Flip the script and the race baiters would be out in full force.
A Cook County judge on Friday tightened restrictions on news coverage in the case of the four people charged in the Facebook Live attack against a schizophrenic man.
On Thursday, Judge Peggy Chiampas barred cameras in the courtroom, citing “safety and security concerns.” On Friday, after a defense attorney cited “death threats,” Chiampas also ruled against allowing sketch artists to draw the faces of the defendants or their attorneys. She said the ban was only for Friday’s hearing.
Defense attorney Neil Toppel complained during Friday’s hearing at the George Leighton Criminal Courthouse about social media death threats.
“There was a posting that invited a good Samaritan to publicly execute these defendants by law or, if not, by mob and also said anybody that supports them should be executed as well,” Toppel told reporters after the hearing. “I take that very seriously.”
Amy Campanelli, the Cook County public defender, criticized pretrial news coverage of the case.
“It is sad and unfortunate that many have commented on these young men and women without knowing all the facts,” Campanelli said. “Sensationalized, pervasive media coverage threatens to poison the jury pool for my clients. They’ve already been denounced in the media before anything has been proven, and now additional attention is being given, trying them in public before they have their day in court.”
HT: Wirecutter