Given the horrific nature of these crimes, the nature of the confessions, and the abundance of evidence associated with these crimes against kids who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, this prosecution is taking its toll on the court, the DA, the investigating officers, and will literally sicken the jury which is empanelled to hear these cases. No right minded lawyer would want any aspect of this case, although, the defendants are entitled to legal representation in these proceedings.

The court and juries which convict these animals (and they will be convicted)need to send as strong a message to the pubic that they can that this type thuggery and barbaric animalism will not be tolerated in our community. If our local authorities, our local prosecution, and our local judicial system cannot mete out justice fairly, firmly, and in a timely manner, we open ourselves up for more violence and the return of the racial hate groups who thrive on these types of issues and a local community's inability to resolve same.

So your point is that they just want to distance themselves from a sure loser?

What about their complaint re. death threats? Should this not be taken seriously, and discussed on its own merits?

the environment they stepped into and agreed to when they accepted the court's appointment to participate in this case. Many criminal defense lawyers have been threatened at some point in time regarding the nature of their representation. Often times, with defendants who are turning state's evidence on various bad guys, the accused will travel separately from his counsel given the seriousness of the threats. This stuff is very real and if the attorneys, the judges, the prosecution, and the investigators are not up to the challenge, they need not get into the fray on the front end. Let's see how much these attorneys have billed the state for their services, the judge should excuse them only upon a complete surrender of all fees and costs paid by the state.

Ask herb moncier if he has ever been threatened (in criminal prosecutions, not the civic civil stuff of late). Once you get past the bright lights, the cameras, the headlines, the news reporters, and the public scrutiny which accompanies these types of cases, it's not always bill it stout and plead'em out like we've seen time and time again.

For comparison,look at the toll taken in Roane County with the Houston boys, they're about to get their third judge, we're on the second or third prosecutors, the attorneys are essentially the same, they've tried each of them once to a hung jury, you've got a dead officer and a dead civilian, with the accused to be tried again at a tremendous cost to the county.

The dispensing of justice through the court system is not for the timid, the fearful, or the DUI - I'm your guy type lawyers anymore.

This is the media's own making. They have got to know that a good deal of their web traffic is based on the nut cases who write such obscene, racist, and threatening comments.

It's like the class where the students love the teacher, because she let's them get away with everything and anything in the classroom.

I'm sure in the past, before the Internet, defense attorneys, and probably prosecuting attorneys as well, received death threats.

But due to the inter-connectedness of the web, I think it feeds on itself, and allows opportunities for associations to form and perhaps take action that before the Internet age would have been harder to implement.

It's an interesting look at how internet hate speech affects the intersection of justice, the media, and the public interest.

...which raises interesting questions regarding the publication of the Adkisson Manifesto in the KNS.

On the one hand, I can appreciate that people would want to know for sure that the guy was a nutcase - and it puts forever to bed the notion that people were simply jumping to conclusions about his motivations.

On the other, knowing the sort of "audience" that crawls the KNS comments section, you have to raise an eyebrow. Doesn't it also seem like sending unencoded messages to those sympathetic to the "take some goddamned liberals with you" vibe?

____________________________

Dirty deeds done dirt cheap! Special holidays, Sundays and rates!

The way those parts were highlighted in the front page article was even more troubling. The article even suggested the guy was acting out of "patriotism," which wasn't exactly mentioned anywhere in the "manifesto."

If you only read the PDF of the "manifesto" it just sounds like the incoherent ramblings of a nut. The article seemed to elevate it to something more, and pulled out the "call to action" for special attention. Some of the comments on the article were as shocking as the "manifesto," especially the ones who think the guy is some kind of cult hero.

McElroy had a blog post and editorial justifying the article. It has some pretty good arguments, but I don't know. I was especially confused by the part where he seems to say yeah, it might inspire a copycat, but the public good of exposing it outweighs that. I'm sure that's not what he meant, but that's how it sounds the way it's written.

Anyway, I expect there will be another blog post/editorial responding to this pre-trial motion.

I'm a big believer in freedom of the press and of expression. And if these comments weren't on the KNS site, they'd be on a hundred other local blogs.

That being said, I think the responsible thing would be for KNS to turn off comments on crime stories. It's really inappropriate.

One of the more disturbing events on the NS site is the arrival of someone who appears to be a full-blown, professional race-agitator. He arrived via the Christian/Newsome case, and has stayed to set up camp there. He has, apparently, been booted a time or two, but comes back with a new screen name -- some version of Humpty Dumpty or CrackerJack. He is smooth as butter and is an excellent writer -- he has been accepted warmly by many, even when he refers them to David Duke's website.
He is challenged, occasionally, but not near e-damn-nough.

His tribe will multiply when the murder trials get here. This case has become iconic to hardcore racists all over the country.

Anybody who thinks the lawyers want out because the case is a loser has no idea what they are talking about. Scott Green and Kim Parton are seasoned, experienced criminal trial lawyers, and they knew they were walking into a case that is as tough as they come. But it is beyond the beyonds to expect them to put up with death threats from flame-throwing web trolls. Kim has tried a number of death cases in the very deep hollers in East Tennessee. She is sought out by judges who want to make sure the defendants get effective counsel, and the fact that Scott Green agreed to take this case? Scott doesn't have to take anything. He was a whip-smart DA and he is a formidable defense lawyer who does well in private practice. He also carries a sorta Atticus Finch-type demeanor that juries love. If these lawyers stay on the case their client will be getting as good a defense as he could expect. And whatever you think about this case - as horrible as its facts are - the accused perps have a right to a fair trial whether you like it or not. It's in the Constitution - remember the Constitution?

But you know race-baiting dickheads bring traffic to news web sites, so I'm not holding my breath for much in the way of restraint in the way this trial gets discussed online. And I don't blame the lawyers for saying enough is enough. They've got families and they don't need this crap.

Perhaps it is a clear warning then that these experienced lawyers either sense or know that there may be something more seriously alarming in those comments than what most of us noticed.

As for KNS, it is simply continuing and justifying those standard practices that were begun with the advent of the penny newspapers.

There is as much "Internet hate speech" on this site and every liberal site in the nation as anywhere (after all, our new AG says that we are all cowards). Where those lawyers half as smart as they should be they would seek a court order to track down were those actual message were posted and have those served with a Restraining Order and the cops arresting them for terroristic threatening.

It is a shame that those suspects are maybe going to walk because everything was not done right the first time around. The best thing that could happen in regards to these murder cases is for all Internet sites in this area to monitor anything that is posted and delete it until after the trials. Then post all of it. This may get a death threat issued to me but like it or not those suspects are just that, suspects, NOT yet convicts and as such they do deserve a fair trial. I, for one, am very interested in what will come out in those trials.

Civil discourse in the 21st Century:

(link...)

You are a loon.

Let's not insult our animal friends now.

Part of what fuels the comments is the sensationalism used by the court reporters and their silly coined phrases like "the rape torture killings."

the rape torture killings

Why is that silly?

I agree. I don't think that's a silly coined phrase; it's a general descriptive phrase.

The details are horrific, whoever committed the actual crime.

The problem is with the media's use of comment sections to attract traffic. They don't really seem to care who is attracted by what kinds of discussion.

After all, the media can claim it's innocent as long as others are making the comments. The easiest and honorable thing to do would be to remove the comments section from the stories about this case.

Just over two years ago I was involved in a highly publicized disagreement with The News-Sentinel.

One of the issues that wasn't much talked about at the time was the presence of thinly veiled death threats that were allowed to run in response to opinions in my online column, and letters to the editor containing lies and innuendos about my politics, my character and also at blog-sites debating my resignation as a columnist.

This practice of allowing readers to agitate for violence, engage in character smears that dehumanize, and generally whip up hysteria, was and evidently remains a practice at The News-Sentinel website.

The problem with allowing such hate speech, especially anonymously, is that it becomes an invitation to violence and creates a climate that distorts due process, and in my case, public dialogue. I'm reminded of the cartoon that ran in the New York Post showing policemen who'd just shot dead a chimp, implicitly representing President Obama. Such a cartoon is nothing short of an invitation to assassinate the president, who is characterized as subhuman. Similarly, allowing death threats and dehumanizing remarks on the News-Sentinel website should be regarded as the NS tacitly encouraging such practices.

You can't pretend to be a bastion of respectability on Main Street (figuratively) while operating a disreputable back-alley website operation and remain anything short of a pandering hypocrite.

Sadly, that double standard is what the News-Sentinel has long engaged in. Those responsible have had ample time to clean up their acts before now. At one point, the NS website allowed people to post the street address of a fellow columnist who shall remain nameless, but who had taken a controversial stand. Eventually, he was able to get the post taken down, but the NS online policies remain bush league. You don't see death threats and dishonest character smears at websites of other major newspapers.

These are despicable practices, and the webmaster should resign, along with the editor, for allowing such hate speech and incitements to violence.

If you wouldn't allow it in the newspaper, you shouldn't allow it online in your paper's name. Classy papers don't.

Don Williams

This is serious and shouldn't be allowed. With the internet anyone can place death threats. We have to find a way to control this, internet needs better monitoring for such specific cases. As for those two lawyers they are right in their decision, they could make a motion to file document under seal, this would actually be recommended.