PUTNAM COUNTY, Ga. — In Eatonton, defense lawyers introduced several more witnesses to the jury in the Donnie Rowe trial Monday.
The first two witnesses were Rowe's cousins.
They talked about Rowe's abusive upbringing.
Shawn Craig, one of Rowe's cousins, described Rowe's childhood as "rarely safe."
According to Craig, Rowe's stepfather belittled and hit him.
He also says his uncle, Brad Lively, was "a mean drunk."
Craig said Lively often called Rowe dumb and worthless.
Rowe's first cousin, Tabatha Williams, also took the stand.
She said Rowe was hit with a two-by-four wooden plank, chicken wire, and steel-toed boots as a young boy.
"His hands were on the doorway, like holding the frame of the door; and Brad came running behind him and kicked his back," Williams said.
Prison and jail operations expert Ronald McAndrew also testified.
He listed precautions taken in a maximum-security prison to prevent an inmate from attacking or escaping.
"If someone could, by some means, get out of a cell and get into the ductwork, they could possibly find themselves out of the secure building, but this was designed so that all ductwork came down into the secure area of the building," McAndrew said.
McAndrew then used four videos to show step-by-step how Rowe would be detained should he be granted life without parole.
"It's a cage, approximately 14 by 4 feet, where he can walk around and exercise and get some natural light."
Rowe would still be handcuffed in this enclosure, and guards could detain him if he got out, McAndrews said.
McAndrews retired from the Florida Department of Corrections and has traveled to dozens of prisons around the world.
Now, all three of these witnesses were cross-examined.
Jurors also heard from a school social worker and an educational analyst who talked about Rowe moving more than 20 times as a small child.