Westerfield Jury Reaches Verdict DEATH

o | Joe Hadenuf

[Joe Hadenuf]

Death

[Lilly]

re: post #7

Very good question. My son and I were discussing this, and why it is there are any persons on death row. Why aren't their sentences carried out? How hard is it to strap someone to good ole "Sparky?"

[A.J.Armitage]

That's where I stopped reading.

I hope you didn't stop reading so often when you read documents for your cases.

Because guilt is determined by the jury verdict, and I respect and honor it.

Guilt is not "determined". It is, or is not.

"And yet, it moves."

[drlevy88]

We have to trust the jury, though; they were there, they sat through the entire trial, we didn't.

In cases that end in injustice, it is quite frequently not the jury that is wrong, but the judge and the attorneys. The judge gets quite a bit of discretion about what is allowed to be seen, which can greatly influence the outcome of a circumstantial evidence case in a way that may still be difficult to prove to the satisfaction of an appeals court that is asked to order a retrial. A jury cannot simply see anything it wishes, by the way.

[drlevy88]

Guilt is not "determined". It is, or is not.

GAK! You mean there is something as absolute truth, as opposed to legal formulations?

[dread78645]

Why were they even permitted to remain on the police force after that?

'Cause they helped the DA's office get convictions.

[NYCVirago]

. They had to look at each other before answering a question!! (Shows they aren't free thinkers.)

No, that could show that they were being polite and deferential to each other in seeing who wanted to answer the question first.

[Ditter]

If mummification happens very quickly in young children wouldn't the southern California very dry desert climate be the perfect place for this to happen? Didn't we hear in the beginning that her skin appeared to be burned & blackened? I don't have a problem with thinking the bug evidence was not correct because of these facts.

[Freedom2specul8]

Morning Ditter! That's correct. The skin was darkened due to the mummification process according to the testimony.

[Freedom2specul8]

What is bogus about it? How do you account for the lack of body fluids beneath the body, the dehydration etc? Remember, the ME agreed it was mummified, and so did the bug guy from columbia missouri. No one denied it... (unless you're saying that the bugs will chew through the mummified skin, but we were told during testimony that the mouths of bugs are not strong enough)

[VRWC_minion]

I don't have, based on the evidence, a moral certainty that Dave Westerfield is responsible for Danielle's death.

Take a look at this

Plea deal 'minutes away' when body found

I doubt it will change your mind but....

[Freedom2specul8]

"Nobody questions that her blood was on the jacket. The relevant question is: how did it get there? The spot was small enough, IIRC, that it could have come from one of her nosebleeds."

Hi drlevy.. Someone wrote a comment previously on this thread about the spot not proven to be blood.
((post #321 "AND.....They were calling the DNA on the jacket BLOOD! IT WASN'T BLOOD!!! "))
I would say that if it was spit or snot, it would have tested negative for the presumptive test of blood.

You are correct..it could have been a nose bleed, but there was no adequate proof it was there by innocent means. Nothing...they couldn't find a single child in the neighborhood to admit that they along with danielle played in the MH. IMHO, the defense was unable to prove, show or adequately explain the reason the blood was found on the MH floor and jacket. It's too hard to ignore..and leaves me thinking if my child's blood was found 'inside' the MH of a neighbor, and was never seen in the MH by other kids..I'd be thinking the worst too. Does that make sense?

[Freedom2specul8]

???

oh my gosh......

[VRWC_minion]

I suspect some jurors might eventually have reservations about their decision, especially if they learn of facts hidden from them by the prosecution or evidence disallowed by the judge.

Or learn they didn't have all the facts that pointed toward guilt, like knowing where the body was before its discovery.

[HamiltonJay]

May God have mercy on his soul, for he gets no quarter from me. Sick bastard, injection is better than he deserves.

[HamiltonJay]

And what facts would that be? The fact that Westerfield was minutes away from telling authorities where he dumped the body to get a plea when her body was found by a passerby? Or did you miss that story this morning? Live in denial.. I just hope you don't have children, for their sakes. It is obvious you have no judge of character...

Oh go play with the nice man Suzy, he looks safe....

[just me]

I know one thing if I had small children I wouldn't let them play at the Van Dam house.

[bvw]

A Jury run by unctuous spoiled brats, who had already made up their minds before they heard word one. Of course the van Dam's damn "lifestyle" wasn't important to them ... it didn't go with the program.

Saw two of them -- both smirking brats -- on Van Sustern ... San Diego has a new name in my book -- Damned City. Abraham would have a tough time turning up ten good men there.

[Freedom2specul8]

Morning...

The jury believed an intruder entered the home of the van dams. The jury believed the intruder was dw because of the evidence. That's not being spoiled...the defense failed in creating doubt.

[bvw]

Well, then maybe you'll have your days without mercy, and speak thereafter if your black heart has any specs of it left afterward.

[bvw]

The slacker brat juty in San Diego gets no respect from me. With O'Reilly on those slackers I agree -- they treated a jury box like a tennis club, coming and going according to their leisure. I caught not a whit of the dread seriousiness which a murder trial is due by duty of a jury in the Jury interview I saw -- just playing to the Warholian 15 minutes of fame.