Laura Hall Trial: Sentencing Phase Closing Arguments

The jury's made their decision, but I thought some snippets from the closing arguments might be of some interest.

Prosecutor Stephanie McFarland began by saying that last week, they (the prosecution) had asked the jurors to focus on Laura Hall's actions, and now the focus should be on the community's reaction. She said the State believes the maximum sentence of 10 years in prison is an appropriate sentence. Then she summarizes the judge's sentence-charging instructions, explaining what "community service" (probation) means, etc. I'm paraphrasing here, but McFarland then gives examples of "tampering with evidence" to show just how wide the range can be: from the guy that tries to kick away the last bit of the marijuana cigarette he's smoking when he sees police, to the person commits an armed robbery and drops the gun in the sewer, to mutilating a body.

Defense attorney Joe James Sawyer begins his closing argument by thanking the jurors for their hard work--14 hours of deliberations. He then reminds the jury that "you can't put a clock" on DNA, and for example, we have no way of knowing when Hall's DNA was placed on the sandal. He talks about how much he wishes he'd known about Jason Mack's story before the jury began deliberating in the guilt phase because it may or may not have changed their decision. Sawyer says, "You were denied that testimony." Urging the jury to give Hall probation, Sawyer believes "we must send someone to prison when we must," not someone "whose life can be salvaged." "You literally have someone else's life in your hands."

The prosecution ends with Bill Bishop's closing argument. He says that sentencing is designed for punishment in this case, not rehabilitation, that there is no rehabilitation for what Hall did. "There are no classes to take for rehabilitating that," Bishop continues. "Someone capable of that cannot be free on the streets," he says. Bishop explains that he used to think that burying a child was the worst thing a mother could ever go through but that having to bury a child in a closed casket is worse. Bishop ends by pointing out that, although they're not to consider lack of remorse in making their decision, what they can consider is what Hall said about Jennifer Cave a year after her murder.