The Verdict: The Christina Boyer Case

Blog overview

State of Georgia Code 16-1-5: ‘Every person is presumed innocent until proved guilty. No person shall be convicted of a crime unless each element of such crime is proved beyond a reasonable doubt.’

‘The Verdict: The Christina Boyer Case’ is a multi-layered case study of the U.S. criminal justice system and mass incarceration. In the book and the accompanying exhibition, photographer and artist Jan Banning delves into a three decades-old murder case in Georgia. On April 14, 1992, 22-year-old Christina Boyer was arrested on suspicion of killing her toddler daughter Amber and sentenced to life plus 20 years in prison. Almost 30 years later, she is still incarcerated.

Loose Ends

By Jan Banning

March 17, 2022

Christina’s life sentence is based on the argument that if she had taken Amber to the hospital in time, her daughter would not have died. Exactly when she should have called in this timely medical attention was never stated. However, to justify the conviction, Amber would have to have incurred the fatal injuries before Christina …...

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Beyond a Reasonable Doubt?

By Jan Banning

March 10, 2022

Three months after Christina’s sentencing, David’s trial started. The forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy was questioned intensively on the injuries of Amber’s pancreas. He described them as ‘a couple of very, very small injuries to the pancreas’, which ‘probably would have healed themselves without medical intervention.’ ‘Serious disfigurement’, which had just got Christina twenty …...

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Plea Bargain

By Jan Banning

March 3, 2022

Amber’s death was big news in Carroll County. It continued to be the subject of animated discussion among the readers of the local Times Georgian for many weeks. Readers – especially female readers – spoke of the unjustifiable death of Amber Boyer (sic) who was allegedly beaten ‘beyond recognition’ by her mother and her mother’s …...

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Cause of Death

By Jan Banning

February 24, 2022

Amber was born on 29 September 1988. Only a few close friends know who the father was. But since Christina was still married to James Bennett, Amber got his surname. Over the days preceding her death on Tuesday, whenever Amber was alone with David, the girl had suffered bruises, scratches and bumps. On Friday, David …...

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Amber’s Death

By Jan Banning

February 17, 2022

Carroll Co., Georgia, USA. Tuesday April 14, 1992 was a balmy spring day just before Easter. Shortly after 12:30 pm, 22-year-old Christina Boyer drove off from her new boyfriend David Herrin’s trailer in his old Chevy Impala. She went to work as a typist in the nearby town of Carrollton, leaving her three-year-old daughter Amber …...

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