Month: June 2013

On Friday afternoon, following nearly three full days of deliberation on the two-and-a-half week, co-defendant murder trial, the jury delivered a split verdict – delivering a guilty verdict for Billy Wolfington of second degree murder  without the gang enhancement but acquitting co-defendant Shannon Silva.

The verdict can only been seen as a blow to the prosecution, who initially contemplated the death penalty, before seeking first degree murder charges on both defendants stemming from the September 2, 2011, stabbing death of 29-year-old Bobby Brittenum.

In the wake of last week’s landmark decision by the Supreme Court on DNA databases that could allow police to take DNA samples from people arrested for possibly committing “serious” crimes, many justified the ruling as a way to protect the innocent and catch the guilty.

However, Justice Antonin Scalia and three of the court’s liberal justices disagreed.  In a scathing dissent, Justice Scalia argued “solving crime is a noble objective but less important than protecting people from suspicionless searches.  Your DNA can be taken if you are ever arrested, rightly or wrongly, for whatever reason.”

By David M. Greenwald and Antoinnette Borbon

Deputy District Attorney Ryan Couzens summarized his case against Billy Wolfington and Shannon Silva, arguing that victim Bobby Brittenum said something that was arguably threatening, but more simply offensive, and Billy Wolfington stabbed him to death.  He argued that the motive was a perceived lack of respect on the part of Mr. Brittenum.

In DDA Ryan Couzens’ closing, he talked more about all of the laws and instructions of those laws than of the actual stabbing itself. But he wanted to make sure the jurors truly understood how they are to view the law and make the decision of guilty or not guilty.

by Antoinnette Borbon

After finishing up testimony with gang expert Mark Harrison, the defense called defendant Billy Wolfington to the stand. Wolfington, along with co-defendant Shannon Silva, have been charged with the stabbing death of Bobby Brittenum, who was found at the Flamingo Motel in West Sacramento on the night of September 2, 2011.

Mr. Wolfington started out by telling a story which began from the time he was in his mother’s womb. He told the jurors that his mother did not want him but ended up having him only to give him up to another couple. I missed who they were. He stated the couple took him home to their home in the Broderick area. Mr. Wolfington stated both parents were heroin addicts, so he had been exposed to drugs his whole young life. At the age of 3, Mr. Wolfington first witnessed his father, who was not his biological father, get arrested for possession. Mr. Wolfington, choking up during testimony, talked about how it affected him.

It was a remarkable op-ed column in the Sunday New York Times where Richard Viguerie, chair of ConservativeHQ.com, made the conservative case for prison reform arguing: “Conservatives should recognize that the entire criminal justice system is another government spending program fraught with the issues that plague all government programs.”

He continues: “Criminal justice should be subject to the same level of skepticism and scrutiny that we apply to any other government program.”

by Antoinnette Borbon

After finishing the testimony in the state’s case in the murder trial of Billy Wolfington and Shannon Silva, who are being charged with stabbing to death a West Sacramento man, the defense began its opening statement.

Ron Johnson, Deputy Public Defender for Billy Wolfington, told a story of a man who had been addicted to meth but was trying to quit. He told jurors Wolfington had one last slip up with drugs. He gave into his addiction after being clean since he was out of prison in May of 2011. Johnson explained that Wolfington set out to find drugs.