TRANSCRIPT:
Continuing coverage now on the big breaking news story of the day, the jury found abortion doctor, Kermit Gosnell, on three of four charges of first degree murder. He killed babies in late term abortions. We are covering the story from all angles throughout the afternoon. Joining us right now on legal analysis on the Kermit Gosnell trial is defense attorney Enrique Latoison. Enrique, answer this, we have been hearing all day, the court has been reminding us that there’s a gag order in effect and, yet, we have heard from the prosecutor and it seems almost daily we get a gabble update from Jack McMahon the defense attorney, what gives?
Well, I would say the gag order in this case doesn’t really, I would think, apply to generalizations. You hear them talking about today in a general, Mr. McMahon was talking about recognizing the jury, the long deliberation, the time they took, also talking about the disappointment in his client but you never did hear anyone speak about exact testimony or exact evidence or different facts about the case that could be construed to be a violation of the gag order or to try to sway the jury in their decision.
Now, we did not hear from Gosnell, of course, because the defense attorney McMahon did not place him on the witness stand. Can we expect to hear from him during the penalty phase?
I would expect that you would hear from him. I would expect that jury in hearing the mitigating circumstances in the case would want to take that into account. I would assume that you would hear from him. That’s a different phase than the actual trial phase, where he had a right to remain silent and had a right not to testify.
Enrique, what do you make of Gosnell’s demeanor? He showed no emotion. Darlene Jones said she observed the jurors were looking at him. What kind of impact does this have on the penalty phase?
Well, it’s very evident that this jury is a jury that takes their time and deliberates. They were out over eight days on this case. I would be very surprised if the exact moment that the verdict was read that he showed no emotion, that they would somehow let that override what’s going to be expected of them during the penalty phase. I would expect that this jury will listen to the evidence that’s going to be asked of them and I would think they would make a long careful decision and not just take into account that his initial reaction might have been of shock or didn’t have any emotional reaction. We all don’t know how we would react in a situation like that.
That is Enrique Latoison, defense attorney locally. We appreciate your time and your expertise, counselor.
Thank you.
Contact Enrique Latoison
(610) 999-1439