Death Penalty trial results in mistrial, life without parole
The death penalty phase of the trial of Colin James Broughton, who was charged with murder and armed robbery in Charleston, South Carolina, ended in a mistrial this morning following new revelations that the state had intimidated witnesses in an attempt to influence their testimony:
“That effort to intimidate strikes at the very heart of our legal system,” [Circuit Judge] Nicholson said. “I just don’t think the court can tolerate that, especially in the death-penalty phase.”Defense attorney Bill McGuire told The Post and Courier on Monday that a Berkeley County jail official had urged guards not to paint too rosy a picture of Broughton on the witness stand.
The alleged intimidation came to light Monday as Nicholson questioned the guards in his chambers, outside the view of the jury. The guards had backed away from their previous comments that Broughton has behaved well inside the jail since his arrest for the 2006 slaying of Shirley Birch
This is the same trial where the original trial judge, Circuit Judge Deadre Jefferson, had ordered defense attorney Beattie Butler to remain mute in the courtroom and not to speak other than to whisper in Bill McGuire's ear; and where McGuire had filed motions alleging that Judge Jefferson, Chief Justice Toal, and Patton Adams had attempted to get McGuire to drop Beattie from the defense team:
Patton Adams, the director of the S.C. Commission on Indigent Defense, asked McGuire to drop his request to add Butler to the defense team.McGuire said in the pleading that he understood the request was initiated by Jefferson and relayed to Adams through S.C. Supreme Court Justice Jean Toal.
"It was further relayed that failure to waive the issue would anger Judge Jefferson, Jean Toal and the rest of the South Carolina Supreme Court," one of McGuire's pleadings said.
The right result was reached in the case - whether or not you believe in state-sanctioned killings in the name of justice, you have to agree that we should not be putting citizens to death under these circumstances.
The next question is, whether there will be an independent investigation and prosecution of those responsible for instructing the guards not to testify for Broughton. Witness tampering and obstruction of justice are crimes that are prosecuted vigorously, because they interfere with the administration of justice and they undermine the operation of our court system. Will we look the other way when agents of the state are the alleged criminals?
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