorney General’s Criminal Appeals Division handled the case during the appeals process, arguing for the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals to affirm Wu’s conviction. The Court did so in a decision issued Friday, April 28, 2023.
Attorney General Marshall commended Assistant Attorney General Jordan Shelton for her successful work on this case and thanks District Attorney Robert Broussard and his staff for their valuable assistance in defending the reckless manslaughter conviction.

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