SAN JOSE, Calif. — Evidence will show the man on trial in the beating of an aging Jesuit priest was abused by the priest, but that still did not give him the right to take the law into in his own hands, prosecutors in Northern California said Wednesday in their opening statement in the trial of William Lynch.
Lynch, 44, is accused of beating the Rev. Jerold Lindner in 2010 in front of startled witnesses at a retirement home for priests.
Do you think they swap old sex stories?
Lynch has said Lindner abused him and his brother decades ago during a camping trip in Northern California.
‘‘The defendant beat this man up because he was angry and he wanted revenge,’’ she said. ‘‘The defendant planned and executed a violent attack against the man who molested him 30 years ago.’’
But Gemetti said the molestation was not a defense to the charges. She called Lynch’s actions illegal vigilante justice....
In the months since his arrest, Lynch has refused to discuss a plea deal and has grown intent on using his own legal trouble to try Lindner in the court of public opinion in a potentially explosive proceeding that will probably include testimony from Lynch, the priest, and several more of his alleged victims.
The trial will take place in Santa Clara County Superior Court, where several other victims are expected to attend....
The Lynches, who were 7 and 4 at the time, were raped in the woods and forced to have oral sex with each other while Lindner watched, according to a civil lawsuit. Lindner has been accused of abuse by nearly a dozen people, including his own sister and nieces and nephews, but was never criminally charged because the allegations were too old.
Lindner hung up Monday when a reporter called him for comment. He has previously denied abusing the Lynch boys....
Getting Lindner into court — even as a victim — has helped Lynch find the peace of mind he’s been searching for his whole life, he said.
‘‘I don’t want to go to jail, but I’ve come to realize that this whole thing is really bigger than me, and the way that I’ve chosen to handle this is to make a statement,’’ Lynch said. ‘‘I’m prepared to take responsibility for anything I’ve been involved in. I’m willing to do it. I think it’s a small sacrifice to get Father Jerry into court.’’
I've chosen the blog, others have chosen Occupy.
Even if the molestation allegations are valid, the judge’s order allows the defense to ask only general questions about sexual abuse for the purpose of challenging Lindner’s credibility as a witness. Other defense witnesses who allege abuse by the priest cannot be questioned about specific details that could inflame the jury.
It is unlikely that testimony about Lynch’s abuse allegations could tip the case in his favor — but not impossible, said Jody Armour, a professor at the University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law who specializes in criminal law and social justice issues.
Jurors will have to be reminded not to be swayed by their prejudices or by any sympathy they may feel for Lynch.
Or you can choose the legal reasoning of jury nullification and make your own decisions, jurors.
If the dick don't fit, you must acquit!
There have been several other instances of violence, sometimes fatal, against priests accused of abuse since the Roman Catholic clergy abuse scandal unfolded in 2002.
Didn't some Pope once say let God sort 'em out?
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