Andrea Sneiderman Sentenced to Five Years

Our move is almost here – 6 more days.  Busy, busy, busy packing! So, I have been very short on time for blogging and reading blogs.

 Andrea Sneiderman ( (AP Photo/DeKalb County Sheriff))

Andrea Sneiderman has been under house arrest for the past year awaiting trial for the murder of her husband, Rusty, who was gunned down by Hemy Neuman, Andrea’s boss at GE, in front of the Sneiderman’s son’s preschool. Neuman is now serving life in prison without parole, having been found guilty, but mentally ill.   If you are confused about the relationships:

Married:  Rusty (now deceased) and Andrea; children – Sophie and Ian

General Electric:  Neuman, boss to Andrea.  Neuman was married with three children.

There were allegations that Neuman and Sneiderman were having an affair, and she manipulated Neuman into killing Rusty, which Sneiderman denies. She stands to inherit millions of dollars in life insurance, plus the family home and a lake house.

There was a change in the Prosecutor’s office and murder charges were dropped against Sneiderman.  However, she was charged with thirteen counts of interfering with an investigation and perjury, all felonies.  She was found guilty on nine of the charges.

The judge sentenced Andrea Sneiderman to five years on each count, but they are to run concurrently.  She receives credit for time served, so her actual sentence will be four years.  Her family and attorneys indicated that they will appeal.

 

Castro House Demolished!

I saw, on the news this morning, that Ariel Castro’s house was being demolished. The companies that tore down the home and are cleaning up the lot have donated their time and effort to this cause. By the end of the day, grass will be planted on the lot.

Hopefully, this will help in the healing process for the victims who were held captive in that house for ten years.

Crime and Blogging in August

There is so much going on in crime – Boston Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez murder charges, the three new murder victims found in Cleveland, Ohio – allegedly victims of Michael Madison, updates on the Ariel Castro case getting ready for trial (kidnapped and tortured three women in Cleveland, Ohio for ten years), and the Andrea Sneiderman case (murder charges have been dropped).

August is going to be a busy month for me, because our daughter is having a baby, I am babysitting our grandson ten days, and we are moving; so, I am not sure how much I will be able to follow and keep up with in the world of crime and law.  Usually, I follow trials live, so I can comment on what I watch, and not just repeat other news outlets – although they can be valuable resources – especially for video.

I have given up book reviews for an indefinite period of time, but not forever.  It is just too much to keep up with right now.

Please keep checking in.  I will keep up with as much crime news as I can!

Jodi Arias Update

Escorted into the courtroom by three armed guards (one with a shotgun) wearing protective vests, Jodi Arias showed up wearing her prison stripes and shackles.

The Judge had a meeting in chambers with Arias and her attorneys. When they came out into the courtroom. Judge Stevens decided that all parties would reconvene in court on August 26 for a pretrial conference.

Judge Stevens wants to start the trial at the end of September. This will be the penalty or sentencing phase. For a new jury to make such a decision, they will need to hear a lot of this difficult and graphic trial.

The last trial took five months. I doubt the judge will allow that, but I don’t think this is going to be an especially short trial. Hopefully, the Defense will not put Arias on the stand for eighteen days.

Zimmerman Jury Asks For Clarification About Manslaughter

The jury seems to have possibly taken 2nd degree murder off the table, because they asked for clarification on the charge of manslaughter. Manslaughter still has a 10 to 30 year sentence, although the jury is not aware of that. The judge will sentence Zimmerman if he is found guilty of anything.

It also seems that the jury is not unanimous about not guilty, or they would have given that as a true verdict. So, are they looking for a compromise verdict, because they can’t agree? Or, are they just going down the list on the verdict sheet?

It seems like they didn’t believe Zimmerman showed hatred, as the Prosecution argued in the 2nd degree murder charge.

It also seems like they aren’t sure about justifiable self-defense, as the Defense argued.

Neither the Prosecution nor the Defense argued about Manslaughter during the case or in Closing Arguments, because it came in at the last moment, as a lesser charge introduced by the Prosecution. I am afraid this does not look good for the Defense of George Zimmerman.

Only time will tell…but I bet the Prosecution is feeling pretty confident right now.

Zimmerman Jury in Deliberations – Verdict Watch

Defense – A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Today, Defense lawyer O’Mara gave a powerful closing argument.  He used a lot of visual aids:  cardboard cutouts showing the size comparison between Zimmerman and Martin, a timeline, a chart showing all of the State’s case that leads to reasonable doubt, an animation, and a run-through of the witnesses in the case.

The animation was very powerful, and created a visual narrative of what happened the night Zimmerman and Martin met on a dark, rainy night. He gave very clear closing arguments.  I thought he was engaging and convincing, using a laid back manner.  His argument was that Zimmerman was acting in self-defense; he is innocent – and that reasonable doubt exists in this case.  That favors Zimmerman.

Prosecution – Descriptive Language

Prosecution lawyer Guy gave the rebuttal for the Prosecution.  He is the same lawyer who gave Opening Statements.  He gave a much better argument than De La Riondo did yesterday.  He spoke passionately about what was in Zimmerman’s heart – hatred.  His argument was that Zimmerman did not have to shoot Martin – he wanted to.  When he explained a reasonable doubt to the jury, O’Mara interrupted and the lawyers went to a sidebar. Guy was able to create imagery for the jurors without a lot of visual aids. He could paint a picture with his words. Ultimately, he encouraged the jurors to use their common sense – decide right from wrong.

It is improper to tell jurors to put themselves in the part of the defendant or the victim.  Unfortunately, Guy went there.  He was pleading to the jurors emotions, as he talked about what was in Zimmerman’s heart and how the jurors would feel in Martin’s shoes  – the fear a child would feel walking in that dark night with a stranger following him.  They are supposed to base their verdict on the evidence.

Jurors – Visual Aids v. Description Language

The jurors have now heard the whole case; from Opening Statement to Closing Arguments.  Whose case was more convincing according to the evidence?  Whose Closing Arguments had a stronger impact – the Defense’s visual aids or the Prosecution’s passionate rebuttal?  (I am sorry; I can’t even include yesterday’s Closing Arguments.  They just made me annoyed.)

The jurors will get their instructions from Judge Nelson and then deliberation will begin as early as today.  The judge has already indicated that the jury will deliberate all weekend, if they need to.  I am sure they will be happy to, because they have been sequestered for the entire trial – about a month.

My Jury Experience

I have only ever served on a Civil Case as a juror.  Although, jurors are not supposed to base their verdict on how they feel, but on the evidence alone; let me tell you how difficult that can be.  On my jury, there were people who worried about what would happen to the defendant after the case ended, if she was found guilty.  On the other hand, some jurors had so much sympathy for the plaintiffs that they wanted to make a verdict based on that.  Neither position is appropriate.  The only thing that matters is the evidence. In the end, we deliberated for four days, and we were going to lose two jurors the next day.  I don’t know if that had any impact on what happened, but the two parties came to an agreement and we, the jurors, never had to deliver a verdict.

Zimmerman Case – The State Gives Its Closing Arguments

This morning there was a Charging Conference in court, where the Prosecution and Defense went over the charges that will be presented to the jury. At the last minute, the State wanted the lesser included charges of: Manslaughter, Aggravated Assault, and 3rd Degree Felony Murder based on Child Abuse. Defense Lawyer West’s response was something like: How much more bizarre can this case get? Judge Nelson allowed Manslaughter to be added and denied the other two charges; so the jury instructions will include 2nd Degree Murder and Manslaughter. Second degree murder has a mandatory sentence of 25 years to life. Manslaughter is 10 to 30 years. Penalties can be enhanced because of the use of a gun. The Judge will get to determine the sentence, once the jury reaches their verdict.

Following the Charging Conference, the Assistant State Prosecutor De La Rionda gave the Prosecution’s closing arguments. Just let me say that you will have to look elsewhere for the screeching, long-winded, boring, and at times, inappropriate and comical arguments. He actually skipped in court. I had such a difficult time listening to him. The lawyer who gave the Opening Statements did a much better presentation, and maybe the Defense should have had him close.

Judge Nelson is a no-nonsense judge. And Defense Attorney West annoys her. I don’t think she is fond of O’Mara either. Heck, they annoy me. But, this is about the evidence. It’s true that George Zimmerman followed Trayvon Martin, but according to Zimmerman, Martin started the physical confrontation and he felt his life was in jeopardy. I have to ask if Martin was in fear of Zimmerman, would he have confronted him? He probably would have tried to get away. For clarification, Martin had no injuries other than the gun wound. Zimmerman had non-life threatening injuries to the head and what looked like a broken nose (to my understanding, he never had x-rays because of insurance). His injuries are irrelevant. What matters is whether he feared for his life.

Has the State proved its case? It is their burden to prove their charge of 2nd Degree Murder. I believe the Prosecution has failed, and I believe they might think so, too; after hearing all of the lesser included charges they showed up with the morning of the case coming to an end. Charging Zimmerman with child abuse? Really? The State had to prove ill-will, hatred and spite in their 2nd degree murder charge. Have they? Have they proven their case beyond a reasonable doubt?

Tomorrow, the Defense will give their closing arguments. The State have a chance for rebuttal.

Then, the jury will receive its instructions and begin deliberations, which will go on throughout the weekend (the Judge is sensitive to the fact that the jury is sequestered). What will the verdict be?

Fort Hood Jury Selection Begins

Yesterday, jury selection began in the Fort Hood shooting rampage in 2009. Major Nidal Hasan is serving as his own attorney, although his former defense attorneys are available for him to confer with.

“Hasan, 42, faces execution or life without parole if convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder.”

Source: Fox News

Zimmerman Defense Loses Hearing

Last night, the Zimmerman trial went late, not ending until 10:00 p.m. The Defense wanted to enter an animation of the crime scene, which showed where Zimmerman and Martin would have been during their confrontation and altercation. They also wanted to enter text messages from Trayvon Martin’s phone. The Judge denied both.

Although the animation will not be allowed into evidence, the Defense can use it for demonstrative purposes. That means they might be able to use it during their closing arguments.

Yesterday’s defense expert in forensics explained how the gunshot came into contact with Trayvon Martin, stating that the gun was pressed up against his hoodie, but the hoodie was three to four inches from his body. This can be determined from the autopsy evidence and knowledge of how the gun that was used fires. He explained thing clearly and confidently, and he was a very credible witness.

The Prosecution’s witness said something similar about the gunshot, but he was so arrogant and combative, even with the Prosecutors, he was a complete disaster. He made it clear that he was giving only opinions about this part of the testimony based upon what he read in books. He was a smart, but absolutely, horrible witness.

The Defense is expected to wrap up their case today.

Ohio Kidnap Victims – Amanda Berry, Michelle Knight and Gina DeJesus Speak Out on YouTube

These three young women, Berry, Knight and DeJesus endured many years as the kidnap victims of Ariel Castro.  Here is a three minute video, where they speak out since escaping.