Jury acquits PRP Coach Stinson on all Charges

This from the Courier-Journal:

The nation’s first criminal trial of a football coach charged with causing a player’s heat-related death ended in a not-guilty verdict after 90 minutes of deliberation.

That’s how long a Jefferson County jury Thursday took to consider the case before acquitting former Pleasure Ridge Park football coach Jason Stinson of reckless homicide and wanton endangerment in the 2008 death of sophomore lineman Max Gilpin.

After Judge Susan Schultz Gibson announced the not guilty verdict on the charges, as Stinson dropped his head and hugged defense attorney Brian Butler. Stinson’s wife Monica sobbed, saying repeatedly, “Thank you, Lord.”

Minutes earlier, before the verdict was read, Stinson led a prayer circle of friends, family and supporters outside the courtroom, asking God to give the family of Max Gilpin closure and “heal their hearts … they miss their son.”

Michele Crockett, Max’s mother, told reporters that the family was disappointed with the verdict but their main objective was that “Max’s death would not be in vain and this trial brought awareness, which is what we wanted.” ...

...[I]n his closing, Dathorne lashed out at the prosecution for indicting the former coach, saying prosecutors wrongly rushed to judgment and then, because of media attention, refused to back down when they realized they were wrong.

“We’ve got a man looking at prison time for being a football coach,” Dathorne said, telling jurors that football is, in itself, a risk and Max’s death three days after practice was an accident...

Judge denies prosecution’s request to postpone Stinson trial

This from C-J:

A Jefferson circuit judge on Tuesday denied a request from prosecutors for a continuance in the trial of former Pleasure Ridge Park football coach Jason Stinson, saying that both sides have long known that “barring something cataclysmic,” the trial would start this week.

The Commonwealth Attorney’s office sought the delay after Judge Susan Schultz Gibson barred about 1,500 pages of evidence late Monday, saying it had been turned over to defense attorneys too late.

“Things we need to make our case are being excluded,” Jon Heck, an assistant commonwealth’s attorney, told Gibson Tuesday. “… Do we want to do this quick or do we want to do this right?”

Stinson is charged with reckless homicide and wanton endangerment in the heat-stroke death of PRP sophomore lineman Max Gilpin after he collapsed at an Aug. 20, 2008, practice.

Heck told Gibson that the evidence being excluded contained important pediatric and prescription records for the 15-year-old, who died Aug. 23 after his body temperature reached 107 degrees.

But Gibson declined to revisit her ruling or allow a postponement, which Stinson’s attorneys had fought...

Turns out Stinson's attorney, Alex Dathorne, is a family hero of ours. A decade or so ago, Dathorne was a prosecutor in Lexington. We had an incident involving one of our daughters being stalked, along with other neighborhood children near Morton Middle School, by a 25-year old Iraqi national. At one point he held a knife to his throat and threatened to kill himself if our daughter didn't agree to become his girlfriend. In another instance, he offered one of the boys $50 for sex. Alex made him go bye bye for a year.

Now Dathorne appears to be kicking some prosecutorial butt in the Stinson trial.

Judge delays ruling on Gilpin investigative file

This from Toni at C-J, photo by Matt Stone:

A Jefferson Circuit judge will decide shortly on whether to force Jefferson County Public Schools to turn over its investigative file into Max Gilpin's death to the commonwealth attorney's office.

After hearing arguments from both the commonwealth attorney's office and the school district during a hearing Monday, Circuit Judge Susan Schultz Gibson said she would issue an opinion "very shortly."

"I know the trial is fast approaching and there is an issue of time on this," she said....

Here's the problem with the district's stance.

Gilpin investigation

As a former employee and PTA member, I have always been a strong supporter of Jefferson County Public Schools. However, I am now unable to support JCPS's decision to withhold the results of their investigation into the death of Max Gilpin.

The perception is that the district has something to hide. This may be far from the reality, but perception is reality in the public's mind.

The investigation itself has taken far too long, and it appears as if the district is dragging its feet. Now with the fight to withhold the results, the appearance becomes even stronger.

The investigation should be quickly concluded and the results turned over to the commonwealth's attorney's office. In my opinion, the results should also be made public in order to restore confidence in the school district's reputation that children come first.

CATHI LYNINGER
Louisville 40291