Man to serve 20 years in two-by-four killing

Edward Britt will start serving his 20-year prison sentence for the beating death of another man after a judge denied his request for probation on Monday.

Houston County Circuit Court Judge Lawson Little denied the application for probation, and a possible split sentence, made by Britt’s defense lawyer, Michael Crespi.

Britt, 46, who was originally charged with murder, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in January. He was arrested March 26, 2003, less than a week after the killing.

He was charged with using a two-by-four piece of wood taken from a church construction site to beat Jerry Campbell to death. Campbell, 37, was struck one time on the head, according to previous Eagle reports.

“I feel it never was a murder case,” Crespi said.

Crespi said the circumstances of the case led his client to plead guilty to the lesser manslaughter charge.

The assault happened after an argument between the two men during a return trip from Georgia with several other people. The fight apparently started in a van the people were traveling in, and the driver pulled the vehicle over at Bethel Baptist Church to stop the fight after a knife was drawn, according to a previous Eagle report. The fight led to a nearby construction site, where Britt apparently picked up a two-by-four and hit Campbell with it, killing him.