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If I Represented Bin Laden
...ROY BLACK Black, Srebnick, Kornspan & Stumpf Miami He has worked his Black magic on judges and juries for the likes of William Ken nedy Smith, Marv Albert and Rush Limbaugh, but Black is not sure whether any defense would work for bin Ladenother than insanity. Osama bin Laden is like the Manchurian candidate or Jason Bourne. He is a product of CIA indoctrination. They used him during the Soviet invasion of Afghan istan. They trained him and turned him into a killer and incited the religious fervor in him to make him think that any power invading any land in the Middle East is invading the Muslims and has to be killed, says Black. What BS. The Arabs stayed in Peshawar and buggered little boys. Black says he would play on this delusion to argue, under the MNaghten rule, that bin Laden is psychotic and not responsible for his actions. Black would put the strategy before a jury because bin Laden wouldnt stand a chance in front of a federal judge. Any federal judge in the United States is going to find him guilty and sentence him to death, so you have to take your chances in front of a jury. Even in New York there will be some percentage of people who have never heard of him. Even though Black would ask for a change of venue, hes not sure hed find a favorable forum anywhere. Instead hed focus on trying to obtain individual voir dire of every potential juror. Ive done it where you spend three to four hours per person and delve into their feelings. You want to ask people if they have any sympathy for the Muslim cause. You want to try to find people who are sympathetic to their jihad. The governments evidence against bin Laden is another hurdle. Instead of trying to refute ita task that Black says is improbablehed use it to play into the defense strategy. Thats why I like the insanity defense because you can take everything the prosecution puts into evidence and add to itthat he perceives us as his mortal enemy, that he sees himself as a freedom fighter. It all fits into his delusion. Black also thinks that bin Laden might help himself by taking the stand because his likely ranting and raving would serve as proof of a diseased mind. Even if a jury convicted bin Ladensomething Black thinks likelyand went to death penalty sentencing, Black would continue to plead insanity in hopes of saving his life. Youd argue that since he is operating under a diseased mind that he shouldnt be executed. Black says he would need a team of lawyers and investigators with significant resources to travel the world for bin Ladens defense. You have to hire someone who would go up into the mountains and find wit nesses because I would not be going. ... Posted by: Brett 2007-08-31 |
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