CrimLaw

Malvo:

A Husband Cries

(1) On Friday the prosecution called some effective witnesses in an attempt to emotionally bias the jury:

Lee Malvo's trial had been mostly devoid of emotional moments, but it turned gut-wrenching last week when the sentencing phase began. Jurors wept during testimony by relatives of some of the victims.

Vijay Walekar, who lost his brother, Premkumar Walekar, said his sister-in-law still cries every time he calls her.

"I have to keep reminding myself that my brother is no longer with us," Mr. Walekar said quietly.

Ms. Franklin's daughter, Katrina Hannum, said she "lost my whole family the day I lost my mother."

Myrtha Cinada, whose father, Pascal Charlot, was killed, avoided looking at Mr. Malvo until the end of her testimony.

Then, she turned toward him and told him: "You are evil. You're insane because you took my father's life. Because of you, he didn't have a chance to see his great-grandchild. That's insane of you to do. You're evil."

(2) The Defense called a couple witnesses for some minor rebuttal:

The vice principal of . . . York Castle High School in Jamaica, dissolved in tears on the stand as she described [Malvo's] nomadic childhood.

"We are all hurting so much for Lee ... because here was a brilliant mind. We were certain that Lee would have achieved excellence," said Esmie McLeod, who added that Malvo was moved several times by his family.

. . .

Jamaican pastor Lorenzo King, who baptized Malvo into the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1999 at the age 14, testified that Malvo "appeared to be lonely. And he seemed to be searching for belonging. You could sense that in him."

"I have no doubt about the quality of his commitment. He was fully committed to the beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist Church," King said. "On the evening he was baptized he walked approximately two miles bringing his clothes with him."

(3) Today Malvo's real father is going to come to the stand and beg for his son's life.

(4) An op-ed piece calling for Malvo's life to be spared.