Newsgroups: talk.politics.guns,alt.politics.org.batf,alt.politics.usa.misc From: [w--g--s] at [lonestar.utsa.edu] (William W. Hughes) Subject: Branch Davidian Trial - 13 Jan 94 Date: Thu, 13 Jan 1994 21:37:46 GMT Branch Davidian Trial Update - Thursday, 13 Jan 94 Page 1A Headline - RANGER SAYS FBI MOVED EVIDENCE AT DAVIDIAN SITE Page 1 photo caption : "A postal worker loads mail for the federal courthouse in San Antonio on a conveyor on a portable X-ray van. All packages are screened during the Branch Davidian trial." [Photo shows a man placing packages from a handtruck onto a conveyor belt feeding an X-ray machine mounted cross-wise in an apparently un- marked white van. Photo taken from 45 degrees off the front right of the van.] Texas Ranger Captain David Byrnes testified that FBI officials destroyed evidence by moving several "bullet-riddled" vehicles away from the building, but that he "'might well have'" done the same if he had been an FBI agent, as a safety measure to protect officers working with/for him. Byrnes is the first prosecution witness. Prosecutor Ray Jahn, in opening remarks, says he plans to prove that the Davidians set the fire themselves. He plans to introduce tapes made covertly just before the fire started. Although unclear, the tapes appear to contain phrases such as "'spread the fuel'", "'start the fire'", and "'Well, you always wanted to be a charcoal briquette.'" "Opening arguments painted opposite views of the same events and people. Prosecutors said the defendants willingly followed their leader, David Koresh, in plotting to kill federal agents. Defense attorneys countered that Koresh had instilled such fear of government agents in their clients that when the agents unwisely chose to attack the compound it triggered a defensive reaction. But both sides appeared to agree that Koresh, who died April 19, was primarily responsible for the Feb. 28 debacle." Although opening arguments did not contain much new information, prose- cutor Jahn did claim that evidence will be presented showing that David- ians shot and killed those sect members wounded in the initial raid. [continued page 7A] Subhead - Prosecution to try to prove Koresh's theology of death Photo 1 caption : "U.S. District Judge Walter S. Smith Jr. is escorted to the courthouse after lunch by federal agents." [Shows Smith flanked by two men.] Photo 2 caption : "Members of the prosecution appear to be in a good mood as they leave the courthouse for lunch. In opening testimony Wednesday, prosecutors said the 11 defendants willingly followed David Koresh in plotting to kill federal agents." [Picture shows three male, three female, with jackets & briefcases. All are smiling or laughing.] "'On Feb. 28th the occupants of (the compound) not only killed ATF, they killed their own.'"..."'People who were too wounded to fight were...put out of their misery...executed by their fellow Branch Davidians.'"..."'David Koresh's theology was a theology of death.'" Prosecuting attorney Jahn "'David Koresh was paranoid and delusional... It is David Koresh who should be held accountable, and it is the leadership of ATF who should be held accountable, not these people.'" Defense attorney Joe Turner (representing Ruth Riddle) "The two sides are deeply divided over why, or even if, the defendants fired at the federal agents raiding their communal home." Jahn says that the prosecution will present evidence putting "'a firearm in everyone's hands.'" "'It's going to come out, obviously people who are on trial had guns in their hands and shot... and the reason people shot was because they didn't want to die first.'" Defense attorney Rosen Part of the opening arguments centered around an incident that occurred about 5 p.m. on the day of the raid., several miles from the compound. Two of the defendants, Allison and Kendrick, plus Michael Schroeder (who was killed in the incident), tried to move to the compound to check the status of Schroeder's family. Kendrick was separated from the party before the shooting. Allison surrendered to agents after the shooting, and gave up a gun that agents on the scene ascertained had not been fired. Kendrick was arrested later, without incident. "Prosecutors said Kendrick fled the scene to avoid arrest, but [defense attorney] Morris said he will present evidence that an agent sharpshoot- er had Kendrick in his gunsight but didn't fire because he saw that Kendrick posed no danger." Prosecution witness Byrnes described the search of the compound (after the fire) by Texas Rangers. Defense brought out tensions between the various law enforcement agen- cies during the siege. "'We at times had competing priorities. ... They [the FBI] had the task of terminating the standoff. We had the task of doing the investigation (of the agents' deaths). We could not proceed with our jobs until they did theirs.'" Captain Byrnes, Texas Rangers "'Some of our conflicts were disagreements over what they were doing for tactical reasons to protect their people,' Byrnes said, adding under cross-examination that if he had been working for the FBI at the time he might made the same decisions." = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Page 7A Headline - DEFENSE DESCRIBES DAVIDIANS AS JUST FOLLOWING THEIR FAITH Photo caption : "Branch Davidians Brad Branch, Clive Doyle and Woodrow Kendrick leave the federal courthouse after the first day of the trial Wednesday." [They are accompanied by five unidentified men, presumably federal agents] "One gave bus rides to the elderly and handicapped as a teenager, a second played drums in a Christian rock band, a third was the perfect daughter who sang in the church choir and still another was a mild- mannered electrical engineer and schoolteacher." [...] "The first day of what is expected to be a two-month trial found the 10 defense attorneys using their 15-minute opening statements to humanize their clients to the jury." [...] "In truth, the lawyers said, rarely had a more ordinary, harmless and misunderstood group of people been gathered." [Stories and anecdotes (approximately 18 column-inches) about the de- fendants deleted. Basically, the article could, in my opinion, be de- scribing any randomly chosen group of eleven people in the United States. I could change the names to those of my friends and acquaint- ances and it would be accurate.] "And so it went, as each attorney attempted to distance his client from Koresh and from being seen as a principle in the violent February con- frontation. But the case is not about character and good deeds, and government prosecutors are armed with at least one Branch Davidian-turned-federal witness, volumes of recorded evidence drawn from telephone conversations and planted bugs over the 51-day siege, and mountains of other forensic evidence." ======================================================================== Administrivia This section will include corrections, personal observations & comments, and pointers to known cross-postings and archives. It will become short- er (I hope) as time goes by. - * - POSTING Posted to Usenet newsgroups talk.politics.guns, alt.politics.org.batf, and alt.politics.usa.misc, with Distribution set to "world." Please feel free to forward to other groups that you feel may be interested. Default follow-ups set to talk.politics.guns, alt.politics.org.batf and alt.politics.usa.misc. Sent to mailing list info.firearms.politics. If anybody is archiving these updates, and/or making them available for ftp, gopher, or other access, please let me know and I will include that information in further Administrivia sections. - * - Summarizer comments - All personal comments, clarifications or explana- tions within the text of the Update will be bounded by brackets []. The Administrivia section is all personal comments. Double-quoted ("...") sections are taken directly from newspaper re- ports. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= This summary of the Branch Davidian trial is based on articles published in the San Antonio Express-News. The original articles, and any sections quoted herein are copyrighted by the Express-News. The remainder of the summary is copyright 1994 by William W. Hughes. Copying of these sum- maries, either by hardcopy or electronic means, is authorized and en- couraged, as long as this notice remains attached and intact. "I do not work for or represent the San Antonio Express-News" -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= -- [w--g--s] at [lonestar.utsa.edu] (William Hughes) | In memory of 85 un-charged, UTSA doesn't agree with me. They're wrong. | un-convicted victims of the U.S. Politicians Prefer Unarmed Peasants | government in Waco, Texas - Politically Incorrect and proud of it! | including over 20 children.