The Long Island RR Massacre - does it relate to Trevon Martin.

by james_woods 7 Replies latest social current

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  james_woods

  I was just posting on the Trevon thread when ironically I noticed that the TV was on ID channel and the Colin Ferguson shooting of 25 commuter train passengers in 1993.

  He was a black man who at first claimed "black rage" against whites, then later said he did not do it, etc. etc.

  He fired his defense attorney, and then put on one of the most delusional shows in a capital murder trial ever seen. Speaking in the third person, he actually put on a pretty good stage show for "the defendent".

  One sad detail was that almost all of the surviving wounded passengers testified against him, and were then cross-examined by the madman who shot them in the first place.

  He was, of course, found guilty of multiple homicides. He was sentenced to over 300 years (with no posibility of parole).

  What is interesting to me is the contrast in the media coverage of these events concerning the racial/hate crime aspects of the crime. It was clear in the case of Ferguson, but far less so than in the case of Zimmerman.

  And yet - the media judgement was far more directly made in the case of Zimmerman.
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  wha happened?

  I remember something else like that as well, when the killer defended himself and spoke about himself in the 3rd person. weird
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  JonathanH

  It sucks being white, always having to put up with this discremination.
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  Justitia Themis

  One sad detail was that almost all of the surviving wounded passengers testified against him, and were then cross-examined by the madman who shot them in the first place.

  You know James, I'm with you on this one. I understand the constitutional right to represent oneself and to confront the witnesses. This issue comes up in pedophile cases all the time. They LOVE to represent themselves so they can "rape" their victim a second time...on the stand. In Seattle, we recently had a victim (an adult) attempt to jump off the courthouse building rather than face this cross. There are now some protections in place.

  If this same situation happened now, likely he would be forced to "cross" them via video in a separate room. While it is not a complete remedy, it does help the victims somewhat.
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  mrsjones5

  " It sucks being white, always having to put up with this discremination discrimination."

  I'm hip.
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  james_woods

  You know James, I'm with you on this one. I understand the constitutional right to represent oneself and to confront the witnesses. This issue comes up in pedophile cases all the time. They LOVE to represent themselves so they can "rape" their victim a second time...on the stand.

  You will soon be Wibble if you keep on agreeing with me. I saw you did that with the illegal alien lawyer-to-wannabe in Florida a few days back.

  I personally think that this guy Ferguson was obviously insane and should have been found insane. However, he was too insane to take the obvious defense - and the analysts said on the show that this was not unusual for genuinely insane defendants. (they cannot accept the fact that they are insane). Ironically, he just talked himself into a much tougher sentence than his legal council would have achieved for him.

  Yes, the right to cross-examine is a sort of dark side to our constitutional law and can be abused...sort of like obscenity and flag-burning in public in the name of free speech.

  But we are the United States of America, and I think it is a great thing that we take the constitution this seriously.

  And, in the end
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  james_woods

  And, in the end he did life without parole.
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  Band on the Run

  Wow. I can't believe I forgot about it and was it local news. Strange how time just goes on and you forget. I wonder how the judge feels about his decision. Look at the same situation in Norway. Const'l rights exist (there must be similar provisions in Norway or why would they give him the platform) but the particulars can be very ugly.

  Now, I can hear Colin Ferguson's voice in my head.

  There was also the guy who beheaded people on the Staten Island Ferry with a sword. He showed up the night before at a NY hosptial psych er seeking help. The resident made a judgment call that he would keep taking his meds so he was not commited. He did not take them and showed up and started the slaughter.

  I wonder if there is something in the water.