A hearing was held in the District 17 Circuit Court on August 30 in the nearly 15-year old capital murder case by former University of Alabama quarterback Michael Landrum and Jeffery Napier in the murder-for-hire deaths of Mikayla and Ida Little.

During the hearing, Napier gave testimony in which he alleges he perjured himself in the 2005 trial.

According to District Attorney Greg Griggers, if the court is inclined to believe Napier perjured himself in his testimony from the 2005 trial then Landrum would be allowed to receive a new trial.

“They filed what’s called a Rule 32 Petition and requested a hearing on the basis that they contended there was new evidence,” said Griggers. “But at the end of that hearing, I would disagree.”

A ruling could come soon, but there is no set date on when District Judge Vince Deas will make a decision on the information heard in the hearing.

“All he had was a witness (Napier) who attempted to recant his trial testimony and did a very poor job of that,” said Griggers.

Landrum, of Sweet Water, was convicted of hiring Napier to kill Landrum’s 3-year-old daughter, Mikayla Little, and her 52-year-old grandmother, Ida. At the time, Napier pleaded guilty to both murders and told jurors Landrum offered him $1,000 for the killings.

Mikayla was staying with her grandmother Ida while her mother, Wanda Little, was serving in Iraq with the National Guard.

Landrum became the first black quarterback to play at Alabama when he was inserted into the game as a reserve against Vanderbilt on Sept. 29, 1979. He later transferred to Southern Miss.

(This article originally published in the Saturday, Sept. 2, print edition of the Demopolis Times.)