Yesterday was the anniversary of the Columbine Massacre and Hitler's birthday; it was also the day that a Boston University Medical student who, it appears, is the Craig s List Killer, was caught. Thank goodness.
sadly - I think that our police system is probably the most fair in the world. But I have come to believe that our courts are the most random. Lets hope.
I doubt he will plead insanity. Insanity is a defense and the burden of proof is on the defense not the state to prove the defendant is not insane. It is very difficult to prove insanity and in this case self defense would be the more likely defense. The state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not act in self defense.
One thing to keep in mind is the jury in the first OJ Simpson trial. Unfortunately most jury pools are made up of people who are available to sit on a jury for a long period of time without compensation. That means the unemployed, postal workers, low level government workers, etc. make up most juries. The more complicated the evidence the better the chance of the defendant has of being found not guilty. Another factor: Simple minded people are also more likely to condemn the victim for being a prostitute. Religious jurors would also pose a problem since they tend to be more judgmental and very narrow minded.
The best chance for the prosecution is to combine this murder with another murder if the police can link the suspect to another murder in the same state. In that case self defense would almost be impossible to prove. Remember the burden of proof is on the state to prove the defendant is guilty. The defense doesn't have to prove anything.
There is a saying around the courthouse: The person delivering your mail today could be sitting in judgment of you tomorrow. Kind of scary isn't it?
There is no death penalty in Mass. As long as he is tried and convicted of first degree, second degree or voluntary manslaughter he will get life. Sadly, that is more than his victim got...
Unless he is convicted on first degree murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, he could be paroled with any other sentence. He could be paroled is as little as three years if he is convicted of manslaughter especially if it's involuntary manslaughter.
Read the discussions on the Boston board. It appears that they have solid evidence against him. I wish I could be on the jury but I live in the wrong county. Unfortunately "life" doesn't mean life, except in the case of a first degree muder conviction. My guess is that he will get off with second degree because it is imposible to prove premeditation in his case. OTOH, if I were the DA, I would go for first degree on the basis that the murder occured in the commission of a felony, armed robbery. The case has gained too much noteriety to fall through the cracks. Also, the treatment of the victim in the Boston Globe at least has been sympathetic. I hope he gets two or three big, horny cell mates. He is areal pretty boy.
Would anyone have thought this guy is murderer? Copley Marriot is an elegant hotel on the Water Front, not cheap. A Five Star Hotel where he committed the crime.
A clean cut guy, a medical student engaged to be married. This goes to show there aren't any hard fast rules regarding who will do what, when and where.
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