Texas inmate claims comedy roast from Jeff Ross landed him on death row
A Texas inmate is claiming that a comedy special from comedian Jeff Ross swayed a jury and landed him a death row sentence. The legal team for Gabriel Hall, 29, is now asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn his murder conviction.
In 2015, Hall was convicted of a murder, from 2011, of elderly Navy veteran and Texas A&M professor Ed Shaar and the stabbing of his wife, Linda. He was 18 and a student at A&M Consolidated High School in College Station at the time of the crime, according to KXXV.
While awaiting trial, Hall was interviewed at the Brazos County Jail by Ross for a special he was producing with Comedy Central, without permission from Hall’s lawyers and without being informed of his rights beforehand, according to the San Antonio Express-News. The show was later released as Jeff Ross Roasts Criminals: Live at Brazos County Jail.
According to Rolling Stone, Hall’s footage never made it into the final cut. However, the state subpoenaed Comedy Central for his scenes and included them as part of its evidence in Hall’s sentencing, showing it to the jury before they gave the death penalty sentence. The footage showed Hall joking about the killing. According to his lawyers, Hall “jokily tried to play along” with a conversation where he appeared to make light of his offense, punning on the word “hacking” to describe his crime.
Hall’s legal team is now taking the case to the Texas Supreme Court, stating the evidence should be thrown out because it violates Hall’s Sixth Amendment. According to the Express-News, the state of Texas has responded that the interview was not a violation because Ross was not working as a “state agent” when he led the interview.
