LA - ***ARREST*** Mickey Shunick, 21, Lafayette, 19 May 2012 #38

[CajunSarah]

JMO I believe LE have found something much more damning than items of clothing, and this is why they were so quick to charge him with 1st degree murder, and also why the Grand Jury took only a couple of hours to give a True Bill. :twocents:

Pictures? Video?

 

[Foxfire]

This is kinda OT, but not really. Assuming that the case against BSL, especially for Mickey's murder, is largely dependent on technology, i.e., cell phone pings, gps locators, etc, I have real concerns, primarily because I have followed at least a couple of cases where such technology seemingly went over the heads of the jurors. It seems to be something that not every person can grasp, and to be honest with you, hearing an expert explain how cell phone pings work is not the most exciting of topics of conversation to the average, non tech-savvy person. I am a firm believer in the technologies abilities, but it still scares the bejeezus out of me when I see it being brought into cases as key components. For that reason, if no other, I hope they have some very solid evidence that john doe can see and understand clearly. JMO

Respectfully disagree & honor your opinion, SteveP. Jurors today expect forensics/dna evidence before handing down a conviction due to the CSI effect.. Jurors of today are very forensically aware and do not rely on circumstantial evidence as they did in the past..

DNA/forensics, not only convicts the guilty, but also frees the innocent after years or decades in prison due to wrongful convictions by over zealous prosecutors and flimsy circumstantial evidence...

'CSI effect' has juries wanting more evidence

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-08-05-csi-effect_x.htm

 

[gngr~snap]

Doubtful Aussie_girl88, because he was arrested while stationed at Ft. Polk, LA which is basic training & advanced training. He would have not been assigned to a permanent duty station.

This is when many/most military personnel go AWOL..Trust me, it is Hell.. Especially in the Louisiana heat & swamps, and with an overbearing drill sergeant singing cadence on a 10 mile march after getting black plague injections with air guns;

'Ain't no use in going home, Jody's got your girl & gone... sound off, one, two, three, four...three, four'..

'Spoken by a newlywed that won the vietnam draft lottery & was stationed at Ft. Polk'...

Jody's bad...
Ft Polk sucks in AUGUST!!!

I want to know how BSL passed the psych eval!!!!! :waitasec:
Were they not doing them then like the do now?
Maybe he IS more cunning than we think?

 

[Backwoods]

This little snippet from the transcript mamacat posted a page or two back (the chief being interviewed, I think -- lots of questions about the search of BSL's house) really haunts and disturbs me:

Q: Any clues on where the body may be?
A: (pauses) No.

It's that pause. It makes me worry that they know or suspect something about the body that he doesn't want to say.

 

[northxnorthwest]

I wonder if BSL ends up pleading guilty if he will still refuse to give up where Mickey is.

 

[Foxfire]

Jody's bad...
Ft Polk sucks in AUGUST!!!

I want to know how BSL passed the psych eval!!!!! :waitasec:
Were they not doing them then like the do now?
Maybe he IS more cunning than we think?

RE: Ft Polk sucks in AUGUST!!!

gngr~snap, no psysic posts are allowed on this thread..'I was drafted 08/29/1969...August...

& hey I squeezed past the psych evaluation.. 'That oughta say something' LOL

 

[SteveP]

Respectfully disagree & honor your opinion, SteveP. Jurors today expect forensics/dna evidence before handing down a conviction due to the CSI effect.. Jurors of today are very forensically aware and do not rely on circumstantial evidence as they did in the past..

DNA/forensics, not only convicts the guilty, but also frees the innocent after years or decades in prison due to wrongful convictions by over zealous prosecutors and flimsy circumstantial evidence...

'CSI effect' has juries wanting more evidence

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-08-05-csi-effect_x.htm

Oh, I quite agree with what you are saying in basis. I just know that usually when you have such technolgical evidence, you are always going to have "expert" witnesses on the opposite side who can often place enough doubt in at least one or two jurors, that you end up with a hung jury...remember the reference to "junk science" in the casey anthony trial? All you need is one juror who doesnt understand and you have a potentially hung jury. Another problem is that after watching CSI, sometimes jurors expect teh technology to deliver FAR MORE than what it does, and when it doesnt, they dismiss it. JMO

 

[bessie]

Respectfully disagree & honor your opinion, SteveP. Jurors today expect forensics/dna evidence before handing down a conviction due to the CSI effect.. Jurors of today are very forensically aware and do not rely on circumstantial evidence as they did in the past..

DNA/forensics, not only convicts the guilty, but also frees the innocent after years or decades in prison due to wrongful convictions by over zealous prosecutors and flimsy circumstantial evidence...

'CSI effect' has juries wanting more evidence

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-08-05-csi-effect_x.htm

I agree with you, but I also remember when DNA evidence was new, and jurors just didn't get it. We all remember the OJ trial. It was a high profile example of jurors befuddled by what seemed like mumbo jumbo at the time. The same happened in other trials, too. So, I have to agree with SteveP that to many jurors today, techno forensics is as confusing as DNA was to juries 15-18 years ago. JMO

 

[cluciano63]

I wonder if BSL ends up pleading guilty if he will still refuse to give up where Mickey is.

The only way he will plead guilty is if he makes a deal and has to tell where Mickey is. He won't say a word otherwise.

 

[Excalibur Jay]

I thought bsl never served time in another country whilst in the army? Pretty sure I read that when he was first arrested. Maybe we can ask someguy when he returns he will know.

aussie girl,
I also recall it being said that his military service was all in USA but unsure where read.

My thoughts are that he was not in the military for long cause he would have been discharged very quickly after the 1999 rape. JMOO

Prayers for Mickey :angel: to come home soon.

 

[bessie]

Oh, I quite agree with what you are saying in basis. I just know that usually when you have such technolgical evidence, you are always going to have "expert" witnesses on the opposite side who can often place enough doubt in at least one or two jurors, that you end up with a hung jury...remember the reference to "junk science" in the casey anthony trial? All you need is one juror who doesnt understand and you have a potentially hung jury. Another problem is that after watching CSI, sometimes jurors expect teh technology to deliver FAR MORE than what it does, and when it doesnt, they dismiss it. JMO

That's a good point. You can see it in the attitude of posters on this board all of the time. I spend time researching electronic technology in an attempt to understand how it works, and I have a pretty solid layman's grasp on most of it. I also keep up with the legal aspects, and it's the source of much of the confusion, imo. The laws are evolving as rapidly as the technology, and legal limitations vary widely across jurisdictions as a result. Not to mention, different providers have different policies about releasing information. So, while in one case, technological evidence is strong, in another the same technology fails to deliver. Not because the technology itself is lacking, but because the digital evidence is harder to obtain. It's frustrating, and many people, as you say, "dismiss it" altogether. IMO

 

[Donamena]

Oh, I quite agree with what you are saying in basis. I just know that usually when you have such technolgical evidence, you are always going to have "expert" witnesses on the opposite side who can often place enough doubt in at least one or two jurors, that you end up with a hung jury...remember the reference to "junk science" in the casey anthony trial? All you need is one juror who doesnt understand and you have a potentially hung jury. Another problem is that after watching CSI, sometimes jurors expect teh technology to deliver FAR MORE than what it does, and when it doesnt, they dismiss it. JMO

They watch too much tv & don't read enough

 

[Backwoods]

I agree with you, but I also remember when DNA evidence was new, and jurors just didn't get it. We all remember the OJ trial. It was a high profile example of jurors befuddled by what seemed like mumbo jumbo at the time. The same happened in other trials, too. So, I have to agree with SteveP that to many jurors today, techno forensics is as confusing as DNA was to juries 15-18 years ago. JMO

And, IMO, the science of DNA can still be pretty dang confusing -- it's just that jurors (the public) have learned to "trust" it, I think.

 

[cluciano63]

As pings and things are getting more attention in the media, in crime cases, etc...hopefully courts will be able to find livlier experts to present the data, people who are not too dry and technical and maybe even have a little personality, lol, to be able to connect with juries. In the past, and still much of the time, expert testimony seems to be the least interesting to some jurors, the most difficult to understand, and therefore, often dismissed.

But overall, I do think a lot more people every day hear enough in their everyday lives to know that phones and GPS devices can track a person's whereabouts, even if they don't totally understand all of the lingo and details.

 

[OtherEyes]

Have a virtual vacation in Tahiti :Banane23::Banane23::Banane23:


http://youtu.be/zCehu2sB1yQ

Awwwww...Thanks Mamacat! That was just what I needed!:tyou:

I brought you something back...Virtual Tahitian Pearls! You deserve them!

 

[Donamena]

GS - That's about how I see it, too.

I love the Dylan Tomas quote you use. When it was revealed that BSL had all of those cuts, etc. I immediately thought of Thomas & that quote.
I don't think she went gentle into that night, I think she went game, as much as she could stand in the dust, to be her own vindicator. Jmo

 

[Backwoods]

As pings and things are getting more attention in the media, in crime cases, etc...hopefully courts will be able to find livlier experts to present the data, people who are not too dry and technical and maybe even have a little personality, lol, to be able to connect with juries. In the past, and still much of the time, expert testimony seems to be the least interesting to some jurors, the most difficult to understand, and therefore, often dismissed.

But overall, I do think a lot more people every day hear enough in their everyday lives to know that phones and GPS devices can track a person's whereabouts, even if they don't totally understand all of the lingo and details.

bbm: Well, I've said it before on Websleuths but not in Mickey's threads: After WS, I know that if I ever turn to a life of crime, I am NOT bringing my cell phone along.

 

[Foxfire]

I agree with you, but I also remember when DNA evidence was new, and jurors just didn't get it. We all remember the OJ trial. It was a high profile example of jurors befuddled by what seemed like mumbo jumbo at the time. The same happened in other trials, too. So, I have to agree with SteveP that to many jurors today, techno forensics is as confusing as DNA was to juries 15-18 years ago. JMO

'Bessie, against my better judgement, because I feel like I am playing golf with my boss. Since you are a moderator with 8,527 posts, it would behoove me to agree with your opinion'..

However, since I am so opinionated and SteveP brought up the Casey Anthony jury as an example..

I must remind both of you that this isn't the 6 months long; 1995 Orenthal James Simpson(OJ) Trial era. Nor will Superior Court Judge Lance Allan Ito, be presiding over the BS Lavergne's Death Penalty Trial in LA..

Bureaucratic Prosecutors Marsha Clark & Christopher Darden have both been put out to greener pastures. thank goodness.. could I get a side bar?

And the cluless jury that Johnny Cochran(rest his soul) & the dream team convinced that the, size small glove didn't fit, has all since been fired or quit...

We are now living in the 2nd decade of the 21st century; the CSI, NCIS, well educated juror, forensically aware, communications/social media era..

No longer do we need long winded Forensic scientists/experts to explain DNA/forensics, nor 6 month long trials to convict a psychopathic sadistical sexual predator/serial killer; Brandon Scott Lavergne for the 1st degree murders of Mickey Schunick and Lisa Pate..

I am confident that Justice will be served..

jmho

 

[tezi]

They watch too much tv & don't read enough

That's a very true statement...And they expect everything to be simple and solved in an hour...

 

[gngr~snap]

bbm: Well, I've said it before on Websleuths but not in Mickey's threads: After WS, I know that if I ever turn to a life of crime, I am NOT bringing my cell phone along.

Just throw it on a bus and let it roam!
J/k but really, FIRST it has to be PROVEN the cell and the suspect
traveled together!

Is it just me? If my cell pings at home it does NOT mean I didn't leave...

I am not attached to it... (I guess most people are...)