Trial for a Paradise Cove survivor starts.

[Ursus]

Video news coverage, including some court room scenes, can be seen at the link.

-------------- • -------------- • --------------

CBS4.com
Jul 7, 2010 6:10 pm US/Eastern

Trial Underway For Man Accused In Murder Plot

Reporting: Gary Nelson

MIAMI (CBS4) ? It was all about money, prosecutors say. A murderous plot that left a Coral Gables woman dead, her husband - a prominent attorney - maimed and blinded, and their son charged with being behind it.

Opening statements began in Miami-Dade Circuit Court Wednesday in the murder and attempted murder trial of Christopher Sutton. The 31-year-old "son of privilege" is accused of plotting the murders of his parents out of greed and payback for his strict upbringing.

The trigger-man in the August, 2004 murder and mayhem in a Coral Gables mansion has previously plead guilty and will testify in this trial against the son. Garrett Kopp will tell jurors that he pumped multiple bullets into attorney John Sutton and Sutton's wife Susan as they slept in their beds, after being hired to do the deed by the couple's son.

In opening statements, prosecutor Carin Kahgan told a twelve member jury that the victims were shot multiple times by Kopp, who pumped slugs into them from a 9 millimeter semi-automatic pistol at their home on Orduna Drive in the Gables.

Susan Sutton, hit in the head, chest and abdomen, bled to death in her bed. Her husband, despite multiple wounds that left him blinded in both eyes, survived and called 911.

After Garrett Kopp was arrested, a gun he had proved to be the weapon used in the Sutton shootings. Kopp told police that Christopher Sutton enlisted him to kill his parents because he wanted to inherit their wealth and was angry that they had sent him to an expensive and demanding reform school as a teenager. Kopp is serving 30 years in a deal that includes his testifying for the state.

Prosecutors say Christopher Sutton left a sliding door open to allow Kopp to get into the house the night of the shootings, and went out with his girlfriend to eat and catch a movie.

Sutton offered police an alibi even before being asked for one, prosecutors say.

"Without being asked a question, the defendant said he went to dinner, saw a movie, and even offered to show the detective the tickets, even before she asked him where he was," prosecutor Kahgan told jurors.

The defense will argue that there is no hard evidence to connect Christopher Sutton to the crime.

"There is no forensic evidence that links Chris Sutton to these crimes. No DNA, no ballistics, no fingerprints, nothing," said defense attorney Bruce Fleisher.

Fleisher told jurors that the triggerman, Kopp, "invented" Sutton's alleged part in the murder and attempted murder in order to deflect blame from himself and cut a deal with the state.

The defense attorney said Kopp, who had known the Sutton family since he was a teenager, was familiar with the victims' home and had motive to try to rob them.

"He was in a drugged haze," Fleisher told jurors. "He needed drugs, he needed drugs to use, he needed drugs to sell, he needed money, and he knew where to find it."

The defense will try to show that Kopp acted alone in what was going to be a robbery, but was botched when the victims awoke and surprised him.

Prosecutors, though, say they will present witnesses who heard Christopher Sutton wish his parents dead. A co-worker where Sutton worked at a plumbing company will testify that Sutton once asked him if he knew where he could hire someone to kill his parents.

The first witness to take the stand was 911 operator Steve Ellinport, who took the call for help from John Sutton, who was bleeding profusely from his wounds, and blinded.

"Somebody came in a shot me," Sutton can be heard saying in the 911 call. "They shot me in the head."

When the dispatcher asked Sutton who did it, he replied, "I don't know. I can't see."

The trial is expected to last about three weeks before Circuit Judge Stanford Blake.


© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc.

[Secret Dwarf Hooker]

guilty

[Ursus]

Comments left for the above article, "Trial Underway For Man Accused In Murder Plot" (by Gary Nelson; Jul 7, 2010; CBS4.com):


By captainmidnight posted Wed Jul 07 2010 08:18:11

Let those amongst us who have never had their parents murdered cast the first stone.

© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc.

[Anne Bonney]

Edited to remove the article so that it can be posted in the proper chronological order by Ursus shortly.

[Ursus]

UPI.com · U.S. News
Trial: 'Parents deserved to pay' by death
Published: July 8, 2010 at 1:36 PM

MIAMI, July 8 (UPI) -- A black-sheep son asked a friend to kill his rich parents as payback for sending him to a boarding school, a prosecutor argued in a Florida murder trial.

Christopher Sutton, 31, accused of plotting to murder his father and mother in their luxury Coral Gables, Fla., home, allegedly seethed for years, enraged his parents shipped him off to an abusive boarding school in Western Samoa in the South Pacific, prosecutor Carin Kahgan told Miami-Dade Circuit Court jurors.

Standing to inherit his father's wealth, Sutton masterminded a plan that left his mother dead and his father blind, Kahgan alleged.

He is charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder and faces life in prison.

Sutton complained incessantly to his girlfriend "how his parents had taken two years of his life, how his parents deserved to pay, how he could find someone to kill his parents," Kahgan alleged.

He expressed his vengeance "like a broken record, on and on and over and over," The Miami Herald quoted Kahgan as saying in opening arguments.

Defense attorney Bruce Fleisher said in his opening statement that Sutton's friend Garrett Kopp was solely responsible for the Aug. 22, 2004, shootings and that Kopp sought to shift the blame to Sutton to avoid a harsh sentence.

Kopp, 26, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Kopp is expected to testify against Sutton, the Herald said.

Fleisher described the break-in of the Sutton house before the shootings as Kopp acting in a drug-influenced stupor, looking for cash and narcotics.

"He needed drugs to use, needed drugs to sell, and he needed money," the Herald quoted Fleisher as saying.


© 2010 United Press International, Inc.

[Ursus]

Video news coverage at the link...

Also, pic of Christopher Sutton would appear to be not so recent, judging by his appearance in various news clips I've seen thus far...

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CBS4.com
Jul 9, 2010 1:22 pm US/Eastern
Triggerman In Sutton Murder Trial Takes The Stand
© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc.

Reporting: Gary Nelson


Christopher Sutton · Miami-Dade Police/CBS

MIAMI (CBS4) — The confessed triggerman in the murder trial of Christopher Sutton – the "son of privilege" accused of plotting the murders of his parents out of greed and payback for his strict upbringing -- took the stand Friday morning and implicated Sutton.

Garrett Kopp said he entered the Sutton home on the night of August 22, 2004 with the intention of shooting and killing them as part of a plot devised by Sutton.

Prosecutors questioned Kopp and asked, "When you went into the Sutton's home without permission, what was your intention? To shoot them. Both of them?"

"Yes," Kopp replied.

Prosecutors added, "Did you tell the police that was part of a plan between yourself and the defendant to shoot John and Susan Sutton?"

"Yes," Kopp said.

It was all about money, prosecutors say. A murderous plot that left a Coral Gables woman dead, her husband - a prominent attorney - maimed and blinded, and their son charged with being behind it.

Defense Attorney Bruce Fleisher said Kopp concocted the murder-for-hire claim in order to avoid the death penalty. The defense argues that Kopp just robbed them to pay for drugs.

Opening statements began in Miami-Dade Circuit Court Wednesday in the murder and attempted murder trial of Sutton.

Kopp has previously plead guilty and as expected testified against Sutton. Garrett Kopp told jurors that he pumped multiple bullets into attorney John Sutton and Sutton's wife Susan as they slept in their beds, after being hired to do the deed by the couple's son.

In opening statements, prosecutor Carin Kahgan told a twelve member jury that the victims were shot multiple times by Kopp, who pumped slugs into them from a 9 millimeter semi-automatic pistol at their home on Orduna Drive in the Gables.

Susan Sutton, hit in the head, chest and abdomen, bled to death in her bed. Her husband, despite multiple wounds that left him blinded in both eyes, survived and called 911.

After Garrett Kopp was arrested, a gun he had proved to be the weapon used in the Sutton shootings. Kopp told police that Christopher Sutton enlisted him to kill his parents because he wanted to inherit their wealth and was angry that they had sent him to an expensive and demanding reform school as a teenager. Kopp is serving 30 years in a deal that includes his testifying for the state.

Prosecutors say Christopher Sutton left a sliding door open to allow Kopp to get into the house the night of the shootings, and went out with his girlfriend to eat and catch a movie.

Sutton offered police an alibi even before being asked for one, prosecutors say.

"Without being asked a question, the defendant said he went to dinner, saw a movie, and even offered to show the detective the tickets, even before she asked him where he was," prosecutor Kahgan told jurors.

The defense will argue that there is no hard evidence to connect Christopher Sutton to the crime.

"There is no forensic evidence that links Chris Sutton to these crimes. No DNA, no ballistics, no fingerprints, nothing," said defense attorney Bruce Fleisher.

Fleisher told jurors that the triggerman, Kopp, "invented" Sutton's alleged part in the murder and attempted murder in order to deflect blame from himself and cut a deal with the state.

The defense attorney said Kopp, who had known the Sutton family since he was a teenager, was familiar with the victims' home and had motive to try to rob them.

"He was in a drugged haze," Fleisher told jurors. "He needed drugs, he needed drugs to use, he needed drugs to sell, he needed money, and he knew where to find it."

The defense will try to show that Kopp acted alone in what was going to be a robbery, but was botched when the victims awoke and surprised him.

Prosecutors, though, say they will present witnesses who heard Christopher Sutton wish his parents dead. A co-worker where Sutton worked at a plumbing company will testify that Sutton once asked him if he knew where he could hire someone to kill his parents.

The first witness to take the stand was 911 operator Steve Ellinport, who took the call for help from John Sutton, who was bleeding profusely from his wounds, and blinded.

"Somebody came in a shot me," Sutton can be heard saying in the 911 call. "They shot me in the head."

When the dispatcher asked Sutton who did it, he replied, "I don't know. I can't see."

The trial is expected to last about three weeks before Circuit Judge Stanford Blake.


© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc.

[Ursus]

Comments left for the above article, "Triggerman In Sutton Murder Trial Takes The Stand" (by Gary Nelson; Jul 9, 2010; cbs4.com):


By wowkc posted Sat Jul 10 2010 11:00:21

Chris used to play a vampire live action role playing game at University of Miami. Even out of character he came across as the sort of immoral @!$#*&%@% who would do something like this. Totally unsurprising to find out he would be involved with something like this.

© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc.

[Ursus]

Video news coverage at the link...

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CBS4.com
Jul 12, 2010 8:33 am US/Eastern
Father To Testify Against Son In Murder Trial

MIAMI (CBS4) — A Coral Gables attorney who was left maimed and blind when a man broke into his home six years ago and shot him and his wife could take the stand Monday to testify against the man who hired the shooter; the attorney's own son.

Christopher Sutton is accused of hiring his friend Garret Kopp to kill his parents out of greed and payback for his strict upbringing.

During Friday's proceedings, Kopp took the stand and implicated Sutton.

Kopp said he entered the Sutton home on the night of August 22, 2004 with the intention of shooting and killing them as part of a plot devised by Sutton.

Prosecutors questioned Kopp and asked, "When you went into the Sutton's home without permission, what was your intention? To shoot them. Both of them?"

"Yes," Kopp replied.

Prosecutors added, "Did you tell the police that was part of a plan between yourself and the defendant to shoot John and Susan Sutton?"

"Yes," Kopp said.

Kopp told jurors that he pumped multiple bullets into attorney John Sutton and Sutton's wife Susan as they slept in their beds. Susan Sutton, hit in the head, chest and abdomen, bled to death in her bed. Her husband, despite multiple wounds that left him blinded in both eyes, survived and called 911.

Kopp has previously pleaded guilty and was given a 30 year sentence, instead of the death penalty, in exchange for his testimony against Sutton.

Prosecutors say Christopher Sutton left a sliding door open to allow Kopp to get into the house the night of the shootings, and went out with his girlfriend to eat and catch a movie.

Sutton offered police an alibi even before being asked for one, prosecutors say.

"Without being asked a question, the defendant said he went to dinner, saw a movie, and even offered to show the detective the tickets, even before she asked him where he was," prosecutor Carin Kahgan told jurors.

Sutton's defense attorney Bruce Fleisher said Kopp concocted the murder-for-hire claim in order to avoid the death penalty. The defense argues that Kopp just robbed them to pay for drugs. Fleisher adds that there is no hard evidence to connect Christopher Sutton to the crime.

"There is no forensic evidence that links Chris Sutton to these crimes. No DNA, no ballistics, no fingerprints, nothing," said defense attorney Bruce Fleisher.

Fleisher told jurors that the triggerman, Kopp, "invented" Sutton's alleged part in the murder and attempted murder in order to deflect blame from himself and cut a deal with the state.


CBS4's Gary Nelson contributed to this report



© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc.

[Ursus]

Video news coverage at the link in the article header...

This same article also appeared in The Miami Herald under the header of "Gruesome photos kick off trial of man accused of hiring gunman to kill parents" (credited to CBS4.com). There are seven photos from the actual trial at that link (photos not referential to the article header; Adobe Flash Player). The Herald article also inspired one comment, which has, unfortunately, been subsequently deleted.

-------------- • -------------- • --------------

CBS4.com
Jul 13, 2010 7:17 pm US/Eastern
Graphic Photos Kick Off Tuesday In Sutton Trial

MIAMI (CBS4) — Jurors grimaced as prosecutors Tuesday displayed graphic photos from the autopsy of Susan Sutton. She and her husband John were shot repeatedly in August of 2004 by a confessed gunman who claims he was hired by their son, Christoper.

Assistant Medical Examiner Dr. Emma Lew testified that Susan Sutton was shot six times at her opulent Coral Gables home. She was shot in the head, torso and arm, Lew testified. The angle of the bullet wounds suggested that Sutton was lying on her back when she was shot, with the shooter firing from the foot of her bed in the dead of night. Sutton may have experienced several seconds of terror as the volley of bullets struck her. One of the shots hit her in the forearm, suggesting she had raised it in an effort to ward off the onslaught.

Lew testified that a later round that tore through Sutton's jaw and lodged in her brain most likely caused instant death.

"She probably became unconscious right away with that wound," the coroner told jurors.

Earlier, a trauma surgeon testified that John Sutton was shot in the head by a round that destroyed his eyes, leaving him permanently blinded, but a survivor of the murder and mayhem. Sutton could take the stand against his son as early as this afternoon.

Christopher Sutton is accused of hiring his friend Garret Kopp to kill his parents out of greed and payback for his strict upbringing.

Miami-Dade Homicide detective Arthur Nanni detailed cell phone records Tuesday that show the defendant and confessed triggerman had called each other hundreds of times, including calls the day of the shootings.

During Friday's proceedings, Kopp took the stand and implicated Sutton. Kopp said he entered the Sutton home on the night of August 22, 2004 with the intention of shooting and killing them as part of a plot devised by Sutton.

Kopp told jurors that he pumped multiple bullets into attorney John Sutton and Sutton's wife Susan as they slept in their beds – a claim Lew backed up Tuesday.

Kopp has previously pleaded guilty and was given a 30 year sentence, instead of the death penalty, in exchange for his testimony against Sutton.

Prosecutors say Christopher Sutton left a sliding door open to allow Kopp to get into the house the night of the shootings, and went out with his girlfriend to eat and catch a movie.

Sutton offered police an alibi even before being asked for one, prosecutors say.

"Without being asked a question, the defendant said he went to dinner, saw a movie, and even offered to show the detective the tickets, even before she asked him where he was," prosecutor Carin Kahgan told jurors.

Sutton's defense attorney Bruce Fleisher said Kopp concocted the murder-for-hire claim in order to avoid the death penalty. The defense argues that Kopp just robbed them to pay for drugs. Fleisher adds that there is no hard evidence to connect Christopher Sutton to the crime.

"There is no forensic evidence that links Chris Sutton to these crimes. No DNA, no ballistics, no fingerprints, nothing," said defense attorney Bruce Fleisher.

Fleisher told jurors that the trigger-man, Kopp, "invented" Sutton's alleged part in the murder and attempted murder in order to deflect blame from himself and cut a deal with the state.


CBS4's Gary Nelson contributed to this report.


© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc.

[Ursus]

There's video news coverage at the link, which includes some courtroom footage.

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CBS4.com
Jul 14, 2010 7:26 pm US/Eastern

Father Testifies Against Son At Murder Trial
Dad Was Wounded, Mom Killed By Alleged Hitman
Son Is Accused Mastermind


Christopher Sutton Miami-Dade Police/CBS

MIAMI (CBS4) ? Holding the arm of a court employee, John Sutton was escorted to the witness stand Wednesday to testify against his son. Sutton is blind. He was blinded in what prosecutors say was a murder-for-hire plot that left his wife dead and his son accused of being behind it.

"I see a black shirt, black hat, black pants, and all of a sudden, bam!" Sutton told a Miami-Dade jury in recounting the night in 2004 that he and his wife, Susan, were shot in their beds at their upscale Coral Gables home. "In an instant, bam! And I woke up and I was on the floor."

Susan Sutton, shot six times, was killed. John Sutton, also shot multiple times, was blinded and would undergo months of surgeries to repair the devastating wounds to his head and face. "I knew I was in big trouble," Sutton said of the moments after he was shot. "I knew my head and face were a mess."

The Sutton's son, Christopher, is charged with hiring a hitman to kill his parents. He allegedly despised them for his strict upbringing and wanted to inherit their fortune. The triggerman previously pleaded guilty and testified against Christopher.

John Sutton testified that his son was a problem kid, a constant discipline problem.

"We started having problems, it was one problem after another," the father said. "It became too difficult to deal with...We were at our wit's end."

Sutton said his son was deeply resentful over being sent to a school for teenagers with behavior problems. "He was most unhappy and upset," the father said. The parents got a court order to keep their son in the reform school beyond his 18th birthday. "We were not satisfied that he was following the rules of the program, or that we could handle him on his return," Sutton testified.

"We wasted 30 months of his life," Sutton quoted his son as saying after he returned from the school on the Pacific island of Samoa. "That was his phrase: 'You wasted my life there.'"

Sutton testified that his son, who refused to work or attend school regularly, made increasing monetary demands on his parents and that in the days before the shootings the father, an attorney, had come into a large sum of money from the settlement of a lawsuit.

Christopher Sutton's eyes appeared to well with tears at times as his father testified against him.

John Sutton said he learned in his hospital bed a week after the shootings that his wife had been killed.

"I remain upset I didn't go to her funeral," he said. "They said, 'you're crazy.' I said, 'you guys could have taken me on a stretcher.'"

The elder Sutton says he has tried to "make the best of what happened, although there's not much best about it."

"I've gone snow-skiing blind. I only hit one tree," he said chuckling. "You have to go on with life."

As Sutton was taken by the arm and guided from the courtroom, he could not see that his son, Christopher, did not look at him.

Last week, Kopp took the stand and implicated Sutton. Kopp said he entered the Sutton home on the night of August 22, 2004 with the intention of shooting and killing them as part of a plot devised by Sutton.

Miami-Dade Homicide detective Arthur Nanni detailed cell phone records Tuesday that show the defendant and confessed triggerman had called each other hundreds of times, including calls the day of the shootings.

Prosecutors say Christopher Sutton left a sliding door open to allow Kopp to get into the house the night of the shootings, and went out with his girlfriend to eat and catch a movie.

Sutton's defense attorney Bruce Fleisher said Kopp concocted the murder-for-hire claim in order to avoid the death penalty. The defense argues that Kopp just robbed them to pay for drugs. Fleisher adds that there is no hard evidence to connect Christopher Sutton to the crime.


CBS4's Gary Nelson contributed to this report.


© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc.

[Ursus]

Video news coverage available at the link:

• Anatomy of Susan Sutton's Murder
• Dad Testifies Against Son

-------------- • -------------- • --------------

NBC·MIAMI
Blind Dad Testifies Against Son in Murder Plot
Christopher Sutton allegedly hired a friend to kill his parents
By TODD WRIGHT
First Published: Jul 14, 2010 3:44 PM EDT · Updated 6:05 PM EDT, Wed, Jul 14, 2010

John Sutton may have been left without sight from an attempt on his life by a hit man, but he told a Miami-Dade jury he wasn't blind to his son's rage leading up to the attack.

Prosecutors claim Sutton's son, Christopher, hired a hit man in 2004 to kill his parents because he was upset they sent him to boarding school in Samoa. The hit man killed his mom, Susan Sutton, and left John Sutton blind.

Christopher Sutton is on trial for conspiracy to commit murder and faced his father's take on what happened Wednesday.

"We started having problems. It was one problem after another," John Sutton said. "He became too difficult to deal with. We were at our wit's end."

On Tuesday, the jury saw a graphic demonstration from a medical examiner of how and where the bullets entered Susan Sutton's body as she slept in her bed that night. She was shot six times by Garret Kopp, the triggerman who has already testified against Christopher in the trial.

Sutton's defense attorneys claim Kopp invented the murder-for-hire story to avoid the death penalty. Kopp was sentenced to 30 years in prison, but avoided a death sentence in exchange for his testimony.

Kopp and Sutton were friends, prosecutors said.

John Sutton was shot in the face several times but miraculously survived the attack. He told jurors about living in the moment as the shooting happened.

"In an instant, Bam! I woke up and I was on the floor," he said. "I knew I was in big trouble."

Prosecutors allege Christopher Sutton let Kopp in the home that night to carry out the contract killing. The troubled son had spent almost three years in a boarding school and was resentful that his wealthy parents sent him away, prosecutors said.


© 2010 NBC Universal, Inc.

[Pile of Dead Kids]

"He became too difficult to deal with. We were at our wit's end."

Even now, with his vision blown out of his head and his wife a corpse, he continues to repeat the same bullshit.

Amazing.

[Ursus]

The Miami Herald
Posted on Wednesday, 07.14.10
Coral Gables lawyer, blinded in shooting, testifies at son's murder trial

BY DAVID OVALLE
dovalle@MiamiHerald.com

A Coral Gables lawyer testified Wednesday against his son, who is accused of hatching a murder plot that left the attorney blinded by a gunman's bullets.

John Sutton, a civil attorney, was severly wounded and blinded in the August 2004 attack after a gunman entered his Coral Gables home and shot him and his wife. Susan Sutton was killed in the attack as she lay in her bed.

Their son, Christopher Sutton, is on trial for murder and attempted murder. Prosecutors say Sutton dispatched his pal, Garrett Kopp, to kill his parents inside their home.

Kopp, who has pleaded guilty and is serving a 30-year sentence, testified during the trial that Sutton hatched the plan as part of a scheme to inherit John Sutton's wealth. Prosecutors say that Sutton also hated his parents because they had sent him to an abusive boarding school in Western Samoa.

Sutton's defense attorney, Bruce Fleisher, contends that Kopp broke into the house on his own accord, looking for money and drugs he believed were in the house.


Copyright 2010 Miami Herald Media Co.

[Ursus]

Comments left for the above article, "Coral Gables lawyer, blinded in shooting, testifies at son's murder trial" (by David Ovalle, 07.14.10, The Miami Herald):


originalrat2 wrote on 07/14/2010 12:18:51 PM:

How come the same lawyers seem to get all the appointments to represent defendants in murder cases in Miami-Dade? That's tax dollars for appointments which the Public Defender seems to not handle in 80% of the murder cases. They claim a conflict. So why the same people getting tax money all the time? It's not like they win more than 5%, so who follows the money appointments, Hey Herald, what an investigation for you.

jimenezag wrote on 07/14/2010 03:06:03 PM:

Replying to originalrat2 (07/14/2010 12:18:51 PM):
"How come the same lawyers seem to get all the appointments to represent defendants in murder cases in Miami-Dade? That's tax dollars for appointments which the Public Defender seems to not handle in 80% of the murder cases. They claim a conflict. So why the same people getting tax money all the...":

Not every defense attorney is certified to handle a murder case. You have to have specific experience. Thus there are only a handful of attorneys on the wheel that get the case if the PD conflicts out of the case. They also take the case for a lot less money than a regular private attorney would. There is no conspiracy and it's not about winning. It's about representing the client to the best of your abilities so that his or her constitutional rights are not violated.[/list]
MarkUM wrote on 07/14/2010 04:12:32 PM:

This poor man. God I feel for him. Blinded by his own son, loses his wife to his own son, and now has to testify against his own son. Can't say I'd be able to handle such a thing.

jeffa wrote on 07/14/2010 04:20:28 PM:

Replying to MarkUM (07/14/2010 04:12:32 PM):
"This poor man. God I feel for him. Blinded by his own son, loses his wife to his own son, and now has to testify against his own son. Can't say I'd be able to handle such a thing.":

Mark,
Have you heard any evidence other than the person that should have got the death penalty claiming the son did it???[/list]
originalrat2 wrote on 07/14/2010 05:06:36 PM:

Well jimenezag, if the same attorneys are the only ones who qualify to handle murder cases: First, how do any other attorneys get qualified Second, if it's such a lower paying assignment, how come these guys fight for appointments. When was the last time you heard of a privatly paid attorney in a Miami-Dade murder case. What would be the retainer, start about 100,000 and then go up rapidly. Is the qualification requirment also made as to the State Attorneys handling the same cases or are the victims right non-existant, and any three year assistant can be assigned?

originalrat2 wrote on 07/14/2010 11:15:40 PM:

MiddlePath, I have to be a lunatic to dither back and forth with people like you. I knew the answers I just wanted to see what an attorney would defend the system with. You hedged the answer. In criminal court how many attorneys are retained by private citizens, maybe 15% or less? You from what I read are a civil attorney and get private paid cases at 100%. I dare say that the wheel attorneys make what middle class people call a very good income with tax dollars. I also might point out that in the criminal lawyers that practice state law it seems most of the best attorneys are on the wheel so it must take care of their bills. Even the second chair attorneys are at the top of the experience level. How come the victims don't get the same representation?

holmesrip2 wrote on 07/14/2010 11:21:52 PM:

Dear Reporter OValle and Miami Herald Readers:

It seems to me important to note that the defendant here is only attorney Sutton's ADOPTED son, not his natural, bloodline, offspring.

Sincerely,

Jackson Rip Holmes

Copyright 2010 Miami Herald Media Co.

[DannyB II]

"He became too difficult to deal with. We were at our wit's end."

Even now, with his vision blown out of his head and his wife a corpse, he continues to repeat the same bullshit.

Amazing.

Spoken from the mouth of a disturbed young patho that beats up mothers and disgraces 15 year old girls, now he is beating up a blinded father that was shot in the face by his son. A father that was at his wits end with his out of control son.
Pile of Dead Kids, in case anyone is not up to date, just got through maybe a week ago posting a 15 year old girls, private information on a porn site because her parents would not listen to his advice, not to send her to a program. I know, I don't get it either.
This is the unstable and provocative poster we have to deal with here, so I would suggest placating him at this time with a subtle "roll of the eyes" maybe. Please be careful here.