Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS)
Trial for a Paradise Cove survivor starts.
Ursus:
Video news coverage available at the link:
* Anatomy of Susan Sutton's Murder
* Dad Testifies Against Son
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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:
--- Quote from: "Ursus" ---"He became too difficult to deal with. We were at our wit's end."
--- End quote ---
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:
--- Quote ---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...":
--- End quote ---
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:
--- Quote ---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.":
--- End quote ---
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:
--- Quote from: "Pile of Dead Kids" ---
--- Quote from: "Ursus" ---"He became too difficult to deal with. We were at our wit's end."
--- End quote ---
Even now, with his vision blown out of his head and his wife a corpse, he continues to repeat the same bullshit.
Amazing.
--- End quote ---
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.
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