Actually, during the Clinton administration, William Bennett wrote a book on a very similar premise...
Posted on 06/08/2011 6:39:05 PM PDT by tlb
In a final act of revenge, Elizabeth Edwards secretly recorded a testimony in her dying days that helped prosecutors indict husband John last week, it was claimed today.
John Edwards is due to stand trial on charges that could lead to a 30-year jail sentence after he pleaded not guilty on Friday to using $925,000 in campaign funds to cover up an affair and love child.
The estranged wife of the former presidential candidate is alleged to have filmed a damning testimony that was central to the prosecution’s case for charges.
Friends said the cancer victim, who died in December, wanted to ‘haunt’ her estranged husband and his mistress Rielle Hunter, with whom he fathered a child and made a sex tape
Bruce Baron, an expert on federal law, said: ‘The value of a potential dying declaration, or tape, containing the testimony of Elizabeth Edwards, is devastating to any case or defence that Edwards would have.
‘On the secret video, Elizabeth spells out everything she knew about John’s affair with Rielle and how he managed to cover it up for so long,’ a source told the Enquirer.
‘She also spills all of John’s lies – many of which could be what sends him up the river.’
‘Elizabeth wanted to haunt John and Rielle – literally from her grave – and she has,’ the source told the Enquirer.
‘She hated them with a vengeance. This was a woman who took her final breath in the same bed where John once had sex with his mistress.’
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Revenge is a dish best served cold. Or even room temperature.
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. That being said, it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.
So while the adults are full of hatred and selfishness they make all the kids the real victims as they have no choice in any of this. Nice.
mark for later
I’m thinking a wee bit better of her now. Good for her.
Just d_mn!
I can’t get my head around them going after Edwards and Weiner when so many others are doing far worse. This seems to be a play to make the dems look like they’re following the laws to cover for much bigger and much better things.
Wife can’t testify against hubby. Were they divorced?
Does she stop being his wife when she’s six feet under?
She was an angry, bitter, liberal woman even before the affair and cancer. She claimed she felt shocked and threatened when she learned a neighbor was a conservative gun owner.
Desipite this, she was still better looking than Reille “Rod Stewart in drag” Hunter.
If she wasn’t such an evil person herself, I’d be impressed.
Bwahahahahahahahaha!
The kids will be victims if they are not taught there are consequences for actions.
Actually I believe a wife can testify against her husband.
She cannot be forced to do so, but can voluntarily testify
(lawyers at FR please verify).
Actually I believe a wife can testify against her husband.
She cannot be forced to do so, but can voluntarily testify
(lawyers at FR please verify).
When she was young she was a jaw-dropper.
Wow!
Of course. Else wife-abuse cases would never go anywhere. My bad.
So if nothing was said and covered up and the kids found out later then what? Edwards destroyed his marriage and his wife, lied to everyone and he should not be held accountable? For the kids???? Please.
That's just beautiful. dude!
I wonder if she’ll reveal which “America”(out of the “two Americas”) her husband truly lives in.
Any normal person of good conscience wouldn’t again show their face in public after doing what this creep bastard has done. Unfortunately for us, he isn’t a ‘normal’ person. If I had to guess, I’d say he’s a psycho of some sort.
.....Clinton on steroids+Viagra for good measure.
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She can’t be cross examined. How does that affect the legitimacy of her testimony?
Under Virginia code § 19.2-271.2 (and similar for many states): In criminal cases husband and wife shall be allowed, and, subject to the rules of evidence governing other witnesses, may be compelled to testify in behalf of each other, but neither shall be compelled to be called as a witness against the other, except (i) in the case of a prosecution for an offense committed by one against the other, against a minor child of either, or against the property of either; (ii) in any case where either is charged with forgery of the name of the other or uttering or attempting to utter a writing bearing the allegedly forged signature of the other; or (iii) in any proceeding relating to a violation of the laws pertaining to criminal sexual assault (§§ 18.2-61 through 18.2-67.10), crimes against nature (§ 18.2-361) involving a minor as a victim and provided the defendant and the victim are not married to each other, incest (§ 18.2-366), or abuse of children (§§ 18.2-370 through 18.2-371). The failure of either husband or wife to testify, however, shall create no presumption against the accused, nor be the subject of any comment before the court or jury by any attorney.
Except in the prosecution for a criminal offense as set forth in (i), (ii) or (iii) above, in any criminal proceeding, a person has a privilege to refuse to disclose, and to prevent anyone else from disclosing, any confidential communication between his spouse and him during their marriage, regardless of whether he is married to that spouse at the time he objects to disclosure. For the purposes of this section, “confidential communication” means a communication made privately by a person to his spouse that is not intended for disclosure to any other person.
In other words, the wife can testify against her husband, but in most cases the testimony is her choice - she doesn’t have a legal obligation to testify. The sad thing about Edwards was that no one felt any loyalty to him at all. Even his dying wife wanted to get him more than she wanted to preserve her energy and live longer.
Ho boy. As Johnny Carson would say.
That’s true - the children are the real victims and have suffered enough. John Edwards is a pathetic excuse of a human being, but putting him in jail for 30 years will serve no real purpose. It’s time to look at the bigger picture and that is the health and welfare of these children. God bless them.
And now it’s up to Cate to be the responsible adult...it’s hard not to feel sorry for her.
I wonder if this ‘testimony’ would even be admissible in court, because she wouldn’t be subject to any cross examination by the defense.
Yeah. Poor guy. = sniff =
She deleted him from the will, and now this. She thought of everything. Probably already paid off the first 5 guys to rape him in jail.
I am not sorry that he is going to get his but she died with a lot of hate in her heart. Not a good way to meet your maker.
Actually, during the Clinton administration, William Bennett wrote a book on a very similar premise...
I'll bet Bubba will find a channel . . . and a pretty one too!
Wow did you miss MY point.
Edwards didn't destroy his marriage alone. Elizabeth helped. There was a book that cataloged her abusive nature.
What I SAID was the children will pay for the adults bad behavior.
We have neo-cons and paleo-cons, maybe Edwards should be labeled a 'pre-con'.
Even if it’s inadmissible directly, the prosecution can take the info gained from it, investigate/follow up on it and introduce the info then obtained/learned against him.
Phoenix Lenhart
Fake Attorney ;)
I feel so sorry for the kids. They did nothing but will pay emotionally for the adults bad behavior.
And ah know. With ever' fibre of my bein'. That Lizzy's here. In this cote-room. Raht now. Ah cn'hear 'er. Cain you? Listen!
And she's sayin' No! No! Don' listen ta' that ol video tape. That wasn't me, no sir. I was hacked! I was photoshopped! I was hacked and photoshopped from the peace of my... eternal... rest!
Two americas.
It is. This mess will hurt them for the rest of their lives.
If Elizabeth was so abusive then Edwards should have left, gotten a divorce, brought out her abusive nature. Having an adulterous affair does not bring understanding back into a marriage. The way I interpreted your post about the kids was they’re the victims meaning the whole affair should have been hushed up to protect the kids.
Okay, he did vast amounts of damage to good, decent physicians who were only “guilty” of delivering a baby with a genetic condition - the poor guy could get a jury to feel sad for the parents and stick it to innocent physicians. I don’t feel bad for him in that sense. It’s just sad that he was raised as a democrat and with no standards at all. They seem to lead empty lives and not be missed when they’re gone. Imagine what he could have done with his potential if he had been raised with moral values. That’s the sad part of this.
Hardly. This isn't the way to "teach" children. All they're learning is that Mom was full of hatred and revenge and Dad was selfish and dishonest.
Trashing your kids emotionally is NOT good parenting.
The death of the declarant is one of the exceptions to the hearsay rule.
I think so-called "dying declarations" are often admissable in court, even though "hearsay" is not.
It is all about distraction.
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