Its over....
- Thread starter Squiggy
- Start date
unclehobart
New Member
You can still face the death penalty in Joisey even after a guilty plea? Most states automatically make it cap out at life if you plead guilty since you're saving the state a gazillion in prosecution $ and time. Judicial mercy for the repentant and all that rot.
BeardofPants
New Member
Aw Squigs. That sounds horrible. 
Gato_Solo
Out-freaking-standing OTC member
The only person who can say whether justice was served or not is Squiggy. My personal belief is this, though...Why did "Mr. Wakefield's" attorney try that tired "abused child" defense? It shows that society, itself, is getting tired of the excuses, but, what about my tirades on personal responsibility, and the attempts of attorneys to limit, or eliminate, personal responsibility in other cases?
Squiggy
ThunderDick
Ok...Its been a week. I guess I've decompressed enough to address the issue...
Preface:
Brian Wakefield, out of jail less than 3 months and already wanted on warrants, decided he was entitled to whatever belonged to an elderly couple and proceeded to invade their home. Without subjecting you to the gruesome details of the event, I'll try to walk you through it. Seventy year old Richard Hazard answered the front door and was immediately assaulted, allowing Wakefield to gain entrance. He blindfolded Mr. Hazard after overpowering him hoping to get his victim to assist in locating any valuables. its not clear how much help, if any, Mr hazard offered. It apparently wasn't enough for Wakefield to spare his life. After beating and stabbing the elderly man to death, Wakefield dragged him down to the basement and proceeded to ransack the home for valuables.
At some point while he was searching and destroying the home, Shirley Hazard, the 65 year old wife of Richard, returned home carrying groceries. She was unexpectedly assaulted as soon as she entered the front door, receiving a disabling blow to the head and face that fractured her skull. Wakefield then carried her to the top of the basement steps and pushed her down the steps. He then dragged her next to her already deceased husband and became upset because she was making 'gurgling noises' and staring at him with the one eye she still had left...He proceeded to kick her in the ribs several times and then stabbed her...He even grabbed a large decorative spoon from the kitchen wall and attacked the dog, a collie, when it began threatening him...
After rifling the house for all he could find, he pushed a couple of bookshelves over on top of his victims and dumped gas on them. He had already uncapped and knocked over all the liquor bottles upstairs to use it as fuel to help burn the house down. He ignited the Hazard's bodies and several other locations before leaving with Mrs. Hazard's car keys and stealing the car.
He drove to his mother's home and offered her the costume jewelry he had just stolen, but she refused it. He proceeded to the mall but the car overheated just shy of the entrance. He walked the last half mile and went on a shopping spree with the proceeds of his act, purchasing clothes and jewelry to the tune of about $2000.
He then called a 'friend' who was a cab driver in Atlantic City and asked to be picked up at the main entrance to the mall. When the cab arrived, he threw the keys to the Hazard's car in the bushes at the mall and they drove to the Tropicana in Atlantic city. He changed into some new clothes and left the old clothes in the cab. The he had the driver book 3 rooms for him because he couldn't use his ID (I assume due to the warrants) and, long story short, he threw a party that night for another friend who was about to begin a jail term. He cashed in Mr Hazard's coin collection at the cashier's cage in the casino...for even exchange no less.
The cab driver was shaken by a few of the things Wakefield had said during the course of getting him to the casino and booking the rooms. He took some things Wakefield had given him, a few old silver dollars, some of the costume jewelry, and the clothes Wakefield had changed out of, to the police and told them he suspected something bad had gone down.
Wakefield was arrested in the wee hours of the morning, alone and asleep, in the hotel room that was trashed during the party.
Particulars:
The following paragraph is supposition based on facts as I saw it.
Wakefield pleaded guilty without a deal from the prosecutor to withdraw the death penalty. The prosecutor didn't need to deal. His case was solid. The plea was designed to keep us from hearing many of the details. What we heard was only what could be used to establish the aggravating and mitigating factors that were involved with the sentencing. Many items that the prosecutor and defense used to question the witnesses were not shown to the jury. And many were denied to us on request during deliberation because they were not entered into evidence but merely 'referred to' during the case. It was a smart move on the part of the defense. But it fell short.
/supposition
The prosecution, while restrained to proof of the aggravating factors, had to lay down a foundation which gave us a pretty thorough understanding of the events of the crime. Very little was contested by the defense other than procedural issues, which were contested at every opportunity. The witnesses for the prosecution all held up well under cross examination and the state's case was presented smoothly, efficiently, and quickly. Wakefield's first response of any kind occured when the cab driver took the stand. Wakefield stared at him with a cold, threatening look the entire time he was testifying. It seemed clear he was wanting to kill again. That, to me, put a rather large dent in any claim of remorse. With few exceptions, Wakefield spent the entire trial staring at and writing on a legal pad that sat in front of him. i'd love to see what he was writing....
Still to come...the case for defense...
Preface:
Brian Wakefield, out of jail less than 3 months and already wanted on warrants, decided he was entitled to whatever belonged to an elderly couple and proceeded to invade their home. Without subjecting you to the gruesome details of the event, I'll try to walk you through it. Seventy year old Richard Hazard answered the front door and was immediately assaulted, allowing Wakefield to gain entrance. He blindfolded Mr. Hazard after overpowering him hoping to get his victim to assist in locating any valuables. its not clear how much help, if any, Mr hazard offered. It apparently wasn't enough for Wakefield to spare his life. After beating and stabbing the elderly man to death, Wakefield dragged him down to the basement and proceeded to ransack the home for valuables.
At some point while he was searching and destroying the home, Shirley Hazard, the 65 year old wife of Richard, returned home carrying groceries. She was unexpectedly assaulted as soon as she entered the front door, receiving a disabling blow to the head and face that fractured her skull. Wakefield then carried her to the top of the basement steps and pushed her down the steps. He then dragged her next to her already deceased husband and became upset because she was making 'gurgling noises' and staring at him with the one eye she still had left...He proceeded to kick her in the ribs several times and then stabbed her...He even grabbed a large decorative spoon from the kitchen wall and attacked the dog, a collie, when it began threatening him...
After rifling the house for all he could find, he pushed a couple of bookshelves over on top of his victims and dumped gas on them. He had already uncapped and knocked over all the liquor bottles upstairs to use it as fuel to help burn the house down. He ignited the Hazard's bodies and several other locations before leaving with Mrs. Hazard's car keys and stealing the car.
He drove to his mother's home and offered her the costume jewelry he had just stolen, but she refused it. He proceeded to the mall but the car overheated just shy of the entrance. He walked the last half mile and went on a shopping spree with the proceeds of his act, purchasing clothes and jewelry to the tune of about $2000.
He then called a 'friend' who was a cab driver in Atlantic City and asked to be picked up at the main entrance to the mall. When the cab arrived, he threw the keys to the Hazard's car in the bushes at the mall and they drove to the Tropicana in Atlantic city. He changed into some new clothes and left the old clothes in the cab. The he had the driver book 3 rooms for him because he couldn't use his ID (I assume due to the warrants) and, long story short, he threw a party that night for another friend who was about to begin a jail term. He cashed in Mr Hazard's coin collection at the cashier's cage in the casino...for even exchange no less.
The cab driver was shaken by a few of the things Wakefield had said during the course of getting him to the casino and booking the rooms. He took some things Wakefield had given him, a few old silver dollars, some of the costume jewelry, and the clothes Wakefield had changed out of, to the police and told them he suspected something bad had gone down.
Wakefield was arrested in the wee hours of the morning, alone and asleep, in the hotel room that was trashed during the party.
Particulars:
The following paragraph is supposition based on facts as I saw it.
Wakefield pleaded guilty without a deal from the prosecutor to withdraw the death penalty. The prosecutor didn't need to deal. His case was solid. The plea was designed to keep us from hearing many of the details. What we heard was only what could be used to establish the aggravating and mitigating factors that were involved with the sentencing. Many items that the prosecutor and defense used to question the witnesses were not shown to the jury. And many were denied to us on request during deliberation because they were not entered into evidence but merely 'referred to' during the case. It was a smart move on the part of the defense. But it fell short.
/supposition
The prosecution, while restrained to proof of the aggravating factors, had to lay down a foundation which gave us a pretty thorough understanding of the events of the crime. Very little was contested by the defense other than procedural issues, which were contested at every opportunity. The witnesses for the prosecution all held up well under cross examination and the state's case was presented smoothly, efficiently, and quickly. Wakefield's first response of any kind occured when the cab driver took the stand. Wakefield stared at him with a cold, threatening look the entire time he was testifying. It seemed clear he was wanting to kill again. That, to me, put a rather large dent in any claim of remorse. With few exceptions, Wakefield spent the entire trial staring at and writing on a legal pad that sat in front of him. i'd love to see what he was writing....
Still to come...the case for defense...