Posted on 03/24/2005 5:04:36 AM PST by Hawk44
LOS ANGELES Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley said jurors who acquitted actor Robert Blake of the murder of his wife are "incredibly stupid" and insisted his office had put on a good case.
In his first comments on the high-profile loss, Cooley said the verdict shows prosecuting celebrities is extremely difficult in Los Angeles.
"The Blake case taught us some lessons, that is for sure," Cooley said. "Quite frankly, based on my review of the evidence, he is as guilty as sin. He is a miserable human being."
Chuck Safko, one of the jurors who voted to acquit Blake, answered with scorn of his own.
"To hear him say we aren't a smart jury is sour grapes," Safko said. "They didn't have a good case. Their case was built around witnesses who weren't truthful."
Blake, 71, was accused of murdering his wife on May 4, 2001, mainly based on the word of two Hollywood stuntmen who testified the actor tried to hire them to kill her. Only two jurors ever thought Blake might be guilty, according to interviews after the verdict, and all 12 came to the unanimous verdict of not guilty after two weeks of deliberations.
The comment shows Cooley is "small-minded," said Blake's attorney, Gerald Schwartzbach. It was worthy of a politician, not a lawyer, Schwartzbach said.
Cooley's comments were unusual, but not unethical, according to legal experts.
"To criticize the jurors is unprofessional it is unbelievable," said Laurie Levinson, a professor of criminal law at Loyola Law School. "I think you have to give the jury credit. They are very conscientious jury. It was a reasonable-doubt case, and disagreeing with Mr. Cooley doesn't make them stupid."
That was my conclusion in the case also. In both cases even if there had been a complete video tape of the murders, the jury would have acquitted. Stupid is as stupid does and they were extremely stupid. Simpson&Blake two (POS) murderers enjoying their celebrity status via two (POS) juries with a frontal lobotomy. NSNR
Speaking of stupid...
The OJ jury wasn't stupid - - - it was racist!
Those guys were bad to the bone ...
Of course, the system is so perverted with screwy judges and a sick society, that all bets are off.
A betting man would say Blake did it. In a case like this, the only person to blame for failing to get a conviction is the DA, who was apperently too freakin' lazy to look for any evidence.
Moreover, a DA who thinks anyone should be convicted more or less on their say-so is a danger to the public. They deserve to lose their job.
John Kerry has the same problem.
Maybe the prosecution needs to use EVIDENCE!
both prosecutor's are clearly incompetent. That's not an open question anymore. Same with the prosecution in the OJ case.
The only question that remains about all of them is whether they were merely bad in presenting the case, or were they also incompetent in bringing these charges in the first place? Whether the individuals are guilty or not, in any of the cases, you don't bring a murder or child molestation case against someone unless you've got clear and convincing evidence.
So far I think they screwed up all three cases by brining them in the first place.
My husband and I both agreed that we probably could not have found him guilty either, for the reason you stated. I personally believe that Blake is guilty, but there were too many other people who had motive to kill her. The presumption of innocence is on his side. In another system where that presumption is guilt, then I would find differently, I think.
Apples and oranges (he he, he said "oranges")...
Blake's wife was a grifter who had scammed people other than Blake. So, unusually for a wife-killing, there were other people with arguably sufficient motive. The DA was too lazy to cover that, and lost.
You can defame a public figure like Blake a lot more than you can a private citizen and get away with it.
Look how President Bush has been publicly vilified. It comes with the territory.
fly on the wall: "gee, the planted handgun worked before...."
In plain English Cooley got his a$$ kicked. In plain Chinese Cooley lost his Cooley. In plain Russian Cooley asski kickski.
Heh heh heh...ha hah hah....bwahahahahaha!
FMCDH(BITS)
I don't think it was her being a slut that caused them to find Blake innocent. She was a slut who had blackmailed lots of people. IOW, she left a trail of people who had the motive to kill her.
I hope you don't think that Rush coined the phrase on his own. BTW, the prosecution in the O.J. case did an absolutely horrible job. We all know O.J. wacked them, but the prosecution botched the case from the moment the first police officer showed up at the crime scene. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt -- hardly.
This was the defence move to hold the jury as long as possible. Get one on ethe jury to be on Blake's side and the others will do any thing to go home.
What do you know that we don't know? How was the Blake prosecution incompetent? Give us the facts.
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