Alabama judge refuses to move man’s trial from ‘S-Town’
CENTREVILLE, Ala. — A character from the hit podcast “S-Town” will stand trial on theft and other charges in the rural Alabama county that serves as the setting for the serialized narrative, a judge decided Tuesday.
Bibb County Circuit Judge Donald McMillan, ruling after a brief hearing, refused to move Tyler Goodson’s upcoming trial to an even more rural county.
Defence attorneys J.D. Terry and Cedrick Coleman asked McMillan to relocate the case arguing that the popularity of “S-Town” makes it impossible for Goodson, 26, of Woodstock to get a fair trial on charges linked to events in the podcast. Podtrac, which analyzes podcast statistics, said the seven episodes of “S-Town” have had more than 64 million streams and downloads since being released in late March.
But prosecutor Bryan Jones called the request premature, and the judge agreed. McMillan indicated he could reconsider the request once jurors are questioned at the beginning of Goodson’s trial, set for Oct. 16.