Here’s a link to my full story today on suspected serial killer Joseph Duncan’s guilty plea to the 10 federal charges against him, and what’s next. Instead of facing a federal trial on the 10 felony counts on Jan. 28, that date now will mark the start of a penalty proceeding, in which a federal jury will be impaneled and hold hearings on whether or not Duncan should get the death penalty. Three of the federal crimes to which he admitted carry a possible death sentence. In some ways, that proceeding will be like a trial – just shorter, likely taking weeks rather than months. There’ll be witnesses, exhibits and so forth. Duncan’s lone surviving victim, young Shasta Groene, may have to testify against him/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. Full post here.
Question: Can one of you attorney blurkers explain to this Huckleberry Hound why Duncan wasn’t allowed to admit his guilt from the start, as he said he wanted to do?
D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.
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