CLOSING ARGUMENTS GIVEN IN MASK MANSLAUGHTER TRIAL

Final arguments were given in the trial of Jeffrey Kirby charged in the death of Charles Lewis. Lewis, known as Mask, was a wealthy businessman who owned the TAPOUT clothing business. Mr. Kirby is charged with vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence while intoxicated as well as driving under the influence causing bodily injury with included sentencing enhancements. The main issue presented in this case is who caused the accident. What is known is that on March 11, 2009, at 1:00 a.m., the victim's Ferrari spun out of control and collided with a pole, killing him instantly. A passenger was thrown from the vehicle and suffered numerous severe injuries. Mr. Kirby was arrested later with a blood alcohol level of 0.13 percent. Mr. Kirby also has a prior conviction for driving under the influence. The surviving victim has no recollection of the incident or even of being in the vehicle. The prosecution contends Mr. Kirby caused the accident when he lost control of his Porsche during a race with the victim's Ferrari involving a speed in excess of 100 miles per hour. The defense argues the Ferrari was traveling at 100 miles per hour and caused Mr. Kirby to lose control of his Porsche when he was attempting to get out of Mr. Lewis's way. The prosecution must prove Mr. Kirby was a substantial cause of the auto accident and, while driving under the influence of an alcoholic beverage while speeding with gross negligence, caused the death of Mr. Lewis. Since this incident happened early in the morning on a relatively deserted road with few witnesses, the jury will not have many, if any, independent witness accounts upon which to base a decision.

Read more detail on Recent Criminal Law Posts –

This entry was posted in Criminal Law and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply