Or worse if he'd actually been killed!
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This case was featured on the most recent season of Accused: Guilty or Innocent?
The case actually made international news at the time (I'd never heard of it before) as it used an AI version of the victim to give his own impact statement. It was written by his sister who said the victim would have forgiven the defendant. Having seen it, I can say it was as creepy as duck and should not have been allowed. His sentence has now been thrown out (not his conviction though) because of it.
Just a bit of background about the case from my viewpoint. The defendant was accused of murdering another man by shooting him during a road rage incident. He was absolutely 100% guilty as duck of murder, by the way, in my opinion but that's America for you
Anyway, during the trial, it emerged that the victim's phone records hadn't been disclosed to the defence. They meant nothing anyway - he was a veteran, who'd had issues with PTSD, and the defence wanted to create a big old smokescreen that he was angry and depressed, so that jury would hopefully forget the multiple eye witness accounts that stated the victim approached the defendant's victim's car unarmed with his hands in the air but I digress.
The judge gave the defence the option of a mistrial at that point. They declined and let the case play out.
The jury came back and cleared him of murder but convicted him of manslaughter. The defence then immediately leapt up and called for a mistrial at that very point. It was eventually granted. However, because the defendant had already been cleared of murder - you know, at that trial that wasn't fair because the jury didn't hear all the evidence, the whole reason for the mistrial - he couldn't be tried for that again. Double jeopardy. That's how bleeping ludicrous their system is. SMH.
Anyway, he got his new trial and was convicted of manslaughter again and received the maximum sentence. Hopefully, at his resentencing, he'll get the maximum again. He may be a family guy with a good job (he was an engineer IIRC) but he was one angry little man that day.
The case actually made international news at the time (I'd never heard of it before) as it used an AI version of the victim to give his own impact statement. It was written by his sister who said the victim would have forgiven the defendant. Having seen it, I can say it was as creepy as duck and should not have been allowed. His sentence has now been thrown out (not his conviction though) because of it.
Just a bit of background about the case from my viewpoint. The defendant was accused of murdering another man by shooting him during a road rage incident. He was absolutely 100% guilty as duck of murder, by the way, in my opinion but that's America for you
Anyway, during the trial, it emerged that the victim's phone records hadn't been disclosed to the defence. They meant nothing anyway - he was a veteran, who'd had issues with PTSD, and the defence wanted to create a big old smokescreen that he was angry and depressed, so that jury would hopefully forget the multiple eye witness accounts that stated the victim approached the defendant's victim's car unarmed with his hands in the air but I digress.
The judge gave the defence the option of a mistrial at that point. They declined and let the case play out.
The jury came back and cleared him of murder but convicted him of manslaughter. The defence then immediately leapt up and called for a mistrial at that very point. It was eventually granted. However, because the defendant had already been cleared of murder - you know, at that trial that wasn't fair because the jury didn't hear all the evidence, the whole reason for the mistrial - he couldn't be tried for that again. Double jeopardy. That's how bleeping ludicrous their system is. SMH.
Anyway, he got his new trial and was convicted of manslaughter again and received the maximum sentence. Hopefully, at his resentencing, he'll get the maximum again. He may be a family guy with a good job (he was an engineer IIRC) but he was one angry little man that day.
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