tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34853720.post7390768364525520042..comments2023-08-24T10:39:23.460-04:00Comments on CAAFlog: A plot twistDwight Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11657981110237418710noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34853720.post-91770608001744301402007-07-30T19:01:00.000-04:002007-07-30T19:01:00.000-04:00As it happens I was the Assistant Trial Counsel in...As it happens I was the Assistant Trial Counsel in this case, and largely wrote the contested part of the sentencing argument (though I didn't deliver it - that was the talented Circuit Trial Counsel Steve Kelso).<BR/><BR/>As it happens (and I feel it's relevant to the Court's consideration), the references regarding Hitler, Saddam, etc. weren't really directly compared to Sgt Erickson. The argument went, more or less, that when one thinks of evil, one thinks of these open, conspicuous faces of evil, but in fact there is a more dangerous brand of evil, that which (like Erickson) appears benign, nonthreatening, and even kind. You can fill in the blanks.<BR/><BR/>Ultimately, this case involved conduct that was almost unimaginably monstrous, and frankly I think in a judge-alone case it would have taken a more extreme flavor of prosecutor "error" to lead to a remand. This case was an outlier by any standard, hence the fact that it remains the highest sentence ever adjudged in an AF molestation case. Whatever one may think about the way we argued it, justice has been served.Tonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04355657342739948245noreply@blogger.com