My Notes on Mercy's Trial

[Guest guest]

Moderator's Note: I checked with Randy Turner, attorney at law, and friend to animals, who said it was fine to post Michelle's insightful notes on Mercy's trial on Vegetarian Network of Dallas' . VegNod encourages and commends our member's participation in AR activities and Michelle scored on this one!Thanks to Randy for his opinion. And, thanks to VegNod member Michelle for being at the trial, taking these notes, and sharing with her

fellow group members. Margaret Michelle Upchurch <m_upchurch3 wrote: Margaret, I did not post this onto VNOD because I thought you should be the one to judge if it should go there or not. I don't want to do anything to jeopardize the trial since the media was not allowed into the courtroom (other than a handful). I know you both would like to be there to bear witness and since I have the availability to be there, I wanted to share what happened today at the trial for Mercy (aka: Brandi). I could fill-up pages with my personal take, but will utilize my journalistic skills to maintain the "facts." First of all, for those that are planning on being there tomorrow morning, the general public will not be allowed into the courtroom at 9:00 AM because a juvenile witness will be cross-examined by the defense first thing. We

were allowed to hear his testimony today, so I really don't understand that. Also, to help others schedule their time, we broke for lunch for an hour today and reconvened at 1:00 so this may happen again tomorrow; also, periodic 10-minute breaks were given (although people were coming and going throughout the whole proceeding). Here's a few points of interest: Among the defense attorney's first statements to the jury was, "I don't like pit bulls." He later told the court that he used to have a German Shepard who had heartworms and mange -- now he owns a cat. His body language was consistently debasing to the prosecuting attorneys, the judge, and all the witnesses. He consistently implied that money was the reason for people helping Mercy. (!!!!!)

Five witnesses testified today: the man that put the fire out on Mercy and spoke with police; the initial vet that treated her; the vet who treated her when she was referred for in-depth treatment; the man who saw Mercy the following day who then took her to OPK; and the juvenile that was friends with the defendant. The first witness testified that he witnessed a "ball of flame" run past him when he was outside with his own dog; he cornered Mercy and took his shirt off to put the fire out (along with a few other people who threw beer on her) -- the police that arrived at the scene DID NOTHING TO HELP MERCY, they released her back to DaShawn. This witness testified that

Mercy had jumped into the police car because when he was asked by one officer for some water and rags, upon giving them to the officer in anticipation of them being used to somehow help Mercy, he instead saw the officer use the rags and water to wash his car seat off due to Mercy's singed hair and burnt skin (!!!!!!!!!). This witness also testified as to seeing DaShawn walk his bike along the sidewalk carrying a gasoline jug. The first vet testified to Mercy's stab wounds and burnt body -- he was not swayed by the defense attorney's use of sarcasm, illogical diatribes, and condescending discourse. The second vet testified to Mercy's suffering due to 60 percent of her

body being severely and deeply burned. Many pictures were shown depicting the progression of infection and dying skin ... more than one juror's body language was empathetic. She explained how burn wounds take time to show the full extent of damage. She explained how each day they anaesthetized Mercy and cut off more dead skin. The man who saw Mercy wandering outside his apartment the next morning and took her to OPK then testified. He said that Mercy was in so much pain that when he tried to get her into his friend's truck to take her to OPK, she couldn't jump in. He said Mercy came to him when he called to her (she was eager to please a stranger) and refused water and food (he called many rescues, etc., to no avail and decided to take her to OPK anyway). He said he thought she may have had mange; he didn't know she had been set on fire. The juvenile was obviously terrified (kept his head low, etc.); he denied things he had previously testified to during the grand jury hearing a month after Mercy's attack. The judge allowed the prosecution to therefore read his initial written statement in its entirety to the jury (the statement he gave to the animal control officer after he was urged by his teacher to "do the right thing"). In addition, the judge allowed the prosecutor to read sections of his grand jury statement, which included that he personally saw DaShawn take Mercy behind a dumpster and he heard Mercy yelp loudly in pain and then DaShawn emerge with a butter knife behind Mercy who "jogged out" with blood on her side. He heard DaShawn say that he wanted to kill Mercy because she wouldn't breed. At the trial today, this youth repetitively said he "didn't remember." He was forced to concede to many of his own statements by the prosecution. The defense attorney tried to use this as a reason for a mistrial. (!!!) The judge denied his many requests. DaShawn did not show any signs of remorse. He continuously looked at the clock. He oftentimes shook his head and rolled his eyes. I did not see him look up at any of the images of Mercy on the overhead projector. He did look straight at the juvenile witness. In honor of all tortured animals, --Michelle Make your little one a shining star! Shine on! Need a vacation? Get great deals to amazing places on Travel. Take the Internet to Go: Go puts the Internet in your pocket: mail, news, photos & more. Tonight's top picks. What will you watch tonight? Preview the hottest shows on TV.

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[Guest guest]

I just got home from the trial today (Wed.) and will write a summation later this evening. If anyone can possibly come to represent Mercy, please do so. There were less people there today for her than yesterday -- in fact, very few. The defense attorney tried to tell one witness in front of the jury that the "trial was a waste of time." (!!!)

 

If you need a ride to the courthouse, please don't hesitate to e-mail me directly. I'll be checking my account late in the evening till the trial is over if anyone needs a lift. I live in north Carrollton (Josey & Hebron). I will write more later -- my own dogs are demanding a walk right now.

 

I apologize if you receive a duplicate message from me -- my PC is acting funny.

--Michelle

 

 

From: dogs_goodDate: Wed, 26 Sep 2007 06:57:15 -0700 My Notes on Mercy's Trial

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moderator's Note: I checked with Randy Turner, attorney at law, and friend to animals, who said it was fine to post Michelle's insightful notes on Mercy's trial on Vegetarian Network of Dallas' . VegNod encourages and commends our member's participation in AR activities and Michelle scored on this one!Thanks to Randy for his opinion. And, thanks to VegNod member Michelle for being at the trial, taking these notes, and sharing with her fellow group members. MargaretMichelle Upchurch <m_upchurch3 (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote: Margaret, I did not post this onto VNOD because I thought you should be the one to judge if it should go there or not. I don't want to do anything to jeopardize the trial since the media was not allowed into the courtroom (other than a handful). I know you both would like to be there to bear witness and since I have the availability to be there, I wanted to share what happened today at the trial for Mercy (aka: Brandi). I could fill-up pages with my personal take, but will utilize my journalistic skills to maintain the "facts." First of all, for those that are planning on being there tomorrow morning, the general public will not be allowed into the courtroom at 9:00 AM because a juvenile witness will be cross-examined by the defense first thing. We were allowed to hear his testimony today, so I really don't understand that. Also, to help others schedule their time, we broke for lunch for an hour today and reconvened at 1:00 so this may happen again tomorrow; also, periodic 10-minute breaks were given (although people were coming and going throughout the whole proceeding). Here's a few points of interest:

 

Among the defense attorney's first statements to the jury was, "I don't like pit bulls." He later told the court that he used to have a German Shepard who had heartworms and mange -- now he owns a cat. His body language was consistently debasing to the prosecuting attorneys, the judge, and all the witnesses. He consistently implied that money was the reason for people helping Mercy. (!!!!!)

Five witnesses testified today: the man that put the fire out on Mercy and spoke with police; the initial vet that treated her; the vet who treated her when she was referred for in-depth treatment; the man who saw Mercy the following day who then took her to OPK; and the juvenile that was friends with the defendant.

The first witness testified that he witnessed a "ball of flame" run past him when he was outside with his own dog; he cornered Mercy and took his shirt off to put the fire out (along with a few other people who threw beer on her) -- the police that arrived at the scene DID NOTHING TO HELP MERCY, they released her back to DaShawn. This witness testified that Mercy had jumped into the police car because when he was asked by one officer for some water and rags, upon giving them to the officer in anticipation of them being used to somehow help Mercy, he instead saw the officer use the rags and water to wash his car seat off due to Mercy's singed hair and burnt skin (!!!!!!!!!). This witness also testified as to seeing DaShawn walk his bike along the sidewalk carrying a gasoline jug.

The first vet testified to Mercy's stab wounds and burnt body -- he was not swayed by the defense attorney's use of sarcasm, illogical diatribes, and condescending discourse.

The second vet testified to Mercy's suffering due to 60 percent of her body being severely and deeply burned. Many pictures were shown depicting the progression of infection and dying skin ... more than one juror's body language was empathetic. She explained how burn wounds take time to show the full extent of damage. She explained how each day they anaesthetized Mercy and cut off more dead skin.

The man who saw Mercy wandering outside his apartment the next morning and took her to OPK then testified. He said that Mercy was in so much pain that when he tried to get her into his friend's truck to take her to OPK, she couldn't jump in. He said Mercy came to him when he called to her (she was eager to please a stranger) and refused water and food (he called many rescues, etc., to no avail and decided to take her to OPK anyway). He said he thought she may have had mange; he didn't know she had been set on fire.

The juvenile was obviously terrified (kept his head low, etc.); he denied things he had previously testified to during the grand jury hearing a month after Mercy's attack. The judge allowed the prosecution to therefore read his initial written statement in its entirety to the jury (the statement he gave to the animal control officer after he was urged by his teacher to "do the right thing"). In addition, the judge allowed the prosecutor to read sections of his grand jury statement, which included that he personally saw DaShawn take Mercy behind a dumpster and he heard Mercy yelp loudly in pain and then DaShawn emerge with a butter knife behind Mercy who "jogged out" with blood on her side. He heard DaShawn say that he wanted to kill Mercy because she wouldn't breed. At the trial today, this youth repetitively said he "didn't remember." He was forced to concede to many of his own statements by the prosecution. The defense attorney tried to use this as a reason for a mistrial. (!!!) The judge denied his many requests.

DaShawn did not show any signs of remorse. He continuously looked at the clock. He oftentimes shook his head and rolled his eyes. I did not see him look up at any of the images of Mercy on the overhead projector. He did look straight at the juvenile witness.

In honor of all tortured animals,

 

--Michelle

 

 

 

 

Make your little one a shining star! Shine on!

 

 

 

 

Need a vacation? Get great deals to amazing places on Travel.

 

 

 

 

Take the Internet to Go: Go puts the Internet in your pocket: mail, news, photos & more.

 

 

Tonight's top picks. What will you watch tonight? Preview the hottest shows on TV.

 

 

Catch up on fall's hot new shows on TV. Watch previews, get listings, and more! Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live Spaces. It's easy! Try it!

[Guest guest]

These notes are great. They offer exellent insight and opportunity

for follow-up. I'd like to suggest that this group and/or similar

other groups, and/or individuals, write to the media after this is

over as a follow-up. Can we: 1) Point out the lack of proper

response and insensitivity from the police that prolonged the

suffering of Mercy. I'm sure this is not the first time but this

serves to put them on notice. 2) Most importantly, a HUGE public

acknowledgment should go to the witnesses who called the police, did

more than the cops to try to help Mercy, made several attempts, and

we had even a child who had the courage to do what even some adults

won't do. This is all at great risk and takes courage and their

personal time & sacrifice(perhaps loss of pay/school). These were

the HEROS that deserve recognition and positive affirmation in the

public's eye. They could have chosen not to get involved out of fear

for their personal safety or apathy. If the media got lots of

individuals writing to this effect then I think it would be the best

positive reinforcement for animal care and compassion from humans.

 

, Margaret Morin

<dogs_good wrote:

>

> Moderator's Note: I checked with Randy Turner, attorney at law,

and friend to animals, who said it was fine to post Michelle's

insightful notes on Mercy's trial on Vegetarian Network of Dallas'

. VegNod encourages and commends our member's

participation in AR activities and Michelle scored on this one!

>

> Thanks to Randy for his opinion. And, thanks to VegNod member

Michelle for being at the trial, taking these notes, and sharing with

her fellow group members. Margaret

>

> Michelle Upchurch <m_upchurch3 wrote: Margaret, I did not

post this onto VNOD because I thought you should be the one to judge

if it should go there or not. I don't want to do anything to

jeopardize the trial since the media was not allowed into the

courtroom (other than a handful).

>

> I know you both would like to be there to bear witness and since I

have the availability to be there, I wanted to share what happened

today at the trial for Mercy (aka: Brandi). I could fill-up pages

with my personal take, but will utilize my journalistic skills to

maintain the " facts. "

>

> First of all, for those that are planning on being there tomorrow

morning, the general public will not be allowed into the courtroom at

9:00 AM because a juvenile witness will be cross-examined by the

defense first thing. We were allowed to hear his testimony today, so

I really don't understand that. Also, to help others schedule their

time, we broke for lunch for an hour today and reconvened at 1:00 so

this may happen again tomorrow; also, periodic 10-minute breaks were

given (although people were coming and going throughout the whole

proceeding).

>

> Here's a few points of interest:

>

> Among the defense attorney's first statements to the jury

was, " I don't like pit bulls. " He later told the court that he

used to have a German Shepard who had heartworms and mange --

now he owns a cat. His body language was consistently debasing

to the prosecuting attorneys, the judge, and all the witnesses.

He consistently implied that money was the reason for people

helping Mercy. (!!!!!)

> Five witnesses testified today: the man that put the fire

out on Mercy and spoke with police; the initial vet that treated

her; the vet who treated her when she was referred for in-depth

treatment; the man who saw Mercy the following day who then took

her to OPK; and the juvenile that was friends with the

defendant.

> The first witness testified that he witnessed a " ball of

flame " run past him when he was outside with his own dog; he

cornered Mercy and took his shirt off to put the fire out (along

with a few other people who threw beer on her) -- the police that

arrived at the scene DID NOTHING TO HELP MERCY, they released

her back to DaShawn. This witness testified that Mercy had

jumped into the police car because when he was asked by one

officer for some water and rags, upon giving them to the officer

in anticipation of them being used to somehow help Mercy, he

instead saw the officer use the rags and water to wash his car seat

off due to Mercy's singed hair and burnt skin (!!!!!!!!!). This

witness also testified as to seeing DaShawn walk his bike along

the sidewalk carrying a gasoline jug.

> The first vet testified to Mercy's stab wounds and burnt

body -- he was not swayed by the defense attorney's use of

sarcasm, illogical diatribes, and condescending discourse.

> The second vet testified to Mercy's suffering due to 60

percent of her body being severely and deeply burned. Many

pictures were shown depicting the progression of infection and

dying skin ... more than one juror's body language was

empathetic. She explained how burn wounds take time to show the

full extent of damage. She explained how each day they

anaesthetized Mercy and cut off more dead skin.

> The man who saw Mercy wandering outside his apartment the

next morning and took her to OPK then testified. He said that

Mercy was in so much pain that when he tried to get her into his

friend's truck to take her to OPK, she couldn't jump in. He said

Mercy came to him when he called to her (she was eager to please

a stranger) and refused water and food (he called many rescues,

etc., to no avail and decided to take her to OPK anyway). He

said he thought she may have had mange; he didn't know she had

been set on fire.

> The juvenile was obviously terrified (kept his head low,

etc.); he denied things he had previously testified to during

the grand jury hearing a month after Mercy's attack. The judge

allowed the prosecution to therefore read his initial written

statement in its entirety to the jury (the statement he gave to

the animal control officer after he was urged by his teacher

to " do the right thing " ). In addition, the judge allowed the

prosecutor to read sections of his grand jury statement, which

included that he personally saw DaShawn take Mercy behind a

dumpster and he heard Mercy yelp loudly in pain and then DaShawn

emerge with a butter knife behind Mercy who " jogged out " with

blood on her side. He heard DaShawn say that he wanted to kill

Mercy because she wouldn't breed. At the trial today, this youth

repetitively said he " didn't remember. " He was forced to concede

to many of his own statements by the

> prosecution. The defense attorney tried to use this as a

reason for a mistrial. (!!!) The judge denied his many

requests.

> DaShawn did not show any signs of remorse. He continuously

looked at the clock. He oftentimes shook his head and rolled

his eyes. I did not see him look up at any of the images of Mercy on

the overhead projector. He did look straight at the juvenile

witness.

> In honor of all tortured animals,

> --Michelle

>

>

>

>

>

> Make your little one a shining star! Shine on!

>

>

>

>

> Need a vacation? Get great deals to amazing places on

Travel.

>

>

>

>

>

> Take the Internet to Go: Go puts the Internet in your

pocket: mail, news, photos & more.

>

>

>

>

>

> Tonight's top picks. What will you watch tonight? Preview the

hottest shows on TV.

>

>

>

> Catch up on fall's hot new shows on TV. Watch previews, get

listings, and more!

>