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***** THE WH*RE OF B*BYLON!!!
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MS-13 Members Should Die, Prosecutors Tell Jury
By Jerry Markon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 24, 2005; Page B02
Two members of the Mara Salvatrucha street gang went on trial for their
lives yesterday, with prosecutors telling jurors in U.S. District Court
in Alexandria that the men deserved to die for participating in the
execution of a 17-year-old government witness.
"Killing a witness in order to obstruct justice strikes at the heart of
the criminal justice system," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia
Giles. "They killed Brenda Paz, stabbed her, cut her throat, knowing
she was pregnant."
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Attorneys for the men -- Ismael J. Cisneros, 26, and Oscar A. Grande,
25 -- argued that life in prison would be ample punishment for the July
2003 death of Paz, who was killed because she cooperated in federal and
state investigations of the gang known as MS-13.
"Remember [the 1950s]? 'Leave it to Beaver?' " asked defense attorney
David Baugh, pointing to his client, Grande. "Think about how long ago
that was. Now take that and flip it over, and that's how long he will
live in prison."
The same jury that convicted the men of killing Paz heard opening
statements yesterday in the penalty phase of the trial. It is a
mini-trial of its own, with prosecutors presenting evidence supporting
their push for the death penalty and defense attorneys arguing that
their clients should live. Jurors have two choices: death or life in
prison without the possibility of release.
Jurors convicted Cisneros and Grande last week on all five counts they
were charged with in June 2004, including conspiracy to retaliate
against a federal witness and killing a person aiding a federal
investigation. The jury acquitted two other MS-13 members charged in
Paz's death: Denis Rivera, 21 -- who was accused of ordering her
slaying from jail -- and Oscar Garcia-Orellana, 32.
Paz, an MS-13 member known within the gang as "Smiley," was killed
weeks after leaving the federal witness protection program. Prosecutors
say Grande and Cisneros stabbed her repeatedly after luring her to the
Shenandoah River on the pretense of a fishing trip. The case is part of
a broad federal crackdown on MS-13, which is considered Northern
Virginia's largest and most violent street gang.
In her brief opening remarks yesterday, Giles said Grande and Cisneros
should die because the crime involved "substantial planning and
premeditation" and because it was committed "in an especially cruel,
heinous and depraved manner."
Noting that some of her wounds were defensive, Giles said Paz, who was
16 weeks pregnant, "was alert and conscious during the attack."
Defense attorneys acknowledged the guilt of Grande and Cisneros but
said their actions stemmed from the violent culture of MS-13 and their
own upbringings. "If you live in an environment like this, there is a
much greater likelihood that you are going to engage in violent
activity," Baugh said. "That doesn't excuse it, but it does explain
it."
Nina Ginsberg, an attorney for Cisneros, told jurors that he grew up in
abject poverty in Mexico City with an alcoholic father who beat him
regularly. She said his father would kick the entire family out of the
house and force them to sleep in the streets when he was drunk.
"The death of Brenda Paz was a tragedy. By the end of this trial, you
will also come to see that the life of Ismael Cisneros was also a
tragedy," Ginsberg told jurors. "Killing Mr. Cisneros as punishment
will not undo Brenda Paz's death."
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| User: "=?iso-8859-1?B?07/SIFVyc2luIEhvZWxsZWUgV29uZGVyINO/0g==?=" |
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| Title: Re: MS-13 Members Should Die, Prosecutors Tell Jury |
24 May 2005 09:52:16 PM |
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I think it more proper to draw and quarter then disembowl.
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