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Saturday, August 08, 2015

Baltimore police and prosecutors struggle with witness cooperation

When it came time to bring to justice the men accused of killing his 1-year-old son, Rashaw Scott wanted nothing to do with the court proceedings.

After Scott refused to come to Baltimore Circuit Court in May, a judge issued a warrant for his arrest. Scott spent the night in jail, took the stand with his hands shackled and refused to answer many of the prosecutor's questions.

Scott never explained his reluctance to testify. But the case has come to symbolize the continuing challenge that Baltimore police and prosecutors face in getting witnesses — and even victims — to cooperate. Of the five defendants in the case, one man was convicted and the jury deadlocked on the other four.

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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mosby is now crusading against witness intimidation when ASA Janice Bledsoe’s lover, WBAL reporter Jayne Miller plastered Donta Allen face all over the evening news. Allen was the "other" prisoner in the van w/Freddie Gray who initially told investigators he thought Gray was trying to injure himself, then changed story when interviewed by Miller.

Anonymous said...

Jury nullification will prevail when these out of control bastions are beating us down.

lmclain said...

Apparently the writer is new to what goes on in the city.
The people who killed his 1 year old got to him and told him if he loves the rest of his kids he better not testify. They would mail him body parts for weeks. Maybe some tapes of the screaming.
Which one of you tough guys are testifying?
He can't take his own revenge because the State will imprison him for life. He can't buy a gun because his "leaders" have made that against the law for honest citizens. The police can't protect him in any meaningful way. He doesn't have spare $4000 to move and even if he did, it probably wouldn't do him any good.
The State has made this the reality for "we, the people".
They can't protect anyone but politicians and their wealthy friends.
The rest of "we, the people" are left on our own. Disarmed and unprotected.
Keep cheering.

Anonymous said...

That baby's life didn't matter to the thugs. Nobody's life matters to them.