Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS)
Trial for a Paradise Cove survivor starts.
Ursus:
There were a few articles from the Miami Herald that were forwarded to the following article (the original having been yanked), which appears to be a brief summary prior to the more in-depth version published the following day.
Twenty pics, mostly court room scenes and closeups, at the link (Adobe Flash Player)...
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The Miami Herald
Posted on Wednesday, 07.21.10
Christopher Sutton guilty in attack on parents
BY DAVID OVALLE
dovalle@MiamiHerald.com
The testimony of Christopher Sutton -- accused of sending a hit man to murder his parents in their Coral Gables house in August 2004 -- was a fitting set-up for Tuesday's closing arguments. MARICE COHN BAND / MIAMI HERALD STAFF
Christopher Sutton is guilty of hatching a plot to murder his wealthy parents inside their Coral Gables home in August 2004, jurors decided Wednesday.
Sutton, 31, was convicted of first-degree murder and attempted murder charges in the shootings of John and Susan Sutton.
In the attack, Susan Sutton was killed, while John Sutton, a civil attorney, was blinded.
Prosecutors say Sutton, wanting his parent's wealth and still smarting about being sent to an abusive reform school in Samoa, hired a pal to shoot his parents inside their Orduna Drive house.
The gunman, Garrett Kopp, pleaded guilty, agreed to spend 30 years in prison and testified against Sutton at trial.
Sutton's defense attorney argued that Kopp was a drug-addled burglar who broke into the house on his own looking for a drug stash belonging to Sutton.
Copyright 2010 Miami Herald Media Co.
Ursus:
Given that the original article had to do with the jurors hearing closing arguments (replaced by The Miami Herald before I had a chance to see it), the first comments were made before the verdict was in.
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Comments left for the above article, "Christopher Sutton guilty in attack on parents" (by David Ovalle, 07.21.10, The Miami Herald):
TheOriginalMiddlePath wrote on 07/21/2010 09:39:54 AM:
This is an unspeakably sad case.holmesrip2 wrote on 07/21/2010 12:06:57 PM:
It seems to me that the photo above might be misleading.
Chris Sutton, the defendant, is seen crying. The implication I drew from the photo, is that he is upset about either: 1) his mother's death, or 2) his father having been blinded, or even, 3) his having been "falsely" accused.
Instead, it appears Chris Sutton is crying for himself, as having been sent to a Samoan boarding school, years ago, an event which it is alleged was a primary motive behind Chris Suttons attempting to murder his parents, who sent him to the boarding school.holmesrip2 wrote on 07/21/2010 12:12:54 PM:
The criminal justice system walks a tightrope, for all of us, whether we are victims, plaintiffs, or defendants!
There are consequences for failure, for all parties.
The cumulative evidence, of various witnesses, most of all the father, suggests to me that Christopher Sutton is guilty. No justice is perfect, but that is my impression.holmesrip2 wrote on 07/21/2010 12:15:27 PM:
Were I on the jury, I would vote to convict, and pray I am right.nmfish wrote on 07/21/2010 12:53:55 PM:
If there needs to be a reasonable doubt for him to be found not guilty, he should be found not guilty. There is plenty of resonable doubt. There isn't any evidence that connects him to the crime. He was a sociopath before this happened and I wouldn't want to put him back into the general population of society but the justice system works the way it does for a reason.lagordita wrote on 07/21/2010 12:59:31 PM:
An eye (literally) for any eye.raulcarbonell wrote on 07/21/2010 01:11:38 PM:
Shoot him in the head like he had done to his mom.BHarrison wrote on 07/21/2010 01:23:54 PM:
Based upon what I've seen and read in the news reports, there doesn't seem to be very much for the jury to deliberate, except for what his punishment should be. This guy is somewhat of a banner child against the potential problems of adopting a child. A defense attorney's obligation is to get the best possible "justice or punishment" that they can for their client ... not to get him off with a lot of fabricated lies. Let's see what the juries verdict turns out to be. At the very least, sociopaths need to be confined in institutions. The "tough love' approach certainly didn't apear to work with him.BHarrison wrote on 07/21/2010 01:25:38 PM:
--- Quote ---Replying to lagordita (07/21/2010 12:59:31 PM):
"An eye (literally) for any eye.":
--- End quote ---
Gosh, are YOU a Muslim? Personally, I believe in capital punishment; but your comment appears to be more out of the Muslim religion, huh?[/list]
lagordita wrote on 07/21/2010 04:42:22 PM:
--- Quote ---Replying to BHarrison (07/21/2010 01:25:38 PM):
"Gosh, are YOU a Muslim? Personally, I believe in capital punishment; but your comment appears to be more out of the Muslim religion, huh?":
--- End quote ---
What's it to YOU?[/list]
dsa61 wrote on 07/21/2010 08:13:06 PM:
Good call, citizens.jehanne wrote on 07/21/2010 08:20:11 PM:
Christopher Sutton did not kill his parents because he was adopted or because they adopted him. Another high profile parent killing was the Menendez brother's and they were not adopted.
"An eye for an eye" is from the law of Moses in the Old Testament.Ignignokt wrote on 07/21/2010 08:27:59 PM:
That was very undude of Mr Sutton .
Yet another disturbing social trend .resalazar73 wrote on 07/21/2010 08:54:52 PM:
--- Quote ---Replying to BHarrison (07/21/2010 01:25:38 PM):
"Gosh, are YOU a Muslim? Personally, I believe in capital punishment; but your comment appears to be more out of the Muslim religion, huh?":
--- End quote ---
"An eye for eye" is also in the Christian Bible. Don't be so closed minded. Or just stupid.[/list]
avernus1 wrote on 07/21/2010 09:35:30 PM:
The picture they have up there of this loser in the courtroom... well that expression on his face is pretty much the one he is going to have for the next 25 years as he becomes someone else's b**ch in jail.swampsista wrote on 07/21/2010 09:48:13 PM:
How did the killer know about the "drug stash?" I don't think the average person would have known, say randomly or just walking down the street--so I think it is a safe bet that the son had something to do this and was rightfully found guilty.swampsista wrote on 07/21/2010 09:52:33 PM:
To original middle path: aren't all matricide and patricide cases sad? Isn't ALL murder sad? What are you really trying to say? That you know more than the judge, the attorneys and the jury?stevenleonard wrote on 07/21/2010 10:25:35 PM:
So the drama unfolds... will he get the death penalty? You decide. Stay tuned next week to the mh for the horrific season finalie.gruis wrote on 07/21/2010 10:41:33 PM:
--- Quote ---Replying to swampsista (07/21/2010 09:48:13 PM):
"How did the killer know about the "drug stash?" I don't think the average person would have known, say randomly or just walking down the street--so I think it is a safe bet that the son had something to do this and was rightfully found guilty.":
--- End quote ---
You sir are a true genius[/list]
mung wrote on 07/21/2010 11:18:14 PM:
--- Quote ---Replying to BHarrison (07/21/2010 01:25:38 PM):
"Gosh, are YOU a Muslim? Personally, I believe in capital punishment; but your comment appears to be more out of the Muslim religion, huh?":
--- End quote ---
Eye for an eye is a phrase in several mitzvot in the Torah, so Judaism, Christianity and Islam all adopted it (though it is later repudiated in the Gospels).[/list]
chicorichmondheights wrote on 07/22/2010 02:41:14 AM:
well, there you have it ...you can convict anybody of anything in this town except cops.dee65 wrote on 07/22/2010 09:59:48 AM:
--- Quote ---Replying to BHarrison (07/21/2010 01:23:54 PM):
"Based upon what I've seen and read in the news reports, there doesn't seem to be very much for the jury to deliberate, except for what his punishment should be. This guy is somewhat of a banner child against the potential problems of adopting a child. A defense attorney's obligation is to get the...":
--- End quote ---
So he should also be the banner child against having children PERIOD. How many biological children have done the same? Many, so his being adopted has nothing to do with him killing his parents. The Menendez brothers weren't adopted so that argument is null. What is a valid point is that when you have children whether biological or adopted its the luck of the draw and all we as parents can do is pray that the upbringing we give them will make them productive citizens of the world and not sociopaths.[/list]
dee65 wrote on 07/22/2010 10:02:13 AM:
--- Quote ---Replying to BHarrison (07/21/2010 01:23:54 PM):
"Based upon what I've seen and read in the news reports, there doesn't seem to be very much for the jury to deliberate, except for what his punishment should be. This guy is somewhat of a banner child against the potential problems of adopting a child. A defense attorney's obligation is to get the...":
--- End quote ---
Uhm have you ever read the Bible?[/list]
dee65 wrote on 07/22/2010 10:08:04 AM:
--- Quote ---Replying to chicorichmondheights (07/22/2010 02:41:14 AM):
"well, there you have it ...you can convict anybody of anything in this town except cops.":
--- End quote ---
Huh? This isn't just ANYTHING, he murdered his MOTHER and his FATHER was left blind, what does that have to do with cops? If you have something against cops don't bring it up in a thread that has nothing to do with abuse of authority. He committed/instigated a CRIME and now he will pay that's all that needs to be said.[/list]
byemiami wrote on 07/22/2010 06:48:50 PM:
--- Quote ---Replying to chicorichmondheights (07/22/2010 02:41:14 AM):
"well, there you have it ...you can convict anybody of anything in this town except cops.":
--- End quote ---
What the hell is a cop hater like you doing making pathetic remarks on this topic. You are probably an ex con who probably,like Chritopher,blames everyone else for your miserable existance.[/list]
Copyright 2010 Miami Herald Media Co.
Ursus:
Video news coverage at the link...
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CBS4.com
Jul 21, 2010 11:40 pm US/Eastern
Man Found Guilty In Parents' Murder For Hire Plot
Christopher Sutton Masterminded A Plot To Murder His Parents
His Father Said This Is A "Lose-lose" Situation
Reporting: Gary Nelson
Christopher Sutton cries on the stand, accused of master-minding the shooting that killed his mother, Susan, and left his father, John, wounded and blinded for life. CBS
MIAMI (CBS4) — A Miami-Dade jury has found Christopher Sutton guilty of plotting a 2004 murder that left his mother dead and his father blind in their Coral Gables house.
Wednesday night the jury found the 31-year-old man guilty of first degree murder and attempted murder charges.
The jury appeared to be in no rush to judgment. On Tuesday they asked to hear the call Sutton's father John made to 911 the night he and his wife were shot in their beds. The 911 call was the first exhibit entered into evidence during the 2 week trial.
The jury started to deliberate just before 4 p.m. Tuesday after a full day of closing arguments. They deliberated for about 4 hours before going home for the night.
Christopher's father John Sutton was upset but satisfied that justice was served.
"This is unfortunately a lose-lose situation, but at least it's completed," Sutton told the media after the verdict was read.
Sutton believes his son has stolen his faith in the past, and had been planning to kill him for nine years in the past. He said his son previously tried loosening the wheel on his car.
"This is a series of plans and schemes that came together and all fell into that particular awful night, five years and 11 months ago," he said.
Christopher Sutton declined to address the court after the verdict, or even look at his father while the elder Sutton spoke.
"I am convinced that justice in this system will always prevail, and prevailed here," said his father.
Christopher's sister Melissa also thanked the court while sobbing: "Thank you for ending all of this; it needs to be over."
But the loudest sob came from the father of the hit man, Mitch Kopp: "I am so sorry my son had anything to do with this."
And despite the tragedy his family life has become, John Sutton forgives: "Mr. Kopp Sr. did not do it, he did not do the shooting, probably as I did, he did the best he could with what he had."
Prosecutors staked their case on Sutton's motive being greed, and anger over being sent away to a reform school when he was younger.
"What motive did Christopher Sutton have to want both his parents dead? Money," said assistant state attorney Carin Kahgan. "That man, the defendant, had profound anger, hatred, and greed. His parents were worth nothing more to him than a means to get money."
"The only person in this room with the motive to murder John and Susan Sutton is the defendant, Christopher Sutton," Assistant State Attorney Kathleen Hoague said.
Kahgan recounted the testimony of Sutton's former girlfriend, Julie Driscoll, who said he told her "over and over" about his desire to kill his parents. "He went over how much money they had. He said his parents deserved to die. You heard him say that," Kahgan told jurors.
Defense attorney Bruce Fleisher cast the case differently, saying the confessed killer worked alone in a botched, drug-crazed robbery.
"We want you to judge your verdicts on the facts of the case," Fleisher said. "We want you to judge your verdict on what happened in this case."
Fleisher said the confessed gunman, Garrett Kopp, lied about his involvement to keep from going to the electric chair.
"He sat here and he told you exactly what happened. He gave Christopher up to save himself," he said. "Is there enough evidence in this case to convict my client? The answer is no," Fleisher said.
Fleisher said Julie Driscoll's story was elicited by cops who threatened her with murder charges if she didn't incriminate Sutton. "They coerced her; they forced her. They threatened her for 14 hours before she gave them what they wanted to hear."
The defense also tried to raise doubt in the prosecution's case by calling a Miami-Dade homicide detective who acknowledged that investigators thought business enemies might have been behind the shooting and murder.
Lt. Rosanna Cordero-Stutz said John Sutton, an attorney, told police that he thought he and his wife may have been targeted by someone from whom he had won a big court settlement.
The gunman allegedly hired by Christopher Sutton testified against him last week. Garrett Kopp, who has pleaded guilty and is serving a 30-year sentence, 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 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 has received three life sentences without the possibility of parole, even though according to his defense attorney, he plans to appeal.
CBS4's Gary Nelson and Natalia Zea contributed to this report.
© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc.
Pile of Dead Kids:
--- Quote ---"This is unfortunately a lose-lose situation, but at least it's completed," Sutton told the media after the verdict was read.
--- End quote ---
Every fucking time this guy opens his mouth...
Okay! Let's recap!
You sent your son to torture camp for 30 months, he sent a hit man to kill you and your wife, your wife is fucking buried and you're permanently blind, and all you'll say about it is that it's a lose-lose situation?!
I'd imagine that more of his brain must have been damaged than just his vision. But he sounds so much like some of the various other trolls on this board that he probably really did start this way. There's no person in there. These program parents are just shells. Whatever spark of consciousness he used to have decided to go on permanent vacation long, long ago.
Ursus:
Video news coverage at the link...
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7NEWS - WSVN.com
Son found guilty in murder plot trial
Posted: 07/22/10 at 6:05 am EDT · Last Updated: 07/22/10 at 7:07 am EDT
MIAMI (WSVN) -- A South Florida jury has found a man accused of hiring a hit on his parents guilty.
"As to count one, guilty of first degree murder as charged in the indictment," Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Stanford Blake announced in court. "Guilty of attempted first degree murder. Guilty of attempted first degree felony murder. Guilty of burglary with assault."
On Wednesday, a jury found Christopher Sutton guilty of the attack that claimed his mother's life and seriously injured his father.
Blinded by the bullet blamed on his own son, John Sutton addressed the court. "We're now at five years, 11 months," he said as he talked about the time that has passed since the murder of his wife.
Tuesday morning, prosecutors rested their case in the weeks-long trial.
In August 2004, at the Coral Gables home of Christopher Sutton's parents, his mother Susan Sutton was shot to death while his father, civil lawyer John Sutton, took a bullet to the head that left him blind. Prosecutors said the younger Sutton hatched the murder plot with Garret Kopp, who, according to police, entered the couple's home to kill the parents.
Kopp accepted a plea deal with the state that would see him spend 30 years in jail in exchange for testimony against Sutton, who faces first degree and attempted murder charges. Prosecutors claim Sutton wanted revenge against his parents because they sent him to an abusive boarding school in Samoa when he was younger. The defense argues Kopp acted alone in search of money while in a drug-induced haze when he broke into the home.
During her closing arguments, prosecutor Carin Kahgan said, "Garret Kopp is not here to get Citizen of the Year award. He is a confessed killer. That does not mean that you reject his testimony automatically, especially in view of the fact that the physical evidence in this case supports exactly what Garret Kopp said happened in that house."
During his final statements to the jury, defense attorney Bruce Fleischer, said, "This is a high profile case, which involved the Coral Gables Police Department and the Miami-Dade Police Department. They needed to solve this murder and this attempted murder. The police in this case convinced John Sutton that his son was guilty of this crime based upon the testimony of Garret Kopp and based upon the testimony of Juliette Driscoll and the statements that they made to the police."
Driscoll was the defendant's former fiancé. Her testimony that Sutton told her he wanted revenge for his stint at the boarding school, along with Kopp's testimony, were key to the prosecution's case.
Copyright 2010 by Sunbeam Television Corp.
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