He Said She Said
I attended the closing arguments in the Enrique Hernendez Soto murder trail today and, after hearing both the prosecutor and defense attorney, am glad that I'm not on the jury. It boils down to a classical "he says, she says" except she is dead and could not testify, and he is alive and would not testify.
The direct evidence is that Amy Reese died as the result of six stab wounds in the back from a hunting knife and the defendant acknowledges having killed her as a result of his "not guilty by reason of self defense" plea. Having listened to the prosecution's closing argument, I was ready to swing the defendant from the highest tree. But, alas, after hearing the defense's closing argument that Enrico, weighing in at maybe 5' 4" and a trim 130 pounds, was not, in fact, defending himself with unreasonable force from a knife-wielding Amy, weighing in at 5' 2" and a full 185 pounds, I was of a different mind. Hell, indeed, hath no fury like a woman scorned.
The jury was still deliberating on four findings — murder 1, murder 2, manslaughter and not guilty — when I came home this afternoon.
OK, now that I've introduced the possibility that Ricky might actually be "not guilty by reason of self defense", let me tell you one more "fact" about him that was introduced into evidence but never explained to the jury. Ricky, you see, is a Puerto Rican with a teardrop tattoo under his left eye that was already present at the time he stabbed Amy to death. While a teardrop tattoo can have a number of means in different cultures, in the Puerto Rican culture it typically means the wearer has murdered someone and wants the world to know it.
I'm expecting a manslaughter verdict from the jury after a fairly lengthy deliberation.
The direct evidence is that Amy Reese died as the result of six stab wounds in the back from a hunting knife and the defendant acknowledges having killed her as a result of his "not guilty by reason of self defense" plea. Having listened to the prosecution's closing argument, I was ready to swing the defendant from the highest tree. But, alas, after hearing the defense's closing argument that Enrico, weighing in at maybe 5' 4" and a trim 130 pounds, was not, in fact, defending himself with unreasonable force from a knife-wielding Amy, weighing in at 5' 2" and a full 185 pounds, I was of a different mind. Hell, indeed, hath no fury like a woman scorned.
The jury was still deliberating on four findings — murder 1, murder 2, manslaughter and not guilty — when I came home this afternoon.
OK, now that I've introduced the possibility that Ricky might actually be "not guilty by reason of self defense", let me tell you one more "fact" about him that was introduced into evidence but never explained to the jury. Ricky, you see, is a Puerto Rican with a teardrop tattoo under his left eye that was already present at the time he stabbed Amy to death. While a teardrop tattoo can have a number of means in different cultures, in the Puerto Rican culture it typically means the wearer has murdered someone and wants the world to know it.
I'm expecting a manslaughter verdict from the jury after a fairly lengthy deliberation.
About that teardrop-tattoo:
ReplyDeleteIf it tells the world, "Look, I've murdered somebody", it is a confession of murder. If it says, "Look, I've killed somebody", self-defence may still apply.