Kathy E <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Walter Budzyn's fate is now in the jury's hands as both the prosecution and defense gave their closing arguments yesterday. Prosecutor Douglas Baker's primary theme was this: Budzyn's testimony about his encounter with Malice Green was carefully contrived and made up to make it seem like he was not aware that Green was being beaten to death. Baker told the jury that Budzyn's story conveniently exonerates him from all awareness and responsibility in Green's death but ultimately does not make sense. "No one tells the same version of the incident that Walter Budzyn tells," Baker said. "Everybody's wrong...that's why I believe that his testimony is manufactured, made-up and the sign of a desperate man because that's what he's brought himself down to." "I'm not saying that Budzyn's version of the incident was physically impossible. Anything's impossible...he could have done cartwheels into the car to get Malice Green," Baker continued. "I don't want this case to come down to whether Budzyn's story is physically possible. The question is did it happen that way." Baker questioned why, if Green dropped a rock of cocaine in front of Budzyn as he had claimed, the defendant did not merely order him out of the car. He pointed out that Budzyn admitted on the stand that at that point, he had enough evidence to arrest Green and did not need to grab Green. Baker contended that the real story is that Budzyn grabbed Green before he had even seen what the victim held in his hand. The prosecutor also found it suspicious that, if Budzyn was dragged into the car backwards as he claimed, that he did not turn around at all to see the altercation between his partner Larry Nevers and Green. Budzyn heard the fracas, but allegedly did not see the fatal incident. And, Baker also asked, if the events transpired as Budzyn claimed, why didn't Nevers pull Budzyn out of the car to safety first? The prosecutor stressed that it seemed strange that a trained police officer would not immediately check on the welfare of his partner in the midst of an altercation during an attempted arrest. Prosecutor Baker called the altercation between Green and Nevers and Budzyn a "clear-cut case of murder" and characterized Budzyn and Nevers as "partners in the police force and partners in crime." Using a billboard depicting illustrated three monkeys, he said that Budzyn would like them to believe that he miraculously "saw no evil, heard no evil, and spoke no evil." Baker also noted that the position of the blood spatters found on the windshield within Green's car could only have come from inside the car. And since only Green and Budzyn were inside the car, the blows had to have been inflicted by Budzyn. In the defense's closing arguments, attorney James Howarth quickly pointed out that the testimony of previous prosecution witness Teresa Pace, whom he labeled as the state's "star witness," contradicted her testimony from Budzyn's first trial. In the 1993 trial, Pace claimed that she saw Green holding cocaine in his hand and did not see him kicking at the officers. Howarth also said that Pace's version of the motion in which the flashlights allegedly came down on Green differed from her testimony in the first trial. This, Howarth implied, damaged Pace's credibility. And Howarth claimed that although previous witness Ralph Fletcher claimed that he was closer to the scene of the incident that the other eyewitnesses, his testimony differed from Pace's account. Howarth also noted that during her testimony in this trial, Pace needed glasses to see some of video slides; this implied that Pace may have needed glasses during the incident and did not see the altercation as well as she thought. Howarth also noted that none of the EMS technicians who testified saw Budzyn strike Green; most of them said that they saw Nevers and Officer Robert Lessnau hitting Green. And if Budzyn had struck Green, he would have had blood on his clothes. Nevers, Howarth stressed, was the one who needed peroxide to clean his hands and clothes. During his rebuttal closings, Douglas Baker said that even without Teresa Pace, the prosecution would have enough evidence to convict Budzyn for the murder of Malice Green. He also noted that defense attorney did not focus on Budzyn's testimony in his closing arguments because of its various inconsistencies. The jury started deliberations today (Thursday) after Judge Thomas Jackson gave them their instructions on the charges facing Budzyn. Against the defense objections, the jury will be asked to consider both second-degree murder and manslaughter charges against Budzyn. (The defense wanted just second-degree murder, an all-or nothing strategy.) Second degree murder carries a maximum sentence of life with parole or any term of years. (Budzyn's first sentence was 8 -18 years; he served just under 4 years of that sentence.) Involuntary manslaughter carries a sentence ranging from probation to 15 years. Under Michigan guidelines, Budzyn may have already served any sentence he likely to receive if he is convicted. -- Kathy E "I can only please one person a day, today is NOT your day, and tomorrow isn't looking too good for you either" http://members.delphi.com/kathylaw/ Law & Issues Mailing List http://pw1.netcom.com/~kathye/rodeo.html - Cowboy Histories http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/2990/law.htm Crime photo's Subscribe/Unsubscribe, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the body of the message enter: subscribe/unsubscribe law-issues