Thursdoy, August 7, 1975
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Three
Thursday, August 7, 1975 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Three
Court subpoenas'
involved in 'Blue
By DAVID WHITING
Five city police officers have
been issued subpoenas in con-
nection with last May's alleged
harassment of the Blue Magic
rock group and the related $12
million civil law suit which the
band has filed against the of-
ficers.
Ivan B a r r i s, a prominent
Michigan criminal lawyer and
former president of the Detroit
Bar Association, filed for the
officers' subpoenas Friday after
learning that they were at the
scene of the Blue Magic incident
three months ago.
BARRIS stated yesterday that
he obtained subpoenas for "cer-
tain police records" and officers
Robert Haarer, Phillip Scheel,
Walter Johnson, Steven Prussian
and David Woodside.
Prussian confirmed yesterdayn
that he had received the sub-
poena, but Scheel refused to
discuss the matter and the other
officers were unavailable for
comment.
Scheel yesterday explained his
refusal to comment, "I'm not
trying to be hard nosed about it
. . . I'm not authorized to say
anything."
HOWEVER, Police Chief Wal-
ter Krasny commented Tuesday
that he had not prohibited any
of his men from discussing the
Blue Magic incident.
The Blue Magic band was
stopped May 10 by some ten
county sheriff's deputies and
the five city policemen, who
suspected that one member of
the group was carrying a con-
cealed gun.
Six band members have since
filed the civil law suit, which
contends they suffe
and verbal abuse
deputies and two c
ficers. However, th
identify the county
name until recent
city policemen'sj
made public.
HAARER and
been identified as b
in the reported he
which band vocali
had his ankle "seve
after an unidentifie
officer allegedly st
However, City A
Sylvester Murray's
leased report of th
department's inve
the Blue Magic inc
"The one allegatio
duct made against
was that a city
stood on the ankle
5 city policemen
Magic incident
ered physical the men (Mills) who was on the alleged police misconduct took
e from two ground . . . all of the city's place.
ity police of- officers denied committing this Barris reported yesterday that
ey could only offense." the court desposition date has
officers by The report also contends that, been set for Sept. 2, and ex-
ly when the "city police did not become in- pressed confidence in the judge
names were volved physically with any of assigned to the case, U.S. Dis-
the personal (band member) trict Court Judge Lawrence
searches.. . . Our officers also Gubow.
Scheel have denied witnessing abusive treat-
eing involved ment by sheriff deputies. "GUBOW has a big heart and
arassment in he means well," Barris com-
st Ted Mills YET Washtenaw County Sher- mented, "I don't think he will
rely injured" iff Fred Postill fired two of his put up with this crap" which
d city police deputies, Randy Evans and Wil- occured during the Blue Magic
ood on it. liam Tommelein, in June after incident. He added, "I was dis-
kdministrator his investigation found that they gusted by the whole thing."
recently re- "grossly and negligently mis- Barris also speculated on
e city police handled" both the band and its what course of action the offi-
stigation of property. cers named in the law suit would
cident states, Officers Johnson, Prussian, take. He said that he did not
n of miscon- and Woodside were also report- put them past lying on the wit-
t city police ed on the scene, but were ap- ness stand and added, "They
officer had parently searching a van some might even take the fifth
es of one of 300 yards away from where the amendment."
Judge reduces charge
in Little murder trial
RALEIGH, N.C. (P) - A superior court judge during the eight days it took the state to present
ruled out a first-degree murder charge against its case. Hobgood denied a prosecution request
Joan Little yesterday and ordered that she be yesterday to take the jury to Washington, N.C.,
tried on second-degree murder in the slaying of to view the scene of the crime at the Beaufort
her white jailer. County Jail.
IVhe ruling means that Little, a 21-year-old The state claims Little stabbed Alligood with
black, will not be sentenced to death if convicted an ice pick inan attempt to escape from the jail.
in the case. The defense says Little, who was being held on
CONVICTION of first-degree murder in North a breaking and entering conviction, stabbed the
Carolina carries a mandatory death sentence. jailer to defend herself from sexual attack and
The death penalty cannot be imposed on anyone then fled the jail for fear that no one would be-
convicted of a lesser charge. lieve her. She surrendered to authorities in
Earlier in the day, defense attorney Marvin Raleigh eight.days after the Aug. 27 slaying.
Miller argued for dismissal of all charges, claim- IN FINAL prosecution testimony yesterday,
ing that the state failed to show the cause of William Pearce, a State Bureau of Investigation
62-year-old jailer Clarence Alligood's death or chemist, said he had determined that holes found
,who caused the death. After Hobgood denied the in Alligood's shirt were made by a small, sharp
motion for dismissal without asking for arguments object. He said the pattern of the hoses indi-
from the prosecution,' Miller said, "He wants cated that the shirt had been partially buttoned
the case to go to the jury, in my opinion." when the jailer was stabbed.
The judge's rulings on defense motions came Alligood's shirt was unbuttoned when his body
after the prosecution, conceding that its argu- was found in Little's cell. He found nude from
ments were based on circumstantial evidence, the waist down and was clutching an ice pick
rested its case. in his right hand.
PROSECUTION attorney John Wilkinson said In yesterday morning's session, Hobgood grant-
the state's evidence was circumstantial because ed a request from ousted defense attorney Mor-
there were no eyewitnesses to Alligood's slaying. ris Dees, 38, of Montgomery, Ala., that he be
But he said prosecutors would show in closing formally removed from the defense team. Dees
arguments that Little is guilty. also withdrew a federal suit asking that he be
Eighteen witnesses were called to the stand reinstated in the case.
Police, feminists disagree over
MURDER TRIAL defendant Joan Little leaves the courthouse
yesterday carrying a copy of the book "To Kill a Mockingbird,"
a novel dealing with racial prejudice in the South. -
Pro-Gandhi bill signed
by Indian president
NEW DELHI, India (P) - The GANDHI, who declared an
president of India signed retro- emergency June 26 to thwart
active legislation yesterday de- .an opposition civil disobedience
signed to set aside Prime Min- campaign called to force her
ister Indira Gandhi's conviction resignation, defended her ac-
of corrupt electoral practices. tions in a speech to leaders of
President Fakhruddin Ali Ah- dockworkers' unions.
med gave his routine assent to "Because we have the emer-
the legislation, which the upper gency, it does not mean that we
house of Parliament unanimous- have given up democracy or
ly approved hours before. The that we consider democracy un-
action came five days before suitable to India " she said.
the Supreme Court is to hear sta b t'India," shelsai.
Gandhi's appeal. The lower . . But there were faults in
house gave its approval Tues- our democracy and those faults
day. had to be removed . .."
impact of
By TRUDY GAYER
Once touted as an urgently-
needed reform to an archaic
rape statute, the four-month-old
Criminal Sexual Conduct Law
now draws conflicting judgments
as to its impact on the legal
system.
While some law enforcement
officials maintain the code has
produced few, if any, effects
within their line of work, other
observers cite changes in both
police station and courtroom
practices.'
"POLICE are trying harder.
There are better investigations,"
says Jan BenDor, coordinator of
the Women's Task Force on
Rape. She says the new law has
affected the style of questioning
that police employ in rape
cases.
But city police Lieut. Richard
Hill maintains, "The new law
hasn't affected us ... gathering
revised anti-rape law
evidence and prosecuting is still
the same."
And Leonard Kowalski, an as-
sistant County prosecutor, says
the rape law has not had much
effect as yet, but did point out
a crucial difference between the
Criminal Setual Conduct Law
and the 117-year-old one-para-
graph code it replaced.
"THE OLD law relied on ju-
dicial interpretation," Kowalski
states, whereas the new code is
now explicit. Beyond that, how-
ever, "there's not much differ-
ence between the two statutes,"
according to Kowalski. "The
same kind of activity is being.
prosecuted."
The new law separates crim-
inal sexual offenses into four
areas, each characterized by
different degrees of sexual crime
and penalties. In fact, the Crim-
inal Sexual Conduct statute does
not even use the word "rape."
Under the old law, BenDor ex-
plained, p o o r investigations,
w e a k supporting information
and inability to construct a good
case for the victim kept rape
cases from going to trial.
BUT THE new law "looks in-
timidating," says BenDor. "The
defendant will be more likely
to plead guilty. There's really
a bad case against him or her.
Once cases get to the trial
stage, 90 per cent win."
The Criminal Sexual Conduct
Law is neuter, so men and wo-
men are both recognized as po-
tential victims or defendants. It
also prohibits defense attorneys
from bringing up the victim's
past sexual experiences as evi-
dence in rape cases-a factor
BenDor hopes will cause more
victims to report the crime.
But Hill maintains that the
new law "will never change"
See BENEFITS, Page 5