The Ink’s Nate Rawlings is busy covering the courts today. He just filed this report:
Kings Country Assistant DA Josh Hanshaft started with a word: hate. “Whether because of the color of skin, the religion they practice, where they were born, or who they choose to become romantically involved with, that is hate. This is a hate crime.”
Hanshaft wove hate as a motivator through a 360 degree portrait from the point of view of each witness. He rejected the idea that Jose Sucuzhanay was killed in a street brawl, telling the jury, “This wasn’t a fight. This was an attack.” Hanshaft countered Phoenix’s claim of self defense, telling the jury, “it’s not believable-he needed a reason for what he did.”
After a lunch recess, Judge Patricia Dimango will explain to the jury exactly what they must consider for each of the 10 indictments before she turns the case over to the jury. The Ink will be there–stay tuned.
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