GUILTY CA - Michael Tyree, 31, fatally beaten by jail guards, San Jose, 26 Aug 2015

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SAN JOSE — Eighteen months after the death of mentally ill inmate Michael Tyree unmasked troubling problems in Santa Clara County’s jails, the trial of the three guards accused of thrashing Tyree so badly that nearly half of his blood spurted into his abdomen from his torn liver starts today.

“Power and abuse of power — that’s what this case is about,” prosecutor Matt Braker said in opening statements in Santa Clara County Superior Court. “The three of them thrived on the power and control they had over inmates.”

The guards — Matthew Farris, Rafael Rodriguez and Jereh Lubrin — have pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the Aug. 26, 2015, death of Tyree and to assaulting another mentally ill inmate, Juan Villa, earlier that evening.

http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/03/...eating-inmate-to-death-in-santa-clara-county/
 
This trial is twitter only
 
On Monday, a jury of five women and seven men was chosen after filling out an extensive questionnaire probing their attitudes toward law enforcement and the mentally ill. Judge David A. Cena told the panel that the trial could take about 10 weeks, ending June 1. Court will be dark every Friday and for the entire week of April 10.
 
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 1m1 minute ago
Odbert: no blood in his cell. Scratches/scrapes on body had scabs(cd be old). #inmatedeath
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 3m3 minutes ago
Odbert: The fall caused spleen to rupture & him to bleed out, not a beating. #inmatedeath
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 5m5 minutes ago
Odbert suggests liver laceration occurred during CPR, b/c his heart was lacerated during CPR. #inmatedeath
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 6m6 minutes ago
... "That is the quality of the evidence"" meaning bad quality. #inmate-death
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 7m7 minutes ago
Odbert re Juan Villa: "What u have is a man who can be saved by angels if he jumps off a building. ++++ #inmatedeath
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 10m10 minutes ago
Odbert: "It is a difficult job. Just b/c someone is contacted (touched) on way to cell doesn't mean they r abused." #inmatedeath
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 14m14 minutes ago
One thing the friend said was Lubrin liked using the knob part of his baton. She says he was trained in pain compliance. #inmatedeath
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 16m16 minutes ago
But Odbert discredits friend, blaming investigators for crummy techniques, says he changed story. #inmatedeath
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 17m17 minutes ago
Barker said a friend of Lubrin's (& fellow Marine reservist) said Lubrin said part of his job was beating up inmates. #inmatedeath
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 18m18 minutes ago
Odbert: Jerez had 0 to hide, no texts on recipients' phones. "If it was out there u wd have heard it." #inmatedeath
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 20m20 minutes ago
Odbert: Lubrin's uniform, boots not cleaned. #inmatedeath
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 21m21 minutes ago
Odbert: "You need to listen to the scientists." #inmatedeath
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 22m22 minutes ago
Odbert says Lubrin voluntarily turned over phone. #inmatedeath
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 23m23 minutes ago
One of her experts is renowned, worked on 9/11 "respected everywhere she goes, a person of integrity." #inmatedeath
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 24m24 minutes ago
Odbert calls DA inmate wits "handpicked." She will put on other inmates who saw more, she says. #inmatedeath
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 25m25 minutes ago
One inmate, Juan Carlos Perez, she says, should have been deported for instance, but has been free for nearly 2 years. #inmatedeath
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 26m26 minutes ago
Odbert calls the inmates " professional witnesses" who've testified for prosecution before and now in exchange for breaks. #inmatedeath
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 27m27 minutes ago
Odbert promises to put experts on stand who will say he fell. "Investigators did not do their job." #inmatedeath
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 29m29 minutes ago
Def Jerry Lubrin's Atty Judith Odbert: "The important thing is this case is science....It is not a homicide." #inmatedeath
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 32m32 minutes ago
Rodriguez googled, can someone die if punched in armpit. Autopsy showed bruising in armpit. #inmatedeath
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 37m37 minutes ago
Chilling images of Michael Tyree. His nude body found covered in feces & vomit from internal bleeding. #inmatedeath
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 38m38 minutes ago
Juan Villa was on his bed reading his Bible when Lubrin et al assaulted him for slamming his cell door. #inmatedeath
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 40m40 minutes ago
2) ...to punish inmates, sometimes for the smallest infraction." #inmatedeath
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 41m41 minutes ago
Braker: "the 3 of ten thrived on the power & control they had over inmates." They used "unwarranted & unjust violence " ++ #inmatedeath
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 43m43 minutes ago
#inmatedeath DA Matt Braker: "Power and abuse of power -- that's what this case is about."
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 44m44 minutes ago
#inmatedeath - gave them chance to clean them, remove evidence. Lubrin got tipped off re sheriff's coming & wiped his phone clean.
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 45m45 minutes ago
Some highlights from DA Matt Braker's opening in #inmatedeath: 3 defs allowed to take uniforms, boots, phones home.
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 2h2 hours ago
#inmatedeath Trial about to start w opening statement by prosecutor Matt Braker.
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 2h2 hours ago
#michaeltyree #jailguards #excessiveforce DAY ONE of 3 jail guards' murder trial. Light crowd, courtroom still closed.
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 23h23 hours ago
Trial of 3 jail guards accused of fatally beating inmate Michael Tyree starts tomorrow; 5 women 7 men on jury.
 
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 41s41 seconds ago
Spelling of 2 Def experts: Dr. Judy Melinek, Dr. Elaine Chui. #michaeltyree
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 4m4 minutes ago
Judge David Cena: there's no legal reason to excuse u." #michaeltyree
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 5m5 minutes ago
But juror #11 to remain. She wants off the jury. Def lawyers want her, noting she only Asian-American. #michaeltyree
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 6m6 minutes ago
Court recesses shortly for lunch. #michaeltyree
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 8m8 minutes ago
Rapoport: "It is not part of the job to get injured. It's part of their job to control dangerous & erratic people" #michaeltyree
0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 10m10 minutes ago
Rapoport: trial cd come down to "credibility & believability of criminals." #michaeltyree
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 10m10 minutes ago
Lawyer Bill Rapoport for Matt Farris calls texts "the elephant in the room." Calls em "false bravado"
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 14m14 minutes ago
2)...Some inmates heard #michaeltyree rambling abt killing self, his toilet flushing & a loud thud. Also Tyree undressed self, it appears.
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 17m17 minutes ago
1) Pavone: some indications are #michaeltyree was suicidal, including writing on cell wall, noises after 3 deputies left
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 18m18 minutes ago
Pavone contends #michaeltyree 's spleen wound is "a perfect match to the cell sink's edge." Says he fell or intentionally jumped
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 21m21 minutes ago
Pavone: defs' other expert is emergency doctor & bio-engineer. #michaeltyree
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 22m22 minutes ago
Pavone: one of our medical experts went to Harvard, UCLA, is board certified. O'Hara from Med exam office is not. #michaeltyree
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 25m25 minutes ago
Pavone: all of DA's evid except for Villa will be what they HEARD," not what they saw. #michaeltyree
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 26m26 minutes ago
Pavone: you need to focus on each & every moments b/c it's critical to yr analysis. Where people standing etc #michaeltyree #inmatedeath
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 29m29 minutes ago
Scratch that, look for #michaeltyree #michaeltyree
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 30m30 minutes ago
For tweets on guards' murder trial, look for #inmatedeath & #Tyree
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 32m32 minutes ago
Pavone faults Med exam office for spending only 55 min at scene of death, also for being at press conference w sheriff. #inmatedeath
tracey kaplan‏Verified account @tkaplanreport 35m35 minutes ago
Lawyer Matt Pavone for Rafael Rodriguez: "The evidence will show a jump to conclusions" by DA, investigators, medical examiner. #inmatedeath
 
Michael Tyree jury: San Jose jail guards guilty of murdering mentally ill inmate

Three Santa Clara County jail guards were found guilty Thursday of second-degree murder in the fatal beating of a mentally ill inmate nearly two years ago, winding up a closely watched case that continues to spark calls for reform.

The jury deadlocked on charges the guards assaulted another mentally ill inmate earlier that evening. They also could not reach consensus on whether one of the guards had assaulted the same inmate a month earlier.

The guards — Jereh Lubrin, 30, and Matthew Farris and Rafael Rodriguez, 28 — stood emotionless as the verdicts were read in Santa Clara County Superior Court. They will be sentenced to 15 years to life in prison on the second-degree murder convictions. They had been free on $1.5 million bail each and on paid leave but were handcuffed and taken into custody after the verdicts as relatives wept. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 1
 
Guards who beat Santa Clara County prisoner to death get long prison terms

Three former Santa Clara County correctional deputies convicted in the 2015 fatal jail-cell beating of a mentally ill inmate each was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison by a judge Friday.

In June, a jury found Jereh Lubrin, 30, Matthew Farris, 28, and Rafael Rodriguez, 28, guilty of killing 31-year-old Michael Tyree, who was found dead in his cell, covered in vomit and feces.

“We asked the court to give the maximum sentence because when these so-called guards broke Michael Tyree’s body that night two years ago, they also broke the public’s trust,” Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said.

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/general-news/20180105/jail-guards-sentenced-to-15-years-to-life-for-beating-inmate-to-death

The stiff sentence in a case involving excessive force by law enforcement officers was relatively unusual. But the judge had little choice once he ruled that the other two sentences at his disposal — up to a year in county jail or no jail at all — were “inappropriate.” He was then compelled under state law to sentence them to the mandatory term for second-degree murder: 15 years to life in prison.

Cena did so in an even-handed manner, noting that letters from Tyree’s friends and family, including one read aloud by the prosecutor, “made it clear he (Tyree) was loved and will be missed.” But the judge also expressed compassion for the former guards’ relatives and friends, who had tried to persuade him in the letters that the men were of good character.

One of Tyree’s two sisters, Shannon Tyree, had planned to fly in from New York City, but her flight was canceled because of frigid weather conditions on the East Coast. In a three-page letter read aloud by prosecutor Matt Braker, she said Michael was tormented by his disease, especially after their father died, and refused to accept his inheritance and her many offers of assistance.
 

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