Convicted last

summer of murdering his wife Beverley in 1997, Fayette resident James

Lamar Watson Jr. will have his motion for a new trial heard in court by

the same Fulton County judge who presided over the trial.

Superior Court

Judge T. Jackson Bedford will hear multiple arguments from Watson's attorneys

on why Watson's right to a fair trial was infringed upon. Much of the

137-page motion for a new trial focuses on Bedford's decision to allow

three of Beverley Watson's close friends to testify about incidents of

physical and emotional abuse, including several occasions Jim Watson pointed

a gun at her and threatened to kill her.

Several witnesses

testified that Beverley Watson told them if she ever turned up missing

or dead, it would be because her husband had killed her.

Jim Watson

contended that his wife left the couple's home after an argument on Jan.

18, 1997. But prosecutors contend she never would have left the house

without her coat considering the remarkably cold weather recorded that

night.

Jim Watson

admitted on the stand that he used makeup to cover up scratches on his

face that he received during the argument. He claimed the scratches occurred

when she threw her keys at him, but prosecutors argued the scratches came

from Beverley herself as she struggled with her husband for what they

alleged was the last time.

Beverley Watson's

decomposed remains were found in a wooded area in south Fulton County

in 1999, identified through dental records. He was arrested in January

of last year after an extensive investigation that included the Fulton

County Police Department and the Fayette County Sheriff's Department.

Watson's attorneys

claim the state failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, noting

that there were no eyewitnesses to the killing and the medical examiner

could not establish a cause of death.

"The state

succeeded at trial, not because it produced enough evidence to prove Watson's

guilt, but because it was allowed to introduce enough evidence to convince

12 people to dislike him," according to court documents submitted

Watson's defense

team also alleges that prosecutor Sheila Ross committed misconduct by

commenting on Watson's lack of remorse and by asking the jury to "speak"

for Beverley Watson by returning a guilty verdict, which played on the

jury's emotions.