Special judge grants new trials for torture-slaying defendants, cites Baumgartner's conduct » Knoxville News Sentinel Unbelievable. Her dad will kill Baumgartner if any of these sentences comes back less that originally sentenced.
From a system of justice standpoint, you can see what they are arguing. I think the case is too air-tight for this to matter, though.
My unbelievable is more along the lines of the judge. Oh, they HAVE to retry it. Is just really going to suck because it was awful enough the first time around, and not the parents have to live this out.....again. My only concern is Davidson getting a lesser sentence. Also, taxpayers have to pay to put on a new trial.
I agree that this probably doesn't need to be retried. But the judge has been put in an impossible situation. The system is clearly broken when having a druggy lawyer can act as a safety net.
Thanks to a racist administration they will never be charged under Federal hate crime statutes. I'm against hate crime laws, but if ever a case warranted such a prosecution, this is it.
The stupidity of Baumgartner is astounding. The drug culture in our part of the state disturbs me. It is destroying once pristine families and communities, and turning the rural areas of East Tennessee in particular upside down. Something has to be done about this.
Didn't some of them have white girlfriends/family? Hope they all get the book thrown at them/prison rape.
Yes. I have no idea if it was racially motivated. No one does. I would lean towards it being perhaps socio-economically motivated. As you know, I knew one of the convicted. He wasn't any more racist than your average East Tennessean.
I had a co-worker at my old firm who was very close with one of the convicted. He continually said it was drug-high motivated over everything.