A. Stanton wrote:I followed this case closely during the first trial on Court TV. Basically, a car load of thugs rolled up on the accused while he was walking home. There were two males and one woman. The males both had criminal records--hence the reason for the second trial, they didn't tell the jury this. Furthermore, the male driving had a suspended license and was carrying super glue. While testifying, the court asked him why he was carrying super glue. His response was, "To keep a band aid on his hand." The reason why criminals carry super glue is to mask their finger prints while committing crimes. In addition, after his buddy got shanked, they drove in a round about fashion to a hospital in another neighborhood, because they knew they would have trouble justifying why they were in up scale neighborhood. The driver thought he would be hassled by the police. This loss of valuable time probably caused his buddy's death more than anything else.
I am glad the accused has the money and resources to fight his bogus conviction.
I agree. My daughter was born right around the time of the original trial, so in my 3 weeks off I watched just about the entire trial on Court TV. I thought the defendant got jobbed because they wouldn't let the criminal past of the other guys come into play, and obviously an appeals court agreed. Taking this to another trial is just plain wrong, IMO. Not to mention the fact of how they portrayed the Spyderco he was carrying as some evil weapon.
I grew up in a city where there is an extremely high crime rate and a few people I know got shot or stabbed. I have also seen people get jumped and beat so bad by bare hands that one recieved brain damage, so there could have been dire consequences if this kid didn't defend himself. Lying and trying to cover up the events never helps, but I chalk it up more to being a scared kid who was drunk than a truly bad person. Not a great excuse, but the juror who's opinion never waivered is the most pertinent point: was the kid scared for his life and making a decision to defend his life at the moment he got jumped? If no one saw the cousin of the kid who got stabbed and was joining into the fight, he is a BIG, bad looking dude. It's hard to think I wouldn't have pulled out a pocket knife to attempt to defend myself in that situation with two thugs trying to beat me into a pulp.
Mike
