GUILTY CT - Barry James, 59, stabbed to death, Fairfield, 28 Aug 2006

[OneLostGrl]

Breaking News! Edington was found guilty of manslaughter and senteced to TWELVE years in prison YES!--He had been free on bond but today was led away in handcuffs--His wife collapsed and was then served with a wrongful death suit for starting this whole thing--Judge originally sentenced him to 20 years in prison but suspended eight of those---have fun in prison Edington

And the guy caught with cocaine got life in prison..:waitasec:

 

[angelmom]

And the guy caught with cocaine got life in prison..:waitasec:

Okay, but this guy had been misled into thinking his baby daughter had been repeatedly molested...I don't think he's a high risk for doing it again. His life is pretty much over. I don't feel sorry for him, but I don't think it compares to someone who just kills for fun and profit.

The cocaine guy REPEATEDLY sold drugs to people, possibly including children. He was given life b/c of his MULTIPLE previous drug convictions. How would you feel if he had sold your child drugs and they overdosed? Both men are killers, but this guy won't stop even though he keeps getting caught.

 

[Amraann]

Okay, but this guy had been misled into thinking his baby daughter had been repeatedly molested...I don't think he's a high risk for doing it again. His life is pretty much over. I don't feel sorry for him, but I don't think it compares to someone who just kills for fun and profit.

The cocaine guy REPEATEDLY sold drugs to people, possibly including children. He was given life b/c of his MULTIPLE previous drug convictions. How would you feel if he had sold your child drugs and they overdosed? Both men are killers, but this guy won't stop even though he keeps getting caught.

Excellent post Angelmom!!!

 

[southcitymom]

Okay, but this guy had been misled into thinking his baby daughter had been repeatedly molested...I don't think he's a high risk for doing it again. His life is pretty much over. I don't feel sorry for him, but I don't think it compares to someone who just kills for fun and profit.

The cocaine guy REPEATEDLY sold drugs to people, possibly including children. He was given life b/c of his MULTIPLE previous drug convictions. How would you feel if he had sold your child drugs and they overdosed? Both men are killers, but this guy won't stop even though he keeps getting caught.

I'm going to disagree with you on some of this opinion, angelmom (rare!) - Edington had a history of violent behavior, not murderous violent behavior, mind you, but agressive behavior that had gotten him arrested before.

Additionally, in the case of Edington, I feel like his reaction was SO extreme (even given the facts of what his wife told him), that he could indeed be a danger to others when he gets out if he doesn't do some hardcore "work" on his issues.

All in all, Edington doesn't strike me as a basically normal person who was pushed over the edge. He strikes me as a sleeping dragon - I sense a rage inside that could be triggered again. That's just my opinion, of course.

As for Edington's sentence being 12 years and a repeat drug dealer's being life, I can't really compare those things. In my mind, it's apples to oranges.

I will say as much as I agree that drug abuse is a plague on humanity and seems to be at play in almost every violent crime we read about, I do not like the 3 strikes law for dealers. But that's mainly because I don't think it helps the drug problem a bit. You can bet your life that some other drug dealer has stepped into this guy's place to sell to our kids.

Our "Drug War" is failing on every level, this one included. That's just part of my bigger beef with life sentences like this. I would prefer that life sentences be reserved for worse offenses. There is not enough room in jail to put all the dealers and there will always be another person to fill the slot left behind on the streets.

 

[angelmom]

(((SCM))) You always make me think.

IKWYM about Edington's previous agressive behavior. But IIRC, it was things like knocking down a planned parenthood sign, getting irate about the neighbor leaving his blinds open, etc. Not actually harming anyone. I think the wife knew about his temper.

And I'm not saying he shouldn't go to jail for the whole 12 years. Just that I don't think he's likely to get out and start looking for the next person to kill, while the drug dealer will probably be getting his next fix while he's still in jail. AND won't hesitate to deal again if he ever did get out. I think the drug dealer has been given multiple chances and doesn't seem interested in changing his ways. He knows the 3 strikes law, and obviously doesn't give a crap who gets his poison.

I think the lawyer will be much more careful whom he trusts in the future, and will probably never have any other children. He may never have much of a relationship with his daughter, who will be a teenager (and such a joyous age that is ) when he gets out. Maybe I'm wrong and this will turn him into a raging psychopath. But I think they're completely different things. You are right...you can't compare the two.

 

[southcitymom]

(((SCM))) You always make me think.

IKWYM about Edington's previous agressive behavior. But IIRC, it was things like knocking down a planned parenthood sign, getting irate about the neighbor leaving his blinds open, etc. Not actually harming anyone. I think the wife knew about his temper.

And I'm not saying he shouldn't go to jail for the whole 12 years. Just that I don't think he's likely to get out and start looking for the next person to kill, while the drug dealer will probably be getting his next fix while he's still in jail. AND won't hesitate to deal again if he ever did get out. I think the drug dealer has been given multiple chances and doesn't seem interested in changing his ways. He knows the 3 strikes law, and obviously doesn't give a crap who gets his poison.

I think the lawyer will be much more careful whom he trusts in the future, and will probably never have any other children. He may never have much of a relationship with his daughter, who will be a teenager (and such a joyous age that is ) when he gets out. Maybe I'm wrong and this will turn him into a raging psychopath. But I think they're completely different things. You are right...you can't compare the two.

:blowkiss: to you always, angelmom.

Yes, it is hard to say about Edington - for some reason, he is a guy that scares me and I don't really know what will happen with him.

That said, I'm not about to doubt the Judge's sentence for him. For the most part (though not always, of course, because I'm way too opinionated ), I try not to second guess Court decisions regarding sentencing. I assume this Judge has a lot more information regarding Edington than I do and I am comfortable with the 12 years.

My uneasiness with the lifetime sentence for the chronic drug dealer has nothing to do with Edington at all!

 

[T-Rex]

Well, this freak's back in the news. I don't know why I'm so harsh on him--if he really believed his daughter was molested, he deserves a little compassion...but, no, I think he is a delusional freak.
Anyway, doesn't sound like the Post believes him either--they call his letter to them a "rant." Also say that his wife refused to cooperate in the investigation.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/10292007/news/regionalnews/another_stab.htm
Seems like she should have a little more scrutiny herself--something never rang true with her story.

 

[MagicRose99]

Well, this freak's back in the news. I don't know why I'm so harsh on him--if he really believed his daughter was molested, he deserves a little compassion...but, no, I think he is a delusional freak.
Anyway, doesn't sound like the Post believes him either--they call his letter to them a "rant." Also say that his wife refused to cooperate in the investigation.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/10292007/news/regionalnews/another_stab.htm
Seems like she should have a little more scrutiny herself--something never rang true with her story.

You're right T... I don't feel sorry for him either. He took justice in his own hands without even having proof before him...

 

[southcitymom]

Thanks for posting that. I was never a fan of Edenfield's vigilante murder, but I did not find his letter to be rambling. It was well-written and made sense. I believe he believes it to be the truth.

Wouldn't it be easier to tell yourself that you stabbed a man to death in front of his parents because he harmed your daughter than to face another reality of that event?

I believe with all my heart that had the man he murdered been a habitual child molester, people would have come forward when this incident happened and said "hey - that guy did this to me" or "hey - we always suspected that guy of this." No one ever validated any of the Edenfield's claims and, in fact, so much of the evidence was against his and his wife's version of events.

Edenfield's wife's refusal to assist in the investigation is also tell-tale. I think there's a very strange dynamic between her and her now incarcerated husband.

 

[concernedperson]

I wonder if his wife set him up?

 

[southcitymom]

I wonder if his wife set him up?

I've had that same thought.

 

[believe09]

I wonder if his wife set him up?

I have been lurking on this one, and I concur-I believed this from day 1.

 

[CaliKid]

From what I've read about the case, I wouldn't be at all surprised.

 

[T-Rex]

I found a link with a picture of him and his wife together.
http://www.nbc30.com/news/14019983/detail.html
Other articles allude to her being a little...unstable. They mention post-partum depression, and a letter Edington wrote to the judge where he says his wife refused to work because she 'thought' she had MS, although doctors couldn't confirm it.

 

[angelmom]

I wonder if his wife set him up?

I have always thought this was a possibility. Of course, he is still responsible for his actions, but if he had been abused as a child or knew someone who had suffered that horror, he may have told her that he would kill anyone who ever touched his child.

That's just the scenario that plays out in my mind - no proof whatsoever. But something about the wife has bothered me since day 1.

 

[OkieGranny]

From October 2010:

http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Lawyer-tells-tearful-story-on-why-he-killed-741398.php

Three years ago, Rita and Charles James, of Fairfield, were cheated out of seeing their son's name cleared by a jury when Jonathon Edington accepted a plea deal and was sentenced to 12 years in prison for fatally stabbing Barry James. But on Friday they got their chance again when a civil court jury began deliberating the case against the former patent lawyer...

Edington contends he jumped through the victim's window with a 7-inch knife in his hand just to ask James what had happened. "I wanted him to tell me what was going on. I was hoping he could tell me something that could stop these awful thoughts," he told the jury.

"Did it occur to you to walk up to their front door and ring the doorbell?" the James' lawyer, Richard Meehan Jr., later asked him.

http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Jury-awards-dead-man-s-family-315-000-in-civil-786370.php

Barry James finally has vindication.

Four years after the Fairfield man was stabbed to death in his home by a crazed patent lawyer, a Superior Court jury found the lawyer, Jonathon Edington, civilly responsible for his crime and ordered him to pay the James' family $315,000.