As Sean Combs according to shattering statements The R&B singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura And a newer ex-girlfriend, who testified under the pseudonym Jane, was acquitted from two charges for sex trade, some suspected that the jury simply did not believe the women.
Legal requirements for proof of intentions
But there is another possible explanation of how experts and a replacement sworn who attended the entire seven -week process report to the Rolling Stone. The verdict could have been dependent on the evaluation of the jury on the “intention” Combs’.
It is possible that the jury believed that either Cassie or Jane – or both – felt forced from Combs to at least one commercial sex act with a male escort, but that was not enough for a condemnation for sex trade.
The jury had to find that Combs intended to do sex trade, or at least that he ruthlessly ignored how his actions could force someone to sex trade, said US district judge Arun Subramanian in his instructions.
The view of the replacement sworn
This is a high hurdle, especially taking into account the principle of the “justified doubt”, say the jury and experts.
“Both women, I think they were very credible. They wouldn’t want to stand up and lies up there. I think the women. [Aber] I think to have a clear evidence of the intention – that was one of the things we were looking for, ”says the replacement sworn, who only wants to be identified with his first name George, the Rolling Stone.“ I was looking for something that proves intention. And the defense has raised doubts as to whether there was an intention to make coercion. ”
Georges assessment of the evidence
Although George was officially released last week at the beginning of the consultations, he heard the same live statements by the 34 witnesses of the government and filled three spiral blocks with notes. He says that for him the hard evidence in the case-the text messages and the so-called “freak-off” videos-were not sufficient to prove that Combs knew that women felt compelled.
According to George, the freak-off videos that were shown to the jury on privacy screens that were not visible to the spectators in the courtroom showed some sexual activities, but they mostly consisted of “just talking and rubbing oil”. He says that in some of the recordings Ventura apparently set candles or otherwise helped to design the “ambience” for the supposedly drug -driven threes that could take days while Combs filmed and masturbated.
No visible compulsion to video recordings
George says “nothing in the video” showed a clear line of coercion. In other words: Any need or thoughts of coercion that took place in the minds of those involved were not visible to him. Nevertheless, he believed that he had the statements of women about their feeling that he was forced, as he emphasized.
“I really put Cassie recognition and respect that she appeared so early, pregnant, said praised for days and faced a cross -interpretation. To expose himself – this statement was very important,” he says. “When I listened to both women, I thought she was credible. But there were gaps … Sometimes everything didn’t match exactly.”
Difficulty to prove it legally
Two former public prosecutors who achieved the comprehension of R. Kelly in Brookly in 2021 say that it was difficult to demonstrate intentionally.
“I thought the government built a convincing case in terms of trade with Cassie – at least on a few occasions. But in reality it is very difficult to prove that a defendant had the necessary intention to force someone to work or to commercial sex, even if his behavior had the effect to force work,” says Elizabeth Geddes, the former prosecutor in the eastern district of New York In the R.-Kelly case, the final stone held in the Rolling Stone. “In other words, the jury may have believed that Cassie felt forced to take part in the freak-offs, for fear of severe damage, but found that there was not enough evidence that Combs had the intention that she did it.”
Legal evidence on intentions
Maria Cruz Melendez, the other leading prosecutor in the case of R. Kelly – today a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom – says that the evidence of intention is “one of the most difficult elements” in the law enforcement of a crime.
“It is essentially because you have to penetrate the defendant’s head and then prove your intention to the jury, so that you can say beyond a reasonable doubt that you knew what Combs thought when he showed the supposed behavior,” she says. “It is therefore understandable that some jurors have difficulties with it – provided there is no confession or other kind of admission that, in their view, is clear.”
Role of evidence and interpretation
She says the law recognizes that confessions are not the norm, so jurors should look at indications and the actions of the accused. “But ultimately every jury is different,” she says. “What is a reasonable doubt for every person is different. That is part of the challenge – whether the threshold of the reasonable doubt is achieved for every single jury. And in many ways the same applies to fulfilling the intent.”
When the jury’s unanimous judgment was read out, Combs covered his face, pushed out a huge sigh and pumped the fist by his side. He was acquitted from two charges for sex trading and a single charges for blackmail. The jury condemned him in two lower charges for transport for the purpose of prostitution. His verdict is scheduled for early October.
Prison and reactions of the parties
In a letter to the court, Combs’ defense calculated his expected criminal guidelines between 21 and 27 months. Chief defender Mark Agnifilo said that he is planning to argue that Combs had “claim” for a “sentence lying under the guidelines” because he was not a “pimp” who earned money with the escorts.
The prosecutors, on the other hand, said the correct calculation of the sentence for COMBS was at least 51 to 63 months in prison, i.e. about four to five years. Federal judges are not obliged to adhere to the criminal guidelines and may consider them as a starting point while taking other factors into account, including evidence that is considered credible in the process. In the southern district of New York, judges held the guidelines in 34.5 percent of cases in the last financial year, according to the US Sentencing Commission.
Defense celebrates acquittal
“Today is a big victory for Sean Combs. It is a great victory for the jury,” said Agnifilo in front of reporters outside the court building last week. “Today is a victory. Today is the victory of all victories for Sean Combs.”
In his final plea, Agnifilo told the jury that they were faced with a “fairy tale of two processes”. He said a process was told “from the mouths of the witnesses”, while the other was based on text messages and videos. He said that the messages exchanged between Ventura and Combs around the time of their separation in 2018 are “some of the most beautiful things I have ever read”. And he called the couple’s relationship a “great modern love story”. In summary, Agnifilo said that Combs was that he was sometimes violent, but domestic violence does not make Combs a sex dealer who leads a criminal organization.
Defense refers to the course of the news
Agnifilo asked the jury to go through hundreds of text messages between Combs and Ventura. “You won’t find a single one, not a single one in which she says: ‘I don’t like this sex. I don’t find you attractive. I don’t like our sex life,’ he argued.
In her four -day, grueling statement, Ventura said that she was regularly exposed to physical blows and threats by Combs, so that she had learned to pretend enthusiasm as a survival strategy. “It was always in the back of my head that he would somehow hurt me somehow,” she said. “When I made the wrong face, I got a slap in the face the next moment.”
Effect of the evidence on George
Nevertheless, said George, the text messages that Ventura and Jane exchanged with Combs had raised doubts.
“The general impression of the news was that they knew what they were doing, they knew what happened,” he said. “Beyond a reasonable doubt – that’s such a high standard. But believe me: If we found that there was real intentions, and there is a way to condemn [Combs] The jury would have done that in one of the charges in which he was acquitted. ”
After the verdict, Agnifilo said that the jury made the right judgment – “or at least right enough”. Then he said that the defense plan to continue fighting in view of the two convictions for prostitution. “We won’t stop until [Combs] When his family comes out of prison as a freelance man, ”promised the lawyer.