Need some Advice?

[George911]

What is the name of your state? Kentucky.

I hope I'm posting this in the right forum on here I'm not really sure,but any help on this matter at all would be greatly appreciated.

On March 14th 2006 my 25 year old son was beaten almost lifeless by another boy,inside the boy's mothers trailor. After being beaten lifeless inside the trailor the boy who did this dragged his lifeless body through the trailor and threw his lifeless body off of a 4 foot high porch out into a graveled driveway...When the Sheriff's Department arrived on the scene they sent my son to a local hospital,where he was flown out to another hospital in West Virginia with better facilities,he was on life support and around 2:30 A.M. on March 15th 2006 his kidneys and other parts of his body were shutting down and the Dr. there said there was not any use to keep him on the life support any longer and I signed papers to have him taken off the life support and he died almost instantly from the trauma that he suffered in the beating..

Now here is what I'm needing help with if anyone at all can give me some advice,I would greatly appreciate it.. The people present at the trailor when this happened was my son,my son's girlfriend,the boy that beat him and the boy's mother was also there.. When the Sheriff's Deputy 1st arrived on the scene he was the Deputy that had my son removed from the scene of the accident by the ambulance service and they took him to the local hospital. This Sheriff arrived on the scene about 4:50 A.M. the morning that this happened and he didn't take any statements from any of the people who were there when this happened. The Sheriff also didn't secure the scene of the crime and also he didn't take any pictures or anything inside the trailor,there was a 2nd deputy who arrived on the scene around 8:00 that morning and he did take a video taped statement from the boy who commited this act,but the scene still remained unsecured..They didn't take a statement from the boy's mother at the time they were there and they also didn't take a statement from my son's girlfriend either..My son's girlfriend lived only about 1 mile where this tragic beating happened and she left the scene after the 1st Deputy arrived and went to her mother's trailor and took a shower before going to the Emergency Room where my son was taken to by the ambulance. Anyway to go on with my story about this,there is an investigator that works for the prosecutor's office and he said he saw this boy's dad and a couple other boy's removing things from the trailor where the beating took place and the investigator went up to this trailor where they were moving things out and he told them to bring back everything that they had removed from the scene where this occurred,I don't really know what they brought back,but the boy's dad that did this to my son did bring back 2 baseball bats..The prosecutor in this case had the boy indicted for 2nd degree murder,and when it finally went to trial before the grand jury the 2 Deputy's who were the investigating officers in the murder were the only 2 people called upon the witness stand to testify in the case..This boy's attorney was questioning the deputies about what information they had on the case and for every question he asked them they either said I don't know or that it should have been done...They had lost all the evidence they had in this case for some strange reason and they couldn't come up with any answers at all as to where their evidence disappeared too...The only thing evidence that they really presented was the video taped statement taken by the 2nd Deputy who arrived on the scene about 3 hours after all this had happened..After they recessed the jury for lunch that day,and we returned to the courtroom the prosecutor asked me,my ex wife, and her husband to come back into his office outside the courtroom where we sat down and he told us that he thought we should take a plea bargain for 2nd degree manslaughter or that the boy would probably walk out of the courtroom that day as a free person.. On September 11th 2007 me,my ex wife,her huband were in the office of the investigator with the prosecutors office,along with the prosecutor,the private investigator for the prosecutors office,and the Sheriff's Deputy whom was the 1st Deputy to arrive on the scene that morning,and the prosecutor made a statement in front of all of us that was present in the office at that time,that it was failure on the Sheriff's Department for not securing the scene of the crime where this incident happened...There is nothing at all that can replace the life of my young son,as he was the only child that I had..All I want to ask does anyone out there know if I can file some type of lawsuit against the Sheriff's Department for not securing the scene where this incident took place and also for them losing almost all evidence they had about this incident and didn't know where it had disappeared too....Its not money that I'm looking to get out of this because I don't need the money because it could never replace what I have lost...If anyone out there can tell me if I could file some type of lawsuit and the type of attorney that I should be looking for to file a lawsuit against this Sheriff's Department would you please let me know? Again any help at all with this matter would be greatly appreciated...

[George911]

If this isn't the right forum to post this question would someone let me know what forum I should post it in?

[quincy]

George911-

Didn't you post before? I believe there were some suggestions given to you at the time.

I really recommend you consult with a criminal lawyer in Kentucky, as there could potentially be some recourse against the sheriff's department for not securing the scene properly - but I seem to recall we went over this earlier and it appeared, from what you had posted then, that the sheriff was concentrating on trying to save your son's life, and that took precedence over all else at the time. I don't think any of us saw negligence on the part of the sheriff for the choices he made that morning - nor do I think you would have wanted the sheriff concentrating on securing a crime scene when your son was in vital need of assistance.

Did you agree to take the 2nd degree manslaughter plea bargain?

[George911]

Originally Posted by quincy

George911-

Didn't you post before? I believe there were some suggestions given to you at the time.

I really recommend you consult with a criminal lawyer in Kentucky, as there could potentially be some recourse against the sheriff's department for not securing the scene properly - but I seem to recall we went over this earlier and it appeared, from what you had posted then, that the sheriff was concentrating on trying to save your son's life, and that took precedence over all else at the time. I don't think any of us saw negligence on the part of the sheriff for the choices he made that morning - nor do I think you would have wanted the sheriff concentrating on securing a crime scene when your son was in vital need of assistance.

Did you agree to take the 2nd degree manslaughter plea bargain?

The jury trial for the boy that did this was held on December 17th 2007 and after the jury was recessed for lunch the prosecutor called me and my ex wife into his office in the courthouse and told us that things were not looking good at the time and he said we should agree to a plea bargain of 2nd degree manslaughter charge,because the defense attorney was asking the Deputy questions on the witness stand that he had no answers for such as why statements weren't taken by the witnesses who were there at the time this happened and also all the evidence the Sheriff's Department had got lost in some way.

Therefore the prosecutor said things were not looking good in the eyes of the jury and he said we should take the plea bargain for 2nd degree manslaughter or the boy would more than likely walk out of there on a not guilty verdict on 2nd degree murder...After the prosecutor told us this yes we did agree on a 2nd degree manslaughter charge,and the boy will be coming up for probation in March of 2008...

Thank You for your'e reply..

[quincy]

Probation in March? Or up for parole?

I definitely would find an attorney. It does seem apparent from what you have posted that this kid escaped a murder charge because of carelessness on the part of the Sheriff's Department. I understand that there were extenuating circumstances at the time, but to lose evidence and not take witness testimony is inexcusable in my eyes.

They never located the bat and there was no DNA evidence that implicated the boy in your son's attack? Or was this part of what was missing from the Department before the trial?

Perhaps an attorney here on the forum could answer whether they think the Prosecutor did all he could in this case, as well. I have some doubts.

I am aghast at the March 2008 date.

Wait for others to post, George.

[seniorjudge]

George, I can't second-guess a prosecutor's actions in a case I know nothing about.

So please tell us this: What do you want to happen here?

Let's start with that.

[George911]

Originally Posted by quincy

Probation in March? Or up for parole?

I definitely would find an attorney. It does seem apparent from what you have posted that this kid escaped a murder charge because of carelessness on the part of the Sheriff's Department. I understand that there were extenuating circumstances at the time, but to lose evidence and not take witness testimony is inexcusable in my eyes.

They never located the bat and there was no DNA evidence that implicated the boy in your son's attack? Or was this part of what was missing from the Department before the trial?

Perhaps an attorney here on the forum could answer whether they think the Prosecutor did all he could in this case, as well. I have some doubts.

I am aghast at the March 2008 date.

Wait for others to post, George.

The boy will going for probation in March of 2008. The boy's defense attorney hired a Private Investigator to investigate the blood splatters that were on the walls and doors and the DNA tests they found from the blood were from my son. Another thing is that the autopsy they did on my son found that it was blount force trauma to the head and he also he suffered a broken neck in the incident. The only thing that the Sheriff's Department really had as evidence was a video taped statement which was taken 3 hours after the incident happened and the boy was showing no remorse at all...When they had the trial on December 17th 2007 the Circuit Judge told him that he showed more remorse at that time than he ever showed through the whole process in court..

[George911]

Originally Posted by seniorjudge

George, I can't second-guess a prosecutor's actions in a case I know nothing about.

So please tell us this: What do you want to happen here?

Let's start with that.

I know nothing in the world will bring my son back,but I think at least something should be done about the Sheriff's Department and maybe they won't let the same mistake happen again to someone elses family because its a very difficult thing to have to go through..Another thing that is a reminder to me is that when the prosecutor asked me and my ex wife to take a plea bargain for 2nd degree manslaughter or the boy would probably be found not guilty on the 2nd degree murder charge by the jury..After the jury heard about 4 hours of testimony from the Sheriff's and the Private Investigator that the boys attorney hired,thats when we were called in the prosecutors office and asked to take a plea bargain...I think its a good thing we took the plea bargain because there were 3 jurors who wrote the Circuit Judge letters saying from what testimony that they did here during those 4 hours that they would have found this boy not guilty on the 2nd degree murder charge..

[quincy]

It sounds like the plea bargain was a good choice you made, then.

I have a feeling that the sheriff's department will be very careful in the future - should such a horrible incident like the one you have endured ever occur again - to collect evidence and witness testimony and secure the scene properly. Even without you taking any legal action against them.

No one can go through a situation like the one you have described and come out unchanged.

[Clt747]

I'm so sorry for your loss, George. I'm also sorry that I don't have any useful advice for you, but I do have a question for any lawyers that might wander in, if you don't mind me using your thread for my own information.

I'm confused about the victim's parents being asked if they would accept a plea bargain. It's not up to them, is it? Aside from the prosecutor just wanting to be respectful of their loss, is there something I'm missing?

There is one thing I've thought of, George. You may still have a shot at a civil suit against whomever did this to your son. I believe the standards are much less than for a criminal trial (think OJ). Of course, it doesn't sound like he has much to sue him for, but as you said, it's not about the money. He sure as hell wouldn't be putting this all behind him by March, that's for sure.

[George911]

Originally Posted by Clt747

I'm so sorry for your loss, George. I'm also sorry that I don't have any useful advice for you, but I do have a question for any lawyers that might wander in, if you don't mind me using your thread for my own information.

I'm confused about the victim's parents being asked if they would accept a plea bargain. It's not up to them, is it? Aside from the prosecutor just wanting to be respectful of their loss, is there something I'm missing?

There is one thing I've thought of, George. You may still have a shot at a civil suit against whomever did this to your son. I believe the standards are much less than for a criminal trial (think OJ). Of course, it doesn't sound like he has much to sue him for, but as you said, it's not about the money. He sure as hell wouldn't be putting this all behind him by March, that's for sure.

I don't mind at all for you coming on here and asking whatever you want to ask on this thread. I think the reason he wanted us to accept the plea bargain is because he didn't think he had a chance with the evidence that he had in front of the jurors to get a guilty verdict...Here's the thing I've been trying to figure out and I still have no clue,but this boy's defense attorney also asked him if he would take a plea for 2nd degree manslaughter and the boy said that he would take the plea bargain for 2nd degree manslaughter and signed the papers to take the plea to that charge.

[Clt747]

I understand why the prosecuter wanted to offer the plea bargain, but I'm surprised that he would ask for your permission to do so. He's in charge of the case and it's his decision whether or not to offer (or accept) a plea bargain. Or, at least, that's what I thought. I was just wondering if someone could clarify that for me.

[George911]

I hope some good attorney sees this post and might give me an idea of what I might be able to do to the Sheriff's Department as the statute of limitations runs out the 15th say of March 2008 for anything to be done or if anything can be done.

[George911]

I was just wanting to say I have consulted with 2 Attorney's so far and they both said that the Sheriff's Department had Immunity in cases like this,so it kind of looks like this same thing could happen to another innocent family out there..So I don't know whether to talk to anymore Attorney's about this case or not since 2 told me pretty much the same thing..

Immunity (Legal) conferring a status on a person or body free from otherwise legal obligations such as , for example,liability for damages or punishment for criminal acts.

Do you all think I should talk to anymore Attorney's about this or should I just give up and let this same thing happen to someone else? I know I'm running very short on time now as the statute of limitations runs out on this on March 15th 2008.