April 17, 2023

MULTIPLE-TIME GEORGIA FELON SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR CHEROKEE COUNTY, ALABAMA KNIFE ATTACK

              District Attorney Summer McWhorter Summerford has announced that Joseph Shane Langston was sentenced to a term of life in prison for a knife attack that occurred in Centre, Alabama on May 20, 2021. 

              On May 20, 2021, officers with the Centre Police Department were dispatched to a residence on Sherry Drive where they discovered a victim with injuries caused by a knife. The victim informed law enforcement that her husband, Joseph Shane Langston, had attacked her while she was in the shower with a knife and had fled the scene prior to law enforcement’s arrival. Officers with the Centre Police Department, Leesburg Police Department, Cedar Bluff Police Department, and Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office began to search the area for Langston, eventually being led to Langston with the assistance of a police K-9. Langston was found with possession of the knife and charged with Domestic Violence in the Second Degree.

              Langston appeared for the purpose of a jury trial on March 21, 2023 and entered an open plea to the offense of Domestic Violence 2^nd Degree following the selection of a jury. On April 17, 2023, Langston appeared before Circuit Judge Andrew Hairston and was sentenced to a term of life in prison following a sentencing hearing. At the sentencing hearing, the victim testified regarding her injuries and the violence perpetrated against her. Further evidence was introduced of Langston’s prior convictions in the State of Georgia for acts of violence, among other prior felonies, misdemeanors, and probation violations. 

              Summerford stated, “We could not have had this outcome without the bravery shown by the victim.  Victims of domestic violence often face an uphill climb because their whole lives are often turned upside down when a loved one destroys their sense of safety.  In these circumstances, victims often have to basically start an all new life.”  The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Brady Burns and Stanna Guice.