The judge wrote this despite the fact that Todd had already assaulted Brittany—a rape-kit evaluation found thirty-three wounds on her body—and despite the fact that Brittany said Todd had been choking her brother when she fired the gun.
Speaking after the loss, Brittany said she was distressed but is trying to remain hopeful. “I was prepared for a no, but I just feel like I’m not gonna get a fair trial here,” she said, and began to cry.
“She saw the pictures of me; he almost beat me to death, he did rape me, and he tried to kill my brother, so how can she [Judge Holt], say this?”

Was he killed by his rape victim? Brittany Smith is charged with murder after shooting dead Todd Smith [no relation], who she claims brutally beat and raped her inside her home in Stevenson, Alabama on Jan, 16, 2018

Her case is headed for trial where she faces a life in prison sentence, if convicted.
making the ruling in February this year, Jackson County Judge Jenifer Holt declined to dismiss Brittany’s murder charges and said Brittany failed to show how she could be granted immunity for killing Smith.
‘Upon consideration of all the evidence, the court finds that the defendant has given inconsistent accounts of the events surrounding Todd’s death, beginning with the 911 call … and has attempted to alter or destroy evidence,’ the judge wrote at the time.
‘The court further finds that the defendant’s testimony about material facts was significantly at odds with the physical evidence, exhibits and other witness testimony.’
Smith then appealed the case, filing a writ of mandamus, seeking that the Court of Appeals determine whether the trial court judge abused the petitioner’s discretion.

Suermann testified that Brittany’s wounds were consistent with having been bitten, strangled with two hands around her neck, and assaulted with “a lot of force.”
The nurse listed bruises to Brittany’s neck, breasts, arms, legs, and head, and spoke repeatedly about the petechiae—discolored patches that can indicate the use of extreme pressure—that dotted Brittany’s hairline and neck.
“She was probably hit multiple times and held down,” Suermann said.
The nurse also testified that, during the examination, Brittany had described waking up “with no clothes in a puddle of urine” after having tried to fight back.
“Scratched him everywhere I could,” Brittany told Suermann.
“He was going to kill me.”
Suermann’s testimony, which lasted for more than two hours and included dozens of photographs of Brittany’s injuries.
A rape crisis center report describes 33 wounds on Brittany’s body, including bite marks on her neck and chin.
A toxicology report also found that Todd had methamphetamine and alcohol in his system.
The prosecution led by Jason Pierce, the Jackson County District Attorney, cast doubt on whether Brittany had actually been raped, because there was no definitive sample of Todd Smith’s semen, which the nurse examiner said is common in sexual-assault cases.
The judge cited this detail in her decision, saying that she did not believe the evidence was consistent with a sexual assault.
She also cited a 911 call in which Brittany said that she had not been raped.
Noting that Todd had not had a gun or a knife on him., Pierce questioned whether Brittany Smith had truly feared for her life.
Brittany who claimed that she had been ashamed to admit to the rape initially, replied tersely to the doubts raised by the prosecutor at the hearing, “But he had his hands. His penis. His mouth,” Brittany said.
“You saw the thirty-three wounds on my body.”
Responding to the discrepancy that Brittany and her brother, Chris McCallie, originally told police that McCallie had shot Todd, the defendant said both of them believed that a woman would not get a fair trial in Jackson County, where women’s complaints of violence are often ignored by police.
If cops had known that it was Brittany who fired the gun, she would not have been taken for a rape-kit examination until it was too late, McCallie said.
The court also had the opportunity to see a note that Brittany allegedly, had frantically slipped to a gas-station worker the night of the assault.

Prosecutors say Brittany’s brother Chris McCallie [photo],  initiated the violent interaction with Todd Smith. He also brought his gun to the crime scene, which made his sister’s Stand Your Ground defense inadmissible

This witness testified that Brittany came in “very nervous and edgy,” with a reddened neck and a broken nail, wrote down the name “Todd Smith,” and said that he’d raped and beaten her and was holding her hostage.
In her ruling, the judge wrote that her decision was influenced by the fact that Brittany had given “inconsistent accounts of the events surrounding Todd’s death.”
The judge observed that Brittany had had multiple opportunities to call law enforcement for help. But the employee said that Brittany was afraid to call the police, because Todd had said that he would retaliate if she did.
In his testimony Chris McCallie said he arrived at his sister’s house not long after the assault, with his .22-caliber revolver. He said that Todd got him in a headlock and would not let go.
At this point Brittany said, Todd threatened to kill them both, and so she fired three shots at him and kept shooting after the first shot because “nothing happened,” she said.
Brittany fired the weapon several more times, until Todd dropped to the floor. Brittany called 911 and Todd was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. According to the medical examiner’s report, Todd had bullet wounds in his arm, shoulder, ribs, and abdomen.
McCallie told sheriff’s department investigators that he shot Todd Smith. But Brittany admitted the next day that she was responsible for his death.
In the murder case, prosecutors argued in court that Brittany’s brother McCallie was the one who initiated the confrontation with Todd Smith during the January 2018 killing.
They said that because he brought the gun to the scene, Brittany was not entitled to Stand Your Ground.
Dismissing the rape rape allegation, the judge ruled that the evidence was consistent with physical assault, but inconsistent with sexual assault.