So the hearing yesterday went REALLY well. My Dad’s attorney really seemed to be in total control of the courtroom. She was confident, self-assured, and calm, all of which I assume are helped by the fact that she knows she is on the right side of the battle! She emphasized the fact that the major difference in the two trials was the amount of testimony concerning a hair that was portrayed as his. She recounted how in the first trial they had to declare a mistrial because the jury could not come to a verdict. In the second trial they bolstered their case by having their expert testify and then be called back the next day to testify again that the hair found at the scene was a match to Rodney Lincoln. The prosecution countered that by saying that they never said it was a match but Ms. O’ Sullivan was ready for them. She had brought with her a copy of the expert’s trial testimony all blown up on a placard for all to see in black and white. They absolutely did everything in their power to convince that jury that the hair found at the scene matched him! She left no doubt that if the jury had been aware that the hair was not his, there is absolutely no way he would have been convicted. She also made sure the judge understood exactly what happened with another hair that was prove by DNA not to have originated from Rodney. This particular hair was not brought up at trial because the state SAID at the time that it belonged to the victim it was found on. Of course we know now that it is not that victim, her sister, her mother OR Rodney Lincoln’s! The state attempted to counter that by saying there was also an animal hair found on the child. They asked Ms. O’ Sullivan if she was suggesting this crime was perpetrated by an animal? She said that was a ridiculous and absurd statement and brought up a valid point that the 4-year-old child went to bed fully clothed and woke up mortally wounded, unclothed and with a foreign hair on her genitals. A hair that the state KNEW was NOT Rodney’s so they lied and said it belonged to the child. The state kept repeating their mantra that just because Rodney’s DNA was not found there does not mean Rodney is innocent and that it is not just about the DNA, it is about the context in which the DNA is viewed. To which Ms. O’ Sullivan again reiterated the fact that if this irrefutable DNA evidence had been available to the jury in conjunction with the state’s evidence and testimony that it WAS his hair, he would NOT have been convicted. That is the context in which it needs to be viewed. The very statute that allows this hearing determines the context in which the evidence must be viewed! The prosecutor really presented nothing new and had no explanation for why the hair found on the child was not properly presented to defense and to the court back then. He kept going on about not finding male DNA on the evidence in the latest round of testing and how that doesn’t mean a male did not commit the crime. He used that as the basis for his argument that just because Rodney’s DNA was not found doesn’t mean he did not commit the crime. Same old song and dance. Completely sidestepping the fact that there WAS DNA found that did not match Rodney Lincoln. He was doing a lot of stumbling and stalling, like he was grasping for straws. AND HE IS! After the hearing Judge Vannoy addressed Rodney in open court. She apologized for not saying Good Morning to him earlier, praised his attorney and assured him that his attorney has been working very hard and very diligently on his behalf. She explained that she would not be making a decision today but that she would make it as soon as possible and without further undue delay. Then she let him sit in a chair facing all of us, only one wrist cuffed to the chair, and visit with all of us for close to a half hour! And even let us take pictures. The atmosphere in the courtroom was very relaxed. I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up unrealistically and there is no way to know for sure how the judge will decide but I am VERY optimistic about the way this hearing went!
Posted on: Fri, 13 Sep 2013 18:19:21 +0000
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