The Utah judge in the murder case over Charlie Kirk’s killing says he will rule Monday whether prosecutors could face sanctions for comments to the media about a bullet fragment recovered from the conservative activist’s body.
Lawyers for defendant Tyler Robinson have asked Judge Tony Graf to block the death penalty in the case, claiming the prosecutors’ comments could sway potential jurors regarding his guilt.
But criminal law expert Paul Cassell said it would be extraordinary for Graf to grant the defense request. Their concerns could be addressed in other ways, such as more closely questioning jurors to ensure they aren’t biased, the University of Utah law professor said.
“A standard defense attorney maneuver is to avoid talking about the guilt or innocence of your client. The theory is that as long as you’re talking about anything other than whether the defendant is guilty, you’re winning as a defense attorney,” Cassell said. “This seems to be an extreme example of that.”
Representatives of the Utah County Attorney’s Office said they were compelled to speak publicly about the case following speculation in some media outlets.
The speculation began after the defense team publicly disclosed that initial tests were inconclusive to determine whether the bullet was fired from the suspected murder weapon.
Conjecture over the evidence in Kirk’s killing has fueled unsubstantiated conspiracy theories that there might have been a second shooter, or that his death was staged. The case has attracted enormous media attention and concerns from both sides about misinformation tainting the potential jury pool.
Judge in Charlie Kirk killing case to decide if prosecutors could be punished for comments in media
19 hours ago by CorrectAlias to c/news
I mean, not really. The problem is that it really only works when it's exact and the bullet is intact. Much like fingerprints or partial DNA, once you get below a certain threshold of confidence it's borderline useless. But it still can be a very accurate and useful tool in the right circumstances.
Even fingerprints are often unreliable.
It seems pretty suspect since this was supposedly an event that all conservatives rallied around and attempted to basically get Kirk a "sainthood" that I haven't heard the guy's name that supposedly shot him once in months.
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Matching a bullet to the gun it was fired from is pseudoscience at best
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