08-03-2012, 08:07 AM
Well the SOB is appealing
CBC - Michael Rafferty is appealing his first-degree murder conviction in the killing of Victoria (Tori) Stafford, the eight-year-old girl who disappeared near her home in Woodstock, Ont., more than three years ago.
Rafferty received a life sentence after he was found guilty of first-degree murder, sexual assault causing bodily harm and kidnapping following his 2½ month trial in a London courthouse earlier this year.
In the document, filed with the Court of Appeal of Ontario on July 26, Rafferty says "the jury failed to apprehend the evidentiary requirement to convict for first-degree murder." He also says Justice Thomas Heeney failed to properly instruct the jury. - The judge took a lot of time and care over his charge, I don't think that will fly. I also believe the jury fully understood what constitutes first degree murder here. Hell Even the stupid idiot himself said after the victim impact statements that he was a big part of why Tori wasn't here today!
Rafferty also writes that he missed the 30-day deadline to appeal because he had difficulty accessing a telephone to contact legal counsel.
Rafferty says he would prefer a trial by jury, if a second trial is ordered.
The application appears to have been filed from Kingston Penitentiary. - Haha bet he's having fun with Bernado and Williams in that shithole.
Rafferty was found guilty on May 11 after more than a day of deliberations but Justice Heeney was criticized for excluding certain character evidence collected by the police, including that Rafferty had used his computer to search for child pornography.
That information was deemed inadmissible because police failed to get proper search warrants when accessing data on Rafferty’ laptop.
CBC - Michael Rafferty is appealing his first-degree murder conviction in the killing of Victoria (Tori) Stafford, the eight-year-old girl who disappeared near her home in Woodstock, Ont., more than three years ago.
Rafferty received a life sentence after he was found guilty of first-degree murder, sexual assault causing bodily harm and kidnapping following his 2½ month trial in a London courthouse earlier this year.
In the document, filed with the Court of Appeal of Ontario on July 26, Rafferty says "the jury failed to apprehend the evidentiary requirement to convict for first-degree murder." He also says Justice Thomas Heeney failed to properly instruct the jury. - The judge took a lot of time and care over his charge, I don't think that will fly. I also believe the jury fully understood what constitutes first degree murder here. Hell Even the stupid idiot himself said after the victim impact statements that he was a big part of why Tori wasn't here today!
Rafferty also writes that he missed the 30-day deadline to appeal because he had difficulty accessing a telephone to contact legal counsel.
Rafferty says he would prefer a trial by jury, if a second trial is ordered.
The application appears to have been filed from Kingston Penitentiary. - Haha bet he's having fun with Bernado and Williams in that shithole.
Rafferty was found guilty on May 11 after more than a day of deliberations but Justice Heeney was criticized for excluding certain character evidence collected by the police, including that Rafferty had used his computer to search for child pornography.
That information was deemed inadmissible because police failed to get proper search warrants when accessing data on Rafferty’ laptop.
The only reason people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory.