Posted on 03/09/2006 10:00:34 AM PST by Born Conservative
WILKES-BARRE (PA)– Family members of two men allegedly gunned down by Hugo Selenski erupted in anger Wednesday after Selenski’s attorney handled the bones prosecutors say belonged to the slain men.
The parents of Frank “Rudy” James and Adeiye “Redman” Keiler, the drug dealer suspects whom Hugo Selenski stands accused of killing, believe attorney Demetrius Fannick showed a lack of respect to their sons by dropping the bones onto the defense desk while questioning a witness about them.
“How dare you throw our children’s bones,” said Keiler’s mother, Sharon Forrester, during an impromptu press conference during the lunch break. “How dare you disrespect our children’s bones and throw it as if it’s a piece of dog bone. Have some respect.”
Deborah James, the mother of James, said she “fell apart” as she watched Fannick drop the bones onto the table.
The mothers said prosecutors and witnesses have been careful while handling the bones and say Fannick should have placed them on the table instead of dropping them while standing.
After court recessed for the day, Fannick denied roughly handling the bones.
“That’s unfortunate,” Fannick said when told that the victims’ families were upset. “It was not done in an offensive way. I meant no disrespect to anyone’s family. I would have done it the same way if no one was in the courtroom. If I had to do it again tomorrow, I’d do it the same way.”
Fannick noted that it hasn’t been proven the bones belong to James or Keiler. Witnesses have testified that bones were too badly damaged to test for DNA. Family members of the victims also feel courthouse employees have not shown them proper respect. They said spectators have filled their seats at times when they have briefly left the crowded courtroom. They believe their seats should remain reserved because of their connection to the case. They also said they have not been allowed to hold up pictures of their deceased children during testimony.
“Because we are black people our children don’t have value,” Forrester said.
I thought lawyers were supposed to be smart.
Racism of corpses?
Ezekiel connected dem dry bones
Ezekiel connected dem dry bones
Ezekiel connected dem dry bones
I hear the word of the Lord.
Your toe bone connected to your foot bone,
Your foot bone connected to your ankle bone,
Your ankle bone connected to your leg bone,
Your leg bone connected to your knee bone,
Your knee bone connected to your thigh bone,
Your thigh bone connected to your hip bone,
Your hip bone connected to your back bone,
Your back bone connected to your shoulder bone,
Your shoulder bone connected to your neck bone,
Your neck bone connected to your head bone,
I hear the word of the Lord!
Dem bones, dem bones gonna walk aroun'
Dem bones, dem bones, gonna walk aroun'
Dem bones, dem bones, gonna walk aroun'
I hear the word of the Lord!
Disconnect dem bones, dem dry bones
Disconnect dem bones, dem dry bones
Disconnect dem bones, dem dry bones
I hear the word of the Lord!
Your head bone connected from your neck bone,
Your neck bone connected from your shoulder bone,
Your shoulder bone connected from your back bone,
Your back bone connected from your hip bone,
Your hip bone connected from your thigh bone,
Your thigh bone connected from your knee bone,
Your knee bone connected from your leg bone,
Your leg bone connected from your ankle bone,
Your ankle bone connected from your foot bone,
Your foot bone connected from your toe bone,
I hear the word of the Lord!
I hear the word of the Lord!
The judge can order this, but they usually prefer not to. Trials are intended to be public. The only people guaranteed seats are the judge, the jury, the court reporter, the parties, and their lawyers.
They also said they have not been allowed to hold up pictures of their deceased children during testimony.
Rules of evidence, ma'am. This is the "proof" stage. It still hasn't been determined whether or not the defendant actually committed the crime. Something as emotionally charged as the victim's mother holding up a picture of him could throw the jury's judgment off. We want to make sure that we have the right guy first, and a picture of the victim is not helpful for figuring that out. All it will do is inflame the jury.
If the jury finds later on that we did get the right guy, however, then you can wave that picture around all you want during the penalty phase. At that point, the love that you had for your son becomes relevant as to what will happen to the defendant.
“Because we are black people our children don’t have value,” Forrester said.
Watch that race card, ma'am. It won't get you anywhere.
These people sound like the sort of folks who appear on the Jerry Springer show.
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