Today, before the jury heard closing arguments from Deputy District Attorney Zachary Curtis and Arreaga's attorney, Public Defender Ms. Heidi Holmquist, Judge Marilyn Miles went over jury instructions.
Other than the standard jury instructions, which included the three options the jury has to decide in this case: first degree murder, second degree murder or voluntary manslaughter, Judge Miles gave specific instructions regarding witnesses and the defendant's testimony.
Regarding Shavonne Hammers, Judge Miles instructed that if they believe that Shavonne Hammers was an accomplice, then supporting evidence was not needed. She went over some criteria regarding witness credibility. "Was the witness under mind altering substance at the time?" is one of the questions the jury gets to consider in evaluating testimony.
"Before you consider Shavonne Hammers testimony against the defendant, you must decide if she is an accomplice to the crime. Did she aid, participate or abet in a criminal conspiracy? A person can be an accomplice even if they are not prosecuted for a crime."
Judge Miles told the jury that just because Jerry Bachus was in custody when he testified, failed to appear in court and was brought to court by the issuance of a legal subpoena, that factor alone should not affect the believability of his testimony one way or the other.
"The defendant cannot be convicted on his out of court statements alone." said Judge Miles referring to the interview with law enforcement. Then she added, "If the defendant made false and misleading statements before the trial," that they could be used as an indication of guilt.
Other key statements in the instructions to the jury.
"The People are not required to prove motive but you may consider if he had motive."
"If Shavonne Hammers fled, it is upto you to decide the importance of that fact."
"The defendant is not required to prove the other person's guilt."
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.