Chicago, IL—They’ve Indicted retired Bolingbrook police sergeant, Drew Peterson for the murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. That death was investigated years ago and determined to be an accidental drowning involving a slip and fall in her bathtub. Recently FOX NEWS paid $100 grand for Dr. Michael Baden to conduct a second autopsy.The case was reinvestigated and reclassified as a homicide. Peterson’s abnormally high profile and seemingly cavalier attitude brought a great deal of hate out of the woodwork resulting in what I consider a malicious prosecution.
WGN Radio's Legally Speaking held a mock trial of Drew Peterson on May 28, 2009 at Chicago’s Kent College of Law. The “evidence” was publicly available information brought forward in the form of closing arguments and jury instructions.
I sat in on this show and watched lawyer, Karen Conti, prosecute Peterson who was defended by Joe Lopez. The case is presided over by retired Judge Richard E. Neville. The jury was picked by members of the audience.
The case ended with a 6-6 split hung jury. Most interesting was they admitted the untested hearsay evidence from the recently enacted “Drew’s Law”. That so-called evidence is unlikely to ever make it before a real jury.
Dr. Baden did not conduct the 2nd autopsy, but the third. The 2nd autopsy was performed by Dr. Larry Blum, independently at the request of authorities. He determined that the manner of death was homicide. It doesn't necessarily matter what Dr. Baden thinks but because no matter who paid him, he was acting for the Savio family, and that is their right.
ReplyDeleteIf John Wilkes Booth's family paid Dr. Baden, he would claim Lincoln committed sucicide.
ReplyDeleteArresting and filing. Charges all based on another pathologists opinion. BAD
ReplyDeleteU mean the now decayed body tells more than did the fresh one?
BS
Perhaps its time to put a statute of limitations on murder.
I concur. I have never seen a more unseemly "expert witness" than sell-your-soul-to-the-devil Baden. Would love to see an expose on that whole expert-witness racket.
ReplyDeleteBecause I don’t have enough facts, I won’t give an opinion leaning towards his innocence or guilt. However based on the fact that Fox ENTERTAINMENT paid off this pathologist $100,000.00 to re-visit the first autopsy and render another 'opinion' is unconscionable. For that reason I can not support this prosecution or trial.
ReplyDeleteHe’s right FOX “created this story.” As I’ve always said “if it bleeds it leads.” Now the Nancy Disgrace program has more to scream about.
Experts sway, change, flip flop and lie all the time; and in my observations it is most usually experts for the prosecution. The below link is an example of just another recent tragedy where an expert gave bogus opinions sending an innocent man to prison.
She advised the first autopsies “are irrelevant,” amazing.
One thing that stands out is how a mans (or woman’s) military record and/or police service record will later be twisted and turned and used against them.
Decades of skills, knowledge and experience that he’s acquired is now used against him as the DA makes comments like he was a “student of crime, he was a student of crime scenes.” She added “he served our country as a veteran in the military.” He was a “person who was regularly at crime scenes. Who was calm in the face of death who knows all about forensic evidence” etcetera etcetera etcetera.
As the defense stated "a lot of hypothetical’s and theories.”
In fairness and in my opinion, Drew is a creep and a frequent fornicator. If he’s fortunate enough to be acquitted, he needs to stay single, not date, and be celibate.
BTW Paul I didn’t realize that you were part of the mock trial. When given the chance you were well spoken.
“It is better to let ten guilty escape, than allow one innocent to suffer!” Blackstonian view
http://hi-caliber.blogspot.com/2009/05/ray-krone-wrongfully-convicted-pi-does.html
"It is better to have 10 guilty people escape........blah blah"
ReplyDeleteThat thinking is how we got where we are today with all the thugs about.
I stand corrected and misquoted.
ReplyDeleteThe correct number is NINE not ten.