Why Should You Give A Damn About Amanda Knox?

I was at my local coffee shop several times today (it seems to be my home away from home). It is a block away from my home and directly across from UNLV or the University of Nevada Las Vegas. It is always filled with college students.
For the “fun” of it I asked several of them this evening a simple question.

Who is Amanda Knox?

One replied that she thought she was a professional skier and the rest didn’t know.
While this was hardly a scientific sampling of the populous it did raise an interesting question for me. If her own peer group doesn’t know who she is or even why they should who else doesn’t know.

Amanda Knox is the American college student sitting in an Italian prison awaiting trial for the murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher.

Meredith Kercher wasn’t just murdered she was butchered like a farm animal and all the evidence circumstantial and forensic points directly at Amanda Knox. Or does it?

Starting off the crime scene was processed so badly it made the O.J.Simpson evidence collection look good in comparison.

The authorities point to the clasp of the bra the victim was wearing as having the DNA of both Amanda and her boyfriend on it. It is my understanding from someone close to the case that not only was that clasp not found for 40 something days but it was cross contaminated with other DNA samples.

I am not a crime scene investigator by any stretch of the imagination but I can tell you it doesn’t take 40 something days to process one small bedroom and it doesn’t take that that long to find the clasp of a bra. It’s just common sense.

To make matters worse Amanda has become to the Italian media what Casey Anthony is to our own and worse.

Before ever seeing a jury there was a book on her sex life that was released and is a national best seller.

The problem with that book is twofold.

One Amanda had no part in its writing so nothing in it can be verified as true, let alone even in the same neighborhood as true.

Yet the people of Italy think it is true and that brings up the other problem. The prosecutors are claiming Meredith’s murder was a sex game gone wrong. No one can say what that game was or just who was playing it but the game went wrong and that’s why Meredith Kercher was killed.

Now Amanda “the sex crazed killer” is known all over Italy by the name taken off her Myspace page Foxy Knoxy. It is absolutely true by the way she was called that here at home. It was a nickname given to her by friends on her soccer team that describes her style of playing soccer.

There is widespread talk of her Marijuana use and drinking. If you go to Youtube you can find a video of a very drunk Amanda recorded with her friends. You know what this proves? That she is like almost every other college student her age.

I live a block away from a college and there are three college bars within walking distance of my home and they are packed every night. So this doesn’t make her unique.

What fails to be mentioned is how she has been an Honor Roll student all her academic career right into college.

What also fails to be mentioned is how the Italian Police have who many in the know believe to be the real killer in custody yet persist in their prosecution of Amanda.

This week on Point Blank the talk show I co-host we will be introducing you to the real Amanda Knox. We will be presenting a program that is dedicated to you getting to know the girl behind the stories.

Why should you give a damn about Amanda Knox?

Because if you ever take a vacation out of the United States you could be sitting in a foreign prison for over a year waiting to prove your innocence in a system of justice that does not afford you anywhere near the same rights and privileges ours here at home does, and that is the true meaning of being a stranger in a strange land.

Victory Shall Be Mine

Is it just me or does it seem when Seth McFarlene created the show Family Guy he based the character of Stewie on Kim Jong Il.

They are both about the same height. They both love to build weapons of mass destruction, and they both really want to rule the world.

As I woke up today I am seeing on the news about North Korea launching not one but two new missiles just 24 hours after testing a nuclear weapon that was the size of what we used at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

I think his intentions are pretty clear at this point.

There is a difference between political posturing and repeatedly kicking someone in the balls.

One is just that,posturing and the other shows you are not just willing but very able to harm at will.

Military action needs to be taken now.

It is not lost on me how I sit in the cheap seats knowing if our men and women in uniform are placed in harm’s way yet again I am too old to join them. It’s a battle I personally won’t have to fight. That doesn't change my mind on the need to have our military handle this. It is not a call I make lightly.

I have said it before and I will say it again. North Korea is the single greatest threat to the security of the United States second only to Al Queda.

I know there are inherent problems with fighting North Korea not the least of which how it will change our relations with China.

I’m thinking China may be getting a little sick of North Korea themselves and may even side with the US if it came down to action. I can only hope so.

Here is the fact of the matter. Do we have to wait until the guy nukes Guam before we do something?

He has all the working parts and components of a nuclear weapon that can hit our shores. Let’s do something now before he assembles them and the only choice we have is to evacuate the west coast.

Amercia's New Courtroom

This week I was lucky enough to speak with DNA expert, expert witness, and as he called himself on the radio show I co-host talking head Dr. Lawrence Kobilinsky.

Later in the day I got an email from Dr. Kobilinsky that contained this phrase:

"I think that we need to consider enacting legislation similar to that in the UK which bars media from discussing the details of a live case. Although I believe that it important to educate the public about our criminal justice system, there may be a cost associated with this mode of education. This is an important subject which needs further study. I believe in fairness in the justice system and a person's right to a trial of his peers in a courtroom, and not on an entertainment television show. Such programs have no legal limitations and can be inherently biased against any defendant." Potential jurors can be tainted by what they hear on TV programs. The judge and jury on a criminal trial will be concerned with justice for a defendant and balance in their perspective and will not be concerned about high viewer ratings and competition with other networks in the way that TV anchors are."

The Dr. makes a good point. The media has become America’s new courtroom. More and more the court of public opinion decides people’s guilt months or in some cases years before a defendant sees a jury. Where is this opinion formed? In the media of course.

High profile defendant’s virtually have no chance of encountering a jury that is in not some way biased or at least familiar with the intimate details of a case long before the summons for jury duty is even cut. More important they may have been exposed to and will consider evidence that may not even be allowed at trial due to pretrial motions.

A great example is the case against Casey Anthony. You can’t go fifteen minutes watching cable news without hearing about the murder case, the civil suit, what she had for lunch, or who she slept with before she was arrested. Tonight Nancy Grace is doing a special on all Casey's lovers. Why?

The remedy for this type of exposure used to be a motion for a change of venue. But the days of national cable news have made this moot. It doesn’t matter where you try Casey Anthony because wherever you go they have seen the same coverage as well.

You can even take this one step farther. There are shows like the ones on Court TV that at least try to remain objective. Then you have hosts like Nancy Grace who wish to prosecute a defendant in the media without the benefit of that person being able to offer a defense.

Whatever your opinion of Casey Anthony I promise you more people are going to remember Nancy Grace crucifying “tot mom” more than anything Jose Baez has said regarding her innocence. Just for the fun of it try to remember as many Nancy Grace quotes on this case as you can and then try to remember some Jose Baez quotes. I promise you Nancy will win hands down.

Why should we care if Casey Anthony, Drew Peterson, Melissa Hukaby, or any other high profile Defendant gets a fair trial? Because next week through no fault of your own there could be circumstantial evidence linking you to a murder and the last thing you need is Nancy Grace telling the entire country what a bastard you are. There is no way to defend against that.

Perhaps we would all be better served if high profile media went back to reporting the news instead of trying to create it.

Til Death Do Us Part

It seems every day on the news we hear two or three stories of men abusing their wives. Even worse we hear about the Drew, Michael, and Scott Peterson’s (maybe any woman out there should think twice about marrying a guy named Peterson), Chris Colman’s, or the deluge of cases that end with a dead wife.

I didn’t realize until last night just how desensitized we as a society have become to men hitting women.

Last night I met a fantastic woman. She was absolutely beautiful. More important she was twice as smart as she was pretty. This woman could talk me under the table with ease on any topic from the role of Hamas in the west bank to domestic politics and every subject in-between.

We started discussing the Chris brown Rihanna case and I mentioned how I have never laid my hands on a woman in anger. I don’t think she believed me. She kept presenting scenarios in which it might be permissible for me to hit a woman.

If a woman this smart is desensitized to this issue how desensitized must the rest of us be.

Abuse of women takes many forms. Not every abuser kills the woman he’s involved with but that doesn’t make it any less serious a problem.

It makes me wonder just what we have to make even a small dent in this problem, let alone wipe it out completely if we could. I don’t know what the answer to that question is? Before you can solve the problem you have to create a reaction in the general public that goes beyond a here we go again attitude.

If any of you reading this know of a way of re-sensitizing the general public to this problem I would not just love to hear it but I’d like to do what I can to help.

Next Stop On The PR Tour. That Missing Kids Vigil.

I am all for raising awareness of missing children.
I am all for rising awareness that Haleigh Cummings has yet to be found dead or alive.

By all means let’s keep her face in the media until we know what happened to her. I would have no problem if we saw her face on the news every five minutes until she’s found.

I do have a problem however with seeing George and Cindy Anthony’s face yet again in the never ending Casey Cool-Aid goodwill tour and press junket.

I cannot believe the audacity of these people showing up at vigil for this poor child. If I thought there was one grain of concern for Haleigh Cummings in their appearance I wouldn’t be writing this but I don’t.

I think the whole purpose of being there was some ill-advised PR stunt to raise goodwill for their daughter. They couldn’t care less if Haleigh turned up in a shoe box as long as we see Cindy on camera getting her 15 minutes. I assume no one has told her everything in this world isn’t about her and Casey. There are other people in the world who are suffering too.

Whoever advised Ronald Cummings to publicly dissociate himself from the Anthony’s sure earned every penny of their money today.

Experts on every show from the local news to the Nancy Grace show have flat out said they are having the opposite effect of what they are trying to achieve with their public appearances, yet they persist with this farce.

Again it leads me to believe this whole thing isn’t about Casey, it’s about Cindy.

She just has this overwhelming desire to open her mouth and be seen no matter what the consequences to her daughter. In her mind judgment against Casey is really judgment against Cindy and we being mere mortals aren’t qualified to judge Cindy.

While I have no evidence of this and it is solely my opinion, I would be willing to bet my bottom dollar that the mental health defense that the death penalty attorney who was fired from the case came up with centered around the psychological abuse that is inevitable when you live under the same roof as Cindy Anthony.

Beyond Closed Doors

There are a great many things about the media coverage of the Casey Anthony case that have bothered me. One of the things that always stuck in my craw is how we have never seen one friend of the Anthony’s or ever heard about any family beyond Cindy’s parents.

This is something I had a long discussion on with the Co-Host of our upcoming show on Blog Talk Radio Gwen Lindsey Jackson. It was her comments that prompted me to dig out a reverse directory and see if I could find any neighbor of the Anthony’s who would be willing to be a guest on our show. Not one would do it but there was one who agreed to speak with me on the phone under the condition that they not be identified in any way.

I gave my word to this person and intend to keep it that they would not be identified under any circumstances but they were kind enough to answer a great many of the questions both Gwen and I were asking ourselves.

So sit back, relax, and let’s take a tour of life with the Anthony’s on Hopespring Drive.

One of the things I was able to learn is the Anthony’s don’t have a single friend in the neighborhood.

This is the type of neighborhood were people routinely gather at each other’s homes for football games, barbecues’, and what have you.

This person was quick to say that George is an okay guy but Cindy was and remains the most hated person on the street due to her constant nasty attitude toward everyone.

I was also able to learn that allegedly Cindy is extremely racist against Hispanics and Casey who was famous in the neighborhood for her one night stands would often sleep with Hispanic men as a way of taunting Cindy.

I was able to learn that George and Cindy would often be seen playing in their front yard playing with Caylee and this person could not recall one instance of seeing Casey join them.

The Anthony’s purposely insulated themselves from their neighbors and the only real interaction they had with the rest of the neighborhood was the yearly garage sale that the entire block participated in. Every year since Caylee was born they would place what this person estimated to be thousands of dollars of toys, clothes, and shoes that Caylee no longer needed for sale.

I was able to learn that the friction between Casey and her mother that has been reported in other media outlets has not been over exaggerated. It was not an uncommon occurrence to have Casey’s screams of F.U. directed at Cindy break the quite peace of the neighborhood as Casey would get in her car and squeal her tires as she sped away.

It appears Cindy never had much tolerance for anyone including Casey’s childhood friends whom Cindy would order out of the house immediately and routinely upon returning home.

This person feels and can list several examples of how anytime someone’s life touches the Anthony’s that person’s life goes bad.

I was able to learn that Cindy not only wore the pants in the family but was also the primary breadwinner as George has never been able to hold a job for any length of time in the entire time this person lived near them.

It has been reported in the media George and Cindy briefly separated in 2005 before Caylee’s birth but I was surprised to learn that George was having an affair and when he left the home he moved in with relatives in a town called Titusville he proceeded to sue Cindy for alimony.

When I asked this person on a scale of 1 to 10 how they would rate Casey’s intelligence they proceeded to tell me how Casey was a high school dropout and proceeded to flunk out of the only 2 courses she took at Valencia Community College.

One thing I found interesting is that from the time Lee moved out of the house he allegedly never returned to the neighborhood again until this case broke. I also found it queer this person could not recall one instance of seeing the Anthony’s ever have guests.

I asked this person if they thought Casey committed this murder and they said yes. Than I asked them what they thought Casey’s motivation was in killing Caylee and without one second of hesitation they responded to separate Caylee from Cindy. That Casey could not bear the thought of Cindy raising her child. This person thinks Casey may have thought that death was better than a life with Cindy. This person than proceeded to quote Cindy’s mother who has made the statement Casey hated Cindy more than she loved Caylee.

I would like to invite any neighbor of the Anthony’s or the Anthony’s themselves to join Gwen and I on the air to confirm or deny what is written here.

There is an old saying that you never know someone until you live with them and this is one of the few times we have been able to meet someone whom has lived among the Anthony’s.

She's A Role Model?

I think I must be a rarity or at the least a very peculiar person for the times I live in.

I can honestly say I do not judge people by the color of their skin, which God they choose to worship or not, where they buy their clothes, who they go to bed with, or any other criteria you can use to lump people together. I judge people not by their words but by the things I see them do.

This is why my dislike for Carrie Prejean grows on a daily basis.

She is the perfect example of do as I say and not do as I do.

She is a liar and not even a good one at that.

When her first semi nude photos surfaced, she flat out lied about being a minor when they were taken in a poorly thought out ploy to keep them from being seen. Everybody knew this was a lie the second she said it.

For a woman who claims the morality of being Biblically correct in deciding who and who should not be allowed to marry she sure doesn’t take the moral high ground when it comes to getting naked for the camera for a shot at her 15 minutes of fame.

To take it a step further if she really was 17 when the topless photos were taken that is an even bigger statement on her morality or lack of it.

Now the latest set of photos featuring full frontal nudity are out and poor Carrie stands at the microphone lambasting the photographer for taking her picture as the wind blew her vest open.

Come on Carrie. It was a breeze strong enough to blow your cloths open but in the picture you never break pose and your hair isn’t blowing in the wind.

It’s been said by more than one person no one ever went broke by under estimating the intelligence of the American public, but Carrie not one of us is dumb enough to believe that.

I am waiting with baited breath to hear her explain how she was tricked into making the raunchy video of her that’s about to be released, and how it really wasn’t her fault.

If Carrie Prejean is the role model for young Christians I feel bad for young Christians. I think she has tainted the public’s perception of Christians in a sad and ugly way.

She is in the same camp as Jim Baker, Jimmy Swaggart, Ted Haggard, and every other huckster who hides under the banner of Christianity to get what they want at the time but doesn’t live up to any of its ideals .

Carrie Prejean is not a role model she is just another media whore with nothing of value to add to any conversation. She should do what she does best. Close her mouth and open her shirt.

The Dodo Bird, The Edsel, And Customer Service. Name Three Three Things That Are Extinct ?

What has happened to customer service in America?

I run a computer repair business and I do okay. Part of the reason I have a steady clientele and get quite a bit of referral business is my customer service skills.

It is a lot easier for my clients to drive up the block to Geek Squad than to drive across town to me. I realize I'm not the only guy in town that can fix a computer. The reason my customers continue to use me is I treat them like gold. I realize all my computer knowledge isn’t worth the price of a cup of coffee without my customers.
Too bad more companies don’t take this attitude.

Any more it seems like major companies in the US act like they are doing you a favor by taking your money and it disgusts me.

A good example is what happened to me this week with my cell phone company. I have one of those unlimited pre pay plans. I pay a set amount every month for unlimited local and long distance calling and a few more features. My bill should never be one penny more that that set amount. I get a text message from them telling my bill is seven dollars more than it should be. So I call into their customer service dept. and they can’t give me a straight answer as to why; but if that’s what it says than it must be that way. After asking the woman if I have a set rate how can it be one penny more than that she gets annoyed with the question and tries to rush me off the phone by telling me to go into a retail store.
Rather than get try to assist me she just wanted to pawn me off on the next poor slob.

At that point I ask to speak to her supervisor and she has the audacity to ask why? So I tell her because you aren’t doing anything to assist me. Her answer? My supervisor is just going to tell you the same thing. I didn’t ask her what her supervisor would tell me I asked her to speak to them. Long story short after about ten more requests and 20 to 30 minutes of hold time the supervisor comes to phone with an attitude of do I really need to be bothered with this. The guy was rude, arrogant, and snotty, he never dealt with my issue and told me if I didn’t like his answer I was free to write a letter to their corporate office.

At this point I am steaming. To add insult to injury, my service which was paid in full in advance was disconnected the next day and I didn’t find out about it for about 8 hours. That is 8 hours that the life blood of existence, my customers could not reach me. I had to call in on a land line and go through a whole rig amoral to get my paid for in advance service back on.

Did I receive an apology? No way, no how.

I won’t even go into the conversation I had with their cooperate escalation department.

This type of treatment of paying customers is an all too common occurrence in our society today.

Maybe it would be one small step to restore our economy if major corporations acted like they were lucky to have your business as opposed to thinking your money belonged to them by divine right.

Just What Would Jesus Do

I got into what could have been a very interesting discussion today with a lady on Diane Diamond’s Facebook page. Ms. Diamond asked about legalizing Marijuana. (It seems if I ever make a penny on this blog I’m going to owe Ms. Diamond a royalty).

But this blog isn’t about legalizing drugs. For the record I’m for it. If you care to read my comments they were:

Great topic. As a recovering drug addict who has been sober for 15 years now I am in total favor of legalizing not just marijuana but all drugs. Prohibition doesn't work that has been proven time and time and again, Think how many people we could put to work making it. We could tax it.Also if it were legal the price would come down to the point where junkies wouldn't have to steal to feed their habits. For the first time we would have a real chance of regulating it's use. And more important if it's legal there goes half the appeal. When was the last time you saw a guy hanging around a school yard trying to push a six pack of beer.

This blog is about intolerance of other peoples opinions. I knew any chance of interesting discussion was over the second I saw the sentence “I am a Christian”.

It seems to me for too many Christians have no idea what it really means to be a Christian.

This woman spoke of morality. Well morality is subjective. What is moral to me may be repugnant to you and vise versa. Most people out there can understand that and not think ill of someone simply because they disagree on a group of subjects.

It seems to me a great many Christians want to legislate their version of morality and the rest of us be dammed (both figuratively and literally) if we don’t agree.
Being a Christian is more than thinking you have a passkey to heaven because Jesus died on the cross.

Being a true Christian is about loving your neighbor as you love yourself. It is about forgiveness and leading not just by example, but also not silencing people who don't agree with you. It is not about thinking you have some kind of moral lead over the rest of us.

A popular phrase I hear a lot is what Jesus would do. From what little I know of Jesus he would have the gay couple from next door over for dinner. He would be able to separate what he considered sin from the sinner. He would not stand outside an abortion with a sign damming the woman in it but would hug the woman leaving it. He would understand not everyone believes as he believes nor hold that lack of belief against them. That’s what I gathered from the parts of the bible I have read.

Perhaps many Christians don’t subscribe to the fact they are Americans first and Christians second. Because we are all Americans we have to live with the opposing viewpoints that are guaranteed by the First Amendment. There is no group whose ideals and morals that makes me sicker than Neo Nazi’s. That being said I will fight to the death for their right to speak. It is their right under the constitution. It seems to me far too many Christians forget this. They take a my way or no way attitude toward their fellow Americans.

That is not what Jesus would do. What Jesus would do is try to find some common ground and love his neighbor regardless of their political beliefs, sexual orientation, or which God they prayed or didn’t pray to.

Hit Her Again Chris

If you haven’t heard nude photos of “singer” Rhianna have been leaked to the web. Who did it is still a mystery but my money is on Chris Brown. It’s a classic control and domination move.

Testify against me will you? How do you like this? This tactic is absolutely disgusting. As if some more naked pictures of another celebrity are any kind of real news.

Provided the photos were leaked by him does he really think any judge or jury is going throw out the case because there is a naked picture of her out there. Will this really make her any less a credible witness? I would think this would make more willing than ever to tell the story of her beating.

I hope the source of this leak is tracked down and publicly exposed.

As for the pictures themselves I have seen 7 of them. Two are plain face shots. One has a girl who could be her taking an almost fully dressed photo in a mirror with the camera blocking her face. Carries Prejean’s pics expose more (I never miss a chance to take a shot at Carrie). There are semi nudes taken in a mirror that are of an African-American woman of the same skin tone, but her face is not in the shot.
For all I know it isn’t really her.

I hope she goes after this idiot in court with a vengeance like she should have been doing from the first fist.

The right guy but maybe the wrong time

It’s been a long time in the coming but Drew Peterson is finally behind bars for the death of his third wife and it looks like charges may be coming down the line for his fourth wife too.

Where do you begin with this guy? His narcissism is unrivaled. This guy makes Casey Anthony look like she has an inferiority complex.

For the record not only do I think he did it but I think he’s proud of it too.
I can honestly see him walking out of court if he’s acquitted and looking right into the camera and saying f#%! you all I did it.

He wants us all to know what he did. He just doesn’t want to go to prison for it.
Unfortunately that is a real possibility.

At this point the only real evidence against him is his attitude. I say that because there is going to be a knock down drag out legal battle as to see if Kathleen Salvio’s and Stacy Peterson’s statements to friends, family, and even their pastors can be admitted. I feel it would be a shame if they weren’t but that is for the judge to decide.

I think the real reason he was arrested at this point and time is the grand jury was about to disband and it has become a now or never situation. His defense will scream that from the roof tops. This could really go in his favor and that would be a crying shame.

Lucky we have a great system of justice in this country that allows 12 people good and true to convict on pure hate alone. If that’s how we have to get this guy I can live with it.

Whats Good for The Goose

To quote Lisa Bloom Carrie Prejean is the gift that just keeps giving.

From her inarticulate answer at the Miss USA Pageant to her media blitz singing the praises of “opposite marriage” and now semi nude photos.

I personally don’t care what she did before all this but she in her own defense has courted disaster.

In an attempt to keep the media from publishing the photos she is claiming she was 17 when they were taken.

If this is the route she wants to go fine, but the consequences of this debate are rougher than she thought they’d be.

I have this question?

Teenage girls who have participated in the fad known as sexting are facing charges of production of child pornography. If Carrie Prejean was 17 at the time of her topless photos should she also be charged with the production of child pornography?

She has already admitted she took the photos voluntarily.

If little Sally Girl Next Door can face prosecution for sending a naked photo to her boyfriend’s cell phone and be branded a pornographer in the eyes of the law does the same not apply to Miss Prejean.

If I were her people I would really be rethinking this line of defense before Carrie Prejean is remembered only for the pornographer who wanted to decide who can marry and who can’t.

Lots Of Questions Very Few Answers

There has been no one that has been harder on Casey Anthony and her family than I have been. I have said in no uncertain terms I believe she is guilty of murder and deserves the death penalty. The latest batch of evidence released has me questioning my position. I am not saying she is innocent at this point but I am asking some questions I wasn’t before.

First off the forensic evidence has proven to my satisfaction that she did not place her daughter’s body at the dump site where she has found.

Casey Anthony’s demeanor the entire length of this case has proven she isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. I know for a fact she isn’t smart enough to fool the best forensic minds of both the local and federal authorities who processed the crime scene who could not trace back one single solitary microscopic fiber to anything Casey Anthony owns.

Not to blow my own horn but I consider myself a fairly smart man and I could not think of a way to evade or fool the best forensic minds our country has to offer and I ask this question, could you either.

If you and I can’t do it I assure you Casey couldn’t either.

Where are the cell phone pings we have all heard so much about in every area of this case that do not place her anywhere near that wooded area.

I see no major news show admitting their mistake on this. They have simply been acting like this exculpatory evidence doesn’t exist. No one is asking the question if the state was wrong about how Caylee’s body was disposed of what else could they be wrong about?

Today on Nancy Grace they went on a personal attack on Jose Baez that made even me blush. They went into a long tirade about his child support, something to do with a check he once wrote and a bunch of other things that have nothing to do with this case. I have launched some vile attacks against Mr. Baez myself but only about things that apply to this case.

Everyone made such a big deal about the Motion for a Change of Venue made today and engaged in such speculation as to its deeper meaning. The deeper meaning of it is that is what any competent attorney would if their client received the same attention Casey has.

Again I am not proclaiming Casey’s innocence but I am finally ready to listen with an open mind to her defense team.

Will Blog For Food

I have to wonder just how the times we live in have made the man I am instead of the man I should be.

For those not aware I live in Las Vegas, NV. You can’t walk 20 feet anywhere in this town without someone coming up and begging you for money. They are at every stop light with their cardboard signs reading Hungry Please Help, Disabled Vet, Spread the Love, and my personal favorite Why Lie I Need a Beer.

Call me cruel but I work for a living and that’s how I get my money. Nobody gives me anything and I don’t ask for anything that I don’t feel I’ve earned.

I never have had one attack of conscience in saying no to anyone until today.

I had just parked and was walking to pay my cell bill and I passed a teenager holding one of those cardboard signs who looked me in the eye and asked could I spare some change so see could get some food for her son. I gave my standard sorry and my first thought was she wants money for drugs. I’m funny about drugs. I won’t pretend I have never done my share drugs; I’ve done my share and yours too but I’ve been clean for 15 years so If some is looking for drug money they are asking the wrong guy.

So went to pay my bill and I started thinking what if she really does have a son that’s hungry and I didn’t do anything to help? Am I so jaded that I did I not do what I could to feed a kid? After all it’s not the kids fault they are hungry and it may not even be the mothers fault.

I decided I wouldn’t give her any money but I’d take her to the supermarket and buy her a few meals.

When I went back she was gone and it was the first time a beggar made me feel like a first class prick.

Even if she was trying to scam me for drug money I should have bought her some food.
If you know how to decide who to help I’d sure love to know because I can’t figure it out.

This Is How You Can Defend Those People

Today I am doing something different with my blog. I am speaking with famed defense attorney Mickey Sherman. From his time as an Asst. Prosecutor and Public Defender with the Stamford Superior Court to being an A list defense attorney, Mickey Sherman has navigated through more of the criminal justice system than many of us would want to experience firsthand. Besides being the bestselling author of “How Can You Defend Those People” Mr. Sherman has defended both Andrew Alex Kelly and Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel.

He is a television legal analyst of note having shot the pilot for Court TV and has appeared on almost any show you can think of when an expert on criminal law was needed.

Beside all of the above he is a hell of a nice guy taking the time to share his insight with an unknown blogger.

1)Has there ever been a time when Mickey Sherman the defense attorney was overshadowed by Mickey Sherman the man and you said I can’t defend this person?

Absolutely----but not for the reasons most people think. I don’t beg off defending someone if I think they are guilty or if I think they are horrible people. I take a pass on cases when the mere allegations are too upsetting to me for some reason. Specifically child molestation cases and stranger rapes are not my thing. Oddly, murders and robberies, etc present no problem. I also won’t defend someone when I get a vibration that I can never make them happy no matter what. I explain this in my book, “How Can You Defend Those People” where I also interview a lot of notable criminal defense lawyers about what cases they will NOT take as well and why.

2)Would you want Casey Anthony as a client?

Sure. Why not?

3)Without going into the validity of “Ugly Coping” do you think 12 people in a jury box will buy it?

You never know what a jury will do. So often they disregard the prosecutor AND the defense arguments and solve the case themselves, armed with their vast CSI experience from watching TV and reading books.

4)Using on the evidence that’s been publicly released at this point, how would you defend Casey?

I would make a deal. I think she is nuts but no jury will buy an insanity defense from her.

5)Do you foresee Obstruction of Justice charges against Casey’s parents and brother? If so how would you defend them?

No way. These people are all victims of this crime as well. They made the mistake very early on in thinking that the media was their ally. When the cameras turned on them, they imploded. I feel badly for them.

6)Beside the fact that she is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law what do you think the general public has missed about this case?

They have missed the point that the dumping of every tidbit of the states’ case into the media is just not the way the system ought to work. I would like to know WHY we are allowed to see and hear the conversations she has had in jail with her family. Would this happen if you or I were being prosecuted? It is just so wrong, regardless of her guilt or innocence.

7) The media attention this case has gotten has obviously hurt Casey’s defense. Is there ever a time it is good for the defense? Can you site a case of yours where media attention either helped or hurt your case? Have you ever used the media to sway the outcome of a case?

I have had cases where the media will be totally helpful on Wednesday and absolute poison on Thursday. One has to understand that the media is not your friend. (Except when you marry one of them like I did…..Lis Wiehl of Fox News) But my close friends in the media, to whom I am not married, will and have turned on me in an instant if it makes a good story or if they feel it is appropriate.

8)What is the most misunderstood thing about defense attorneys?

That we are human beings who do CARE about our clients AND the victims.

9)Do you think the legal definition of insanity should be broadened and if so how?

It doesn’t make a difference. The American public no longer believes in the Insanity Defense in the wake of the “Twinkie Defense “ case in San Francisco or the John Hinckley case. The public does not trust the medical professionals to keep some insane guy or woman in a hospital long enough to protect everyone. It is just easier to ignore the law about insanity and find the person guilty and lock him up. Jeffrey Dahmer was found “sane”. Nuff said?

10)How would you defend Melissa Huckaby based on currently known evidence?

In spite of my answer above, her only defense could be insanity.

11)It’s pretty clear Melissa Huckaby has severe mental problems how much of an obstacle will current laws be in defending her.
Mr. Sherman refers back to question 9.

12)Does a client facing the death penalty make it easier or harder for you as defense attorney? Is there ever a time it works in your favor?

If there is no offer of a plea bargain, it is an easier case in one way in that there are no difficult decisions to make in terms of taking a deal or going to trial. If they do offer life in prison or something else, then it is an extraordinarily difficult job since you have the person’s life in YOUR hands,

13) Will Nancy Grace ever allow you to answer a question?

She is actually a very good friend and is a very, very good person. I have known her since before she was on TV. I covered her cases in the early months of Court TV in 1990 when she was a prosecutor in Atlanta. She may appear to be rude or tough but then again, she invited people like me to be heard on her very wide platform.

14)Is there really an upsurge of female killers or is media coverage of such crimes just getting better?

I don’t believe there is any change in the demographics of murderers out there. We have just learned that their cases are infinitely more fascinating and they get much better TV ratings.

15)What is your opinion of the air sampling technique used by The Body Farm?

I think it stinks.

16)Have you ever wanted to give it all up and become a prosecutor?

I was a prosecutor for four years after having been a public defender out of law school for a year. Most career defense lawyers have the same history. We learn how to try cases as a prosecutor and then go into private practice to use those talents to make a living. I loved being a prosecutor, No pressure, You get to play God from 9 to 5 each day. A great myth is that the defense lawyers and prosecutors are natural enemies. This is far from the truth. We all work in the same factory and are generally very friendly to one another. We speak the same language. My wife, Lis Wiehl of Fox News, is a third generation Federal Prosecutor.

17) Do you think juries are too dependent on forensic evidence and does it surprise you Scott Peterson was convicted considering the utter lack of it?

The “CSI Effect” has changed the criminal trial process. Every juror watches these shows and they expect to see DNA, blood spatter testimony, Gunshot Residue and bug evidence in the trial of a guy charged with stealing a Kenny G CD.
Scott Petersen was different deal. The jury apparently hated him and loved his slain wife and child. His demeanor was perceived as arrogant and phony and he was going down no matter what. I was at that trial. I met his family and Lacie’s as well. They were all very nice people. It was a terrible tragedy.

It Just Takes One of You To Believe Me

I have had occasion recently to speak to a high profile defense attorney and someone very close to the Casey Anthony case. I asked both these people how they would defend Casey if she were their client. That got me thinking about how I would defend Casey Anthony If I had to.

Please keep in mind I am not a lawyer. I have never even played one on TV. I know just enough about legal matters to have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about.
I have made my feelings about this case quite clear in previous blogs. I simply found it an interesting experiment to see if I could stand by Casey’s side with a straight face for a little while.

The Opening Statement

The best you can hope for in an opening statement is to take every single piece of damming evidence the state has and assure the jury that you will provide reasonable answers that explain the true meaning of that evidence. The only thing you ask for in return is to please pay the same attention to those explanations that they did the media coverage. There is a story to be told here. Its story you haven’t heard yet, and it’s a story that you need to hear. I am convinced that once you hear it you will see fit to acquit Casey Anthony on the charge of murder not just in the first degree, but will agree there is no way she could have physically harmed her daughter.

Evidence Leading Up To Caylee’s Disappearance

The first thing the prosecution is going to do is present the computer searches on how to make chloroform, neck breaking, household items as weapons, est. The first thing is do not impinge the integrity of the computer forensic investigators. You have lost any argument you have the second you do that. There is a reasonable expiation for what the investigators found on Casey’s computer.

Will you the reader please open a new tab or page in your web browser and go to http://google.com. Please do a Google search for Hiren’s Boot CD 9.8. The first listing is for a site called http://www.hiren.info/pages/bootcd

Please pay attention to the BIOS / CMOS Tools.

What these tools do is allow you to crack and remove the password on someone’s computer if that password is at the boot level.

The next section I’d like you to look at is Password Tools. What these tools do is allow you to bypass a users Windows log in. Using this tool I could sit down to your computer and log into your Windows User account as you and your computer wouldn't know I wasn’t you.

Now please go to http://download.com and search for a program called Get/Set File Time/Datestamps

What this program does is change the creation date, time, and last access time and date of any file on your computer.

Using this program I could sit down at your computer and type your confession to shooting John F. Kennedy and create a file creation date of November 22, 1963. Your computer wouldn’t know it wasn’t true and if your computer ever fell into the hands of a forensic examiner they would have no choice but to say your computer shows you confessed to killing president Kennedy that day it happened.
These are tools any 9 year old that know how to web search can download.

How would anyone but Casey have access to her laptop? Casey was promiscuous and a drunk on top of it.
There were many occasions Casey was passed out at someones home and any one could have anything to her computer.

Who would do such a thing? The real killer. This person is smart enough to fool even some of the best computer forensic examiners in the country. The investigators were absolutely right about what was on Casey’s computer they were just wrong about how it got there.

Thirty One Days of Fun
The fact of the matter is Casey never wanted to have a baby. Yet she couldn’t kill her fetus, she wanted to place the baby up for adoption. It was her mother who micro managed every aspect of Casey’s life that forced her to keep Caylee. The fact of the matter is Casey was glad when Caylee was kidnapped. It allowed her to live the life having a child robbed her of. She was happy to have Caylee be someone else’s problem for a while. This makes her guilty of the worst kind of child neglect it does not any way make her guilty of murder. Remember Casey could have killed the child she didn’t want in the womb and no one would have been the wiser. When you see Casey partying during that thirty one days all you see is the Casey that was there before Caylee was born. That is the simple explanation.

No Forensic Evidence At The Dump Site

Anyone who has ever watched Forensic Files knows you go no place on the face of the earth without leaving something behind or taking something with you. Even more important is the fact that if you own a cell phone you have tracking a device on you at all times. Where are the cell phone records that show Casey spent any amount of time what so ever at that site. If the state had them we all would have known about it way before now. Every single shoe Casey owns did not show a soil match for that site.
The Autopsy

The medical examiner says Caylee died of homicide by undermined means. If you cannot determine the means by which someone died you can’t say it was homicide. There is absolutely no way to say Caylee didn’t choke to death on a cookie, or have an allergic reaction to a peanut. I spoke with the offices of 10 Medical Examiners across the country the day I wrote this and not one could give me a technical explanation of homicide by undermined means. It’s a buzz word and a catch phrase that doesn’t mean a thing.

The toxicology results show Caylee wasn’t drugged. The only test not performed was for chloroform because it is a normal component of decomposition and she would have shown a false positive. Is it just a coincidence that the agent the state claims was the murder weapon is the one thing they can’t test for?

The Smell In Car

It is impossible to deny that cadaver dogs hit on that car or thatsCaylee’s body was in the trunk. When Casey was too drunk to drive and parked at the Amscot Check cashing she was so inebriated she left her keys in an unlocked car. The state has not shown from the time Casey parked to the time it was towed that no one had access to that car. To say it was Casey who had the body in the trunk is impossible until you can prove that one else was in that car until it was towed and the state has not met its burden on that count.
Closing Statement

The fact of the matter is the Casey Anthony we all saw walk into jail was a spoiled, narcissistic, 22 year old alcoholic. I wonder if you know anyone that meets the exact same description. The Casey you see sitting before you today is older, wiser, sober, and through the type of reflection that can only come from great pain has learned quite a few life lessons. I would ask you to focus on that Casey now. Did anything I said here make you think twice about this case? Is it clear that the state has not met its burden of proof in charging Casey with first degree murder?

When deciding her guilt ,for any of the evidence to make sense, it all has to make sense and there is just too much of the state’s case that does not make sense.

If we as a society are going to pass judgment on Casey Anthony let’s do it in separate trial for child neglect. Let’s not convict her for something the best legal minds the state of Florida has to offer could not prove she did.

It was an interesting experiment for me. Did you buy any of this? If you did there is a guy in Orlando who wants you on his jury.