Teardrop tattoo as evidence - YAY or NAY (NRR)
bassie
11,710 Posts
Do you think they should have allowed it as evidence???________________________________________________________________January 14, 2009 Betsy PowellCourts BureauA trial judge should not have deprived a jury from hearing evidence about the meaning or significance of a teardrop tattoo inscribed on the face of man on trial for first-degree murder, a Crown attorney has told the Ontario Court of Appeal.The prosecution is asking the province's highest court to set aside Warren Abbey's acquittal in March 2007 and order a new trial. Abbey was charged with the gang-related fatal shooting of Simeon Peter in Toronto's east end on Jan. 8, 2004.The three-judge panel reserved its decision after hearing arguments yesterday and today that centered around the admissibility of expert opinion evidence and that of civilian witnesses.During the six-week trial, the Crown sought to introduce evidence that Abbey got a teardrop tattoo within months of the killing of Peter as an admission of guilt. The Crown's theory was that a teardrop tattoo was a symbol of having killed someone.But the jury "didn't hear a word about a teardrop tattoo," prosecutor Randy Schwartz told justices David Doherty, James MacPherson and Susan Lang."To put it bluntly, the Crown's case was devastated by the exclusion of the teardrop tattoo evidence," reads written material submitted by the Crown and filed with the court.And that was the right decision, defence lawyer Catriona Verner argued today, adding there was no evidence that Abbey knew or agreed that was the reason why he got the tattoo. There are also "multiple" reasons why someone gets a teardrop tattoo, such as a fad or fashion statement that has nothing to do with gangs or killings.After the hearing ended, Verner's co-counsel, Christopher Hicks, said the the appeal is "unique because it raises an important issue about the trial process and the evidence that goes into it."The appellate court can send the case back for a new trial if it finds legal errors would have altered the jury's verdict.
Comments
Patently ridiculous. By this logic, Lil' Wayne has merked 3 people.
Not under American law
This is the same logic my wife applies to men with earrings in both ears: GAY NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY.
Your dude Yung Berg's got bodies, too!
PIRATES: THE GREAT GAY SCOURGE
"To put it bluntly, the Crown's case was devastated by the exclusion of the teardrop tattoo evidence,"
Must have been quite a case.
what if they're both 0 gauge plugs?
I'M NOT GAY DAMNIT!
I'm still laughing about this.
he told me that one day a 11 year old kid walked in (with his mother) and requested a teardrop on his face.
he wouldnt do it, so they left and went to another parlor. Apparently, in Michigan, you can get a tattoo at any age with parents permission.
Tribalist revealed!
haha I was just gonna post that same thing.
metrosexual gangbanging
nah, they're chrome
Actually that butterfly shape is made up of dozens of individual tear drops.
MASS MURDERING THE GAME
admitted into evidence, I don't know. But dude better hope it was on the side that hid it from the jury: I'd imagine face tats scare old people AKA jurors...