In the aftermath of the guilty verdict handed down in the Robinson murder trial, there has been much weeping and gnashing of teeth.
There are the usual pleas for forgiveness and healing from the Church authorities, utter disbelief expressed by the sheeple in the pews, and law enforcement is denying it had any part in the decades-long cover-up. In other words, the usual reaction to priestly crime.
At least the prosecutor has finally explained why he claimed in court that it was not a satanic crime.
Mr. Mandros said he “did not want to go in that direction” of trying to prove that the crime was a satanic slaying.
“There was a tremendous amount of evidence that would have allowed you to make that argument,” he said. “We had professionals with expertise in the occult say, ‘Yes, this is a classic textbook satanic cult killing’ - more than any case they’d ever seen.”
But prosecutors felt it was better to try the 68-year-old priest on a straight murder charge. That legal strategy proved successful for prosecutors Thursday morning when a Lucas County Common Pleas Court jury convicted Robinson of murder. Judge Thomas Osowik immediately sentenced the retired priest to 15 years to life in prison, with eligibility for parole in 10 1/2 years…
Mr. Mandros said that if the state had filed charges against Robinson alleging it was a satanic-cult murder, it would have increased the burden of proof on prosecutors.
(Toledo Blade) (Emphasis added)
This is rather curious. Jurors would be more skeptical, but I’m not sure how would satanic claims would have increased the burden of proof. I was not aware that the law had a special category of devilish crime. Perhaps his hesitation was involved with ascribing a believable motive, which might delve into dark matters far beyond the dead woman on the sacristy floor.
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