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Subway Sodomy Trial in Closing Arguments
By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 17, 2010
Modified Feb 17, 2010
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By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 17, 2010
Modified Feb 17, 2010
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After two days of closing arguments from defense lawyer Richard Murray (during which the judge asked him to stop rambling), prosecutors are closing out the trial of three officers accused of participating in the sodomy of a man during his arrest in 2008. Prosecutor Charles Guria insisted this afternoon that Michael Mineo is the victim here, and derided the defense's claim that he self-inflicted his anal injuries in order to sue the city. "Before there were lawsuits, Michael Mineo was showing blood on his hands," Guria reminded jurors today, City Room reports.
Yesterday lawyer John Patten, who represents Officer Richard Kern, the cop accused of sodomizing Mineo with his retractable police baton, thundered, "It's a big con. These folks climb into bed with him—they adopt that blatant lie. They embrace it and it's a lie." And defense lawyer Stuart London warned the jury not to trust Mineo because of his arrest record and marijuana use: "He has no regard for society at all. An animal that changes its appearance, changes its color and likes to get high. That's really the best metaphor of all for Michael Mineo." After the prosecution rests, the trial will be in the jury's hands. Someday, this subway sodomy trial's gonna end, but how soon is anyone's guess.
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michael mineo
subway sodomy
trial
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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