[P-Marlowe]

The scarey thing is that we apparently now live in your world, where if you stop to help a child with a bleeding nose, and she later turns up missing, you can face the death penalty for your kindness.

No, that wouldn't happen. Because you would take the stand and explain that to the jury. Westerfield's refusal to take the stand left the jury with the fact that the evidence that they saw was UNEXPLAINED!

Do you think Westerfield helped Danielle with a bloody nose? If you do, I've got some stock in Arthur Anderson I'd like to sell you.

You may be free to refuse to take the stand. That is your constitutional right. But if you leave evidence unexplained by your refusal to take the stand, then you deserve to be convicted. Period. End of Argument.

The jury had the evidence and Westerfield refused to refute it in his own words.

I just hope to God that the Avilla jury isn't composed of fruitcakes like you.

[HiTech RedNeck]

I'm not sure how his honest testimony, which would probably be something like "I was in a drunken blackout most of that night and remember nothing," would help.