WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - The defense attorney for one of four inmates charged in a deadly Delaware prison riot has argued the evidence against his client is the product of lying "snakes."
The Delaware News Journal reports Thomas Pederson, who represents John Bramble, told the jury Tuesday that prosecutors are so desperate for convictions that they are unwilling to question the credibility of their own witnesses.
Evidence presented against Bramble is comprised of testimony by former inmates who lived with him in James T. Vaughn Correctional Center's C Building when the uprising occurred in 2017. Prison guard Steven Floyd was killed, and three other staffers were taken hostage.
In his rebuttal, Deputy Attorney General Brian Robertson agreed that witness statements will make the case and argued that flaws in those statements show they're genuine.
Prosecution Argument
Meanwhile, a prosecutor called on jurors in the second in a series of trials for inmates charged in a deadly Delaware prison riot to find the four men on trial guilty of murder.
News outlets report that in closing arguments Monday, Deputy Attorney General John Downs characterized the 2017 riot as a "violent takeover, not a protest" gone wrong. Prison guard Steven Floyd was killed and three other staffers taken hostage.
Downs says the four defendants- Obadiah Miller, John Bramble, Kevin Berry and Abednego Baynes - were "soldiers" in the deadly plot to take over the prison. Defense attorneys focused on inmates' differing accounts of the riot.
