 | Bob Gabordi is executive editor of the Tallahassee Democrat and Tallahassee.com. He can be reached through this blog, at bgabordi@tallahassee.com or (850) 599-2177 |
With the exception of defending your country in battle, I cannot think of a higher calling for a citizen than to serve on a jury. So I awoke this morning thinking of those on the jury in the Deneilo Bradshaw murder trial, the awesome task they face in this most extraordinary democratic process.
Sometime today, it will fall to those ordinary citizens to decide guilt or innocence, a decision that could ultimately lead to Bradshaw’s execution.
Bradshaw is one of two young men accused of killing police confidential informant Rachel Hoffman. In what might be a first for this region, Tallahassee.com – using footage from a pool camera provided by WCTV – has provided gavel-to-gavel coverage and will do so again when the closing arguments are made this morning. Click this link to watch video.
Bradshaw’s entire defense may come down to this one statement by his attorney, Chuck Hobbs:
“The defense's case is going to be short and sweet: that Andrea Green shot and killed Rachel Hoffman and that Andrea Green threatened to kill Deneilo Bradshaw if he did not cooperate.”
In other words, he seems to be saying, Bradshaw does not deserve to die, that he was an unwilling accomplice.
Green faces trial in October. His attorneys tried unsuccessfully to have Bradshaw’s trial closed to the public. They also had argued media coverage of the brutal killing would make the seating of a jury impossible in Leon County. That has proven to be untrue as the court and the respective attorneys had no trouble quickly doing so.
The Tallahassee Democrat and Hoffman’s parents have been fighting for the release of public documents in Hoffman’s murder for more than a year, battling defense and prosecuting attorneys. The court had allowed only a limited release of documents until the jury is sequestered.
Leon County Circuit Court Judge Kathleen Dekker ordered on Aug. 15, 2008, that “as soon as a jury is sequestered, all sealed discovery, regardless of admissibility, will be released for full public and media use.”
The Democrat, through our attorneys, has notified the State Attorney’s Office, of our intention to seek compliance with the court’s order.
No one will know exactly what goes on in that jury room, only the results of whatever discussions occur. But no one can argue the process has been unfair.
It does no one any good to withhold the release of public records any longer.
You can send your comments by clicking the button below, e-mailing me at bgabordi@tallahassee.com, sending a private message on Tallahassee.com, Twitter @bgabordi, LinkedIn or Blogger.com.
You can also find links to my blogs on Facebook.com, but you have to request to be my friend.
No comments:
Post a Comment