Comments on: Day 4: Reporter's updates from Wayne Bent trial

By: NO VERDICT: Wayne Bent jury to resume deliberations Monday « Beyond 90 Seconds

Sun, 22 Mar 2009 07:25:09 +0000

[...] Day 2: Reporter’s updates from Wayne Bent trial Day 3: Reporter’s updates from Wayne Bent trial Day 4: Reporter’s updates from Wayne Bent trial Day 5: Reporter’s updates from Wayne Bent trial Possibly related posts: (automatically [...]

By: Tori

Tori — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 15:39:17 +0000

It seems obvious what Wayne was up to from what they presented, but if they had more of the facts they would have a much clearer picture instead of just a glimpse into what has gone on… the dissolving of the marriages, Wayne taking several of the women for himself… They can rename it whatever they like, call sex a religious experience or an act of consummation instead, call a 12 year old girl a woman, call the grooming and training the leading of the Holy Spirit… but when you have a better picture of the facts, these things get far more obvious for what they are.

I am surprised at how little the prosecution is bringing to light, and how little they are calling Wayne on his BS. I just hope the jury can see it clearly enough. The arguments on both side have been on the weak side. Im beginning to wish I was a prosecuting atty, just for cases like this.

I would love to see Prudence get up there and lay it all out plainly to see. Go Prudence! Wooo Hooo!!! I so hope she gets the chance to. She is speaking for many of us.

By: Sam Redman

Sam Redman — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 13:18:22 +0000

In my previous post, as usual, I had some typos. I usually make no effort to correct the ones which are obviously typing mistakes (like up there where I said “make” and I should have said, “made”… its easy to figure those out). But, in that last post, I also left out the word “not” in a sentence (my point number 3) which would (of course) give it the opposite meaning. So, please re-read my post with this corrected wording:

3. The prosecution failed to rebut defense expert statements that Wayne was not a groomer.

Thanks,

Sam

By: Sam Redman

Sam Redman — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 03:42:47 +0000

Although I haven’t seen a transcript of the trial, I really can see where the prosecution might have missed many opportunities to make their case.

1. The prosecution seemed to make a very weak effort to counter that Healed went to Wayne of her own volition. Healed described in her internet published testimony called “The Vision,” how she was motivated and filled with intense “desire” to lay naked with “Michael” after hearing “Michael” tell in a church meeting about his sexual encounters with two of the other older virgins (Esther and Danielle). Healed also stated how she was influenced to lay naked with “Michael” based on hearing the experiences of two other older women who first had sex with Bent and then described their encounters graphically for the others. My assumption (based on news reports) is that those motivations (influences to her state-of-mind) were not broached by the prosecution.

They did establish that Bent called all virgins together and told them to pray to see if they had been selected as one of his virgins… so maybe that was sufficient to see that Wayne was the cause of the girls coming to him, but it seems that they left a lot unsaid which could have been quite convincing.

2. Statements were not rebutted which had been make by the defense religious expert, regarding how Wayne was careful in not touching inappropriate areas. However, Healed’s own handwritten statement (in the handwritten letter sent to the assistant district attorney) described a positioning of their two naked bodies which would have been totally inappropriate. She described it as both of them skin to skin, nude in his bed with his head “laid” between her breasts and his naked chest “laid” against her naked body below her breasts. The prosecution should have introduced that document as evidence and used two unclothed dolls to show that bizarre body situation positioned on a model of a bed. That would have refuted any such a statement that he acted with propriety.

3. The prosecution failed to rebut defense expert statements that Wayne was a groomer. But, with Wayne on the stand, they could have used any number of his documents to show grooming and preparation of the candidates. His “The Way of a Man with a Maid” article would probably have been the most effective evidence of his method of causing women to come to him as though it was their idea. He would not have denied that document to have been authored by him.

I think the prosecution may have been overly confident that they proved their case. Allowing the elements of doubt, like those introduced by defense “experts,” to stand… is what can cause the guilty to go free (the proof has to be “beyond a reasonable doubt” in order to convict).

Sam