Four defendants who testified in their own trials — and were convicted

TDisgraced lawyer convicted Alex Murdaugh He displayed an emotional display during his trial and evoked many other cases. The defense We had to decide if calling the defendant would be beneficial or harmful.

One of the few burdens that falls on defense in a Criminal trials The question is whether the defendant should be called to testify. An attorney must decide if the client’s testimony is more important than the evidence in court.

BIGGEST CRIMINAL MURDER TRIALS SET TO BEGIN IN 2023

A jury’s decision can be affected by the testimony of a defendant. It can work in the defendant’s favor, or it may raise suspicions of their guilt.

These are the four defendants who were convicted after testifying in their own trials.

Alex Murdaugh

Alex Murdaugh is a disbarred lawyer South Carolina This was found guilty His murders of Maggie his wife and Paul his son were committed in June 2021.

Although the prosecution did not have any concrete evidence such as a guilty plea or murder weapon, there was plenty of circumstantial evidence including cellphone records and video that convinced the jury.

Two Largest pieces of evidence According to South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, Murdaugh was charged with financial misconduct and he faces 99 other charges.

“When he took the stand, I think that was fatal for him ultimately,” Wilson said. “Alex had made [a] very successful career of giving closing arguments to juries and winning major cases and making a lot of money.”

On the stand, Murdaugh broke down and admitted he swindled millions of dollars from his clients and lied about his whereabouts the night his family members died — something he had hidden from investigators for nearly two years.

His testimony helped the prosecution frame the case that his financial crimes were a motive behind the murders. Despite his defense Present him The prosecution claimed that he was a man from a broken family who had been raped by violence. “his closing argument” The jury.

“I believe in my mind that he believed that he could talk his way out of this,” Wilson said. “And at the end of the day, I think that’s what sealed it for him.”

Murdaugh will serve consecutive life sentences for Maggie, Paul’s murders at a maximum security prison.

Attorneys for Murdaugh filed on Thursday a notice to appeal his conviction and sentencing.

Jussie Smollett

Jussie Smollett, Former Empire A TV celebrity was convicted in March 2022 for committing a hate crime against him. Prosecutors stated that it was an attempt to increase his Hollywood career.

In 2019, he was accused of hiring two black men who attacked him and hurled homophobic and racial insults at him. After the incident, he made a false police report. “attack.” Although he was sentenced for 150 days, his unstable prison condition led to his early release six days later.

Smollett maintained his innocence throughout, but legal experts think he did his defense by taking the witness stand.

“Smollett testifying in his own defense is one of two things, or maybe both: a narcissistic criminal defendant who is doubling down on his charged lies to law enforcement or defense attorneys who know they are way behind and are throwing a low probability Hail Mary to try to get their client off,” Neama Rahmani, former U.S. lawyer, said in Interview Fox News Digital December 2021

Five felony counts of disorderly behavior were convicted. On March 1, he appealed against his conviction in a 102-page document. “prosecutorial misconduct” This was “clear and egregious.”

His lawyers claimed that he was a defense witnesses. “pressured to change his statement,” And they claimed that the trial judge made these remarks. “biased” Smollett was convicted.

Elizabeth Holmes

Elizabeth Holmes, Th’s disgraced CEO