MA - Professor Karen Read, 43, charged with murdering police officer boyfriend John O'Keefe by hitting him with car, Canton, 14 Apr 2023 #35 Retrial

What exactly does this mean?
It means the CW is no longer asking the judge to tell the jury that certain actions by Karen Read (like fleeing, lying, hiding evidence, etc.) could be interpreted as signs she knew she was guilty. Consciousness of guilt instruction is usually used to frame behavior (like deleting texts, calling a lawyer, acting frantic) as suspicious or incriminating. By pulling back that request, the CW is basically conceding that they can’t confidently argue she acted like someone who knew she committed a crime. They basically just admitted they don’t have a strong case for claiming her behavior after John’s death proves she knew she was guilty.

All MOO

ETA: Karen didn’t do things like fleeing, deleting texts, etc. Those are just examples of things that could be used as consciousness of guilt in a theoretical case.
 
What exactly does this mean?

(a) Criminal cases

In a criminal case, the Commonwealth may offer evidence of a defendant’s conduct that occurred subsequent to the commission of the crime if

  • (1) the evidence reflects a state of consciousness of guilt;
  • (2) the evidence supports the inference that the defendant committed the act charged;
  • (3) the evidence is, with other evidence, together with reasonable inferences, sufficient to prove guilt; and
  • (4) the inflammatory nature of the conduct does not substantially outweigh its probative value.
Evidence of consciousness of guilt alone is not sufficient to support a verdict or finding of guilt. The judge should instruct the jury accordingly.

**** I believe it had something to do with her statements in interviews, or that is what the CW said.

 

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
176
Guests online
529
Total visitors
705

Forum statistics

Threads
625,479
Messages
18,504,648
Members
240,802
Latest member
10 :)
Back
Top