Ferguson pleads to Voluntary Manslaughter

A guilty plea to voluntary manslaughter in the 2013 death of a Seneca man was accepted Thursday in Oconee General Sessions Court. Tenth Circuit Solicitor Chrissy Adams announces that Joshua Randall Ferguson plead guilty in the death of Ben Cantrell in November of 2013. The Honorable Lee Alford sentenced Ferguson to 15 years in prison. On Nov. 15, 2013, Ben Cantrell was visiting a home on Webb Road in Seneca, when an argument erupted. A fight occurred in the home and eventually spilled outside when people at the home tried to get Cantrell to leave. According to witnesses, as Cantrell turned to walk away from the home, Ferguson shot him. When law enforcement arrived, they found the victim unresponsive lying face down outside the home. Ferguson later confessed to law enforcement. “Ben Cantrell’s death was a terrible tragedy that should never have happened,” said Solicitor Adams. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.”