13 Things To Know From The #Delphi Murders Trial Today - Nov 2🧵
1. The jury got to see the jail videos we discussed yesterday: 15 camcorder videos taken by guards at the Westville prison. The defense says they show the harsh conditions Richard Allen was subjected to. #wthr
1. The jury got to see the jail videos we discussed yesterday: 15 camcorder videos taken by guards at the Westville prison. The defense says they show the harsh conditions Richard Allen was subjected to. #wthr
2. The defense contends those conditions caused Allen to be psychotic, prompting him to make 60+ false confessions to the murders. The jury spent about 2 hours watching these videos, but no one else in the gallery was allowed to see them. Theoretically. More on that in a moment…
3. Only jurors got to see these videos bc some of them show Allen naked in different areas of the prison. A large video screen in the courtroom was angled & moved close to jurors to prevent others from viewing the videos. But a few reporters in the 1st row could see them anyway.
4. I was one of the journalists sitting in a seat with a partial view of some of the videos and I compared my notes with the others. While it was very difficult to see the videos clearly because of the angle of the screen we saw & glare in the courtroom, here is what we saw…
5. In one video, Allen was transported to a bldg as he was restrained (in what looked like a chair) w straps around his chest, waist & thighs. 2 people stood over him as he got some type of medical treatment. Then he was taken to a van (still restrained) & returned to his cell.
6. In another, Allen appeared to be lying down & needed assistance from prison guards to get up.
And in a third, Allen was being showered by guards who were scrubbing his head, back & shoulders while Allen’s hands were cuffed behind his back. No audio on any of the videos.
And in a third, Allen was being showered by guards who were scrubbing his head, back & shoulders while Allen’s hands were cuffed behind his back. No audio on any of the videos.
7. The jury was told they’ll likely see more videos next week that show Allen’s strange behavior in his cell – an effort to counteract the 60+ confessions the jury heard bc the defense claims Allen suffered from mental illness when he made all those incriminating statements.
8. How effective were the videos? No way to tell. Jurors did not react much. And I couldn’t see the videos nearly well enough to tell how graphic and/or potentially disturbing the conditions were. Jurors took a LOT of notes so there seemed to be many noteworthy things to observe.
9. Today’s testimony really upset some people in the courtroom – including friends & relatives of the victims. They were angry the defense insisted the videos not be shown to everyone in the courtroom out of respect for Richard Allen and his dignity.
10. They say Abby & Libby did not get that same respect, especially because pictures of their dead bodies, including Libby German lying naked in the woods, were shown to everyone during testimony just a few days ago.
11. Indiana State Police Supt Doug Carter was the day’s only new witness. He testified that he dismissed the FBI from the Delphi murders investigation in Aug 2021. His testimony ended quickly & abruptly after the prosecutor asked for a sidebar with the judge.
12. Sunday is a much needed day off for the jury. Monday is expected to be a heated day of testimony as Brad Weber is called by the defense to testify again. He lives right by the murder scene & testing on his gun came back inconclusive. The first time he testified, he was irate.
13. I might be going out on a limb here, but I think we could have a verdict by this time next week.
Let’s talk some more on Monday.
Let’s talk some more on Monday.
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