Not necessarily surprising, mind you.
No doubt this will be difficult for the Mariani family, but unless something truly unexpected occurs, we suspect that the appeal will be rejected.
Neo-Nazi murderer, Robert Reitmeier, is appealing his conviction and sentence for the 2010 random killing of Mark Mariani.
"Mark didn't get a chance to have his sentence appealed," said Kathy Weltzin, sister of the victim. "He was sentenced to death that night."
Mariani, 47, was beaten in an alley behind a strip mall in northwest Calgary before collapsing by his vehicle in a nearby parking lot in October 2010.
A second man, Tyler Sturrup, is already serving a life sentence with no chance of parole for 10 after pleading guilty in March for his role in Mariani's killing.
Now, Reitmeier wants the Alberta Court of Appeal to grant him a new trial and one of the Crown prosecutors on the original trial says he isn't surprised.
"We certainly expected an appeal to be likely and advised the family to be prepared as well," said Adam May, who acted as prosecutor for the Mariani family in the original trial.
According to the notice, Reitmeier says he has grounds for appeal due to what he calls an unreasonable verdict. He says the judge erred on three fronts — in failing to properly instruct the jury regarding inconsistent testimony, by imposing an excessive parole ineligibility in sentencing and in failing to consider the lack of direct evidence when considering an appropriate sentence.
No date for the appeal has been set.
However, Weiltzin says she and the Mariani family will be there every step of the way if an appeal is granted.
"We are committed to being there every single day, every time we are called to do this for Mark."
No doubt this will be difficult for the Mariani family, but unless something truly unexpected occurs, we suspect that the appeal will be rejected.
Reitmeier was found guilty in November of 2nd-degree murder in 2010 death of Mark Mariani
By Meghan Grant, CBC News
Posted: Jan 04, 2014 5:58 PM MT
Last Updated: Jan 05, 2014 10:53 AM MT
After being found guilty by a jury
in November 2013, Reitmeier was sentenced to life in prison with no
chance of parole for 13 years. For Mariani's family, news of the appeal
isn't sitting well.
"Mark didn't get a chance to have his sentence appealed," said Kathy Weltzin, sister of the victim. "He was sentenced to death that night."
Mariani, 47, was beaten in an alley behind a strip mall in northwest Calgary before collapsing by his vehicle in a nearby parking lot in October 2010.
A second man, Tyler Sturrup, is already serving a life sentence with no chance of parole for 10 after pleading guilty in March for his role in Mariani's killing.
Now, Reitmeier wants the Alberta Court of Appeal to grant him a new trial and one of the Crown prosecutors on the original trial says he isn't surprised.
"We certainly expected an appeal to be likely and advised the family to be prepared as well," said Adam May, who acted as prosecutor for the Mariani family in the original trial.
Appeal request alleges judge erred
In the notice of appeal, written by Reitmeier himself, he asks for a new trial by judge alone.According to the notice, Reitmeier says he has grounds for appeal due to what he calls an unreasonable verdict. He says the judge erred on three fronts — in failing to properly instruct the jury regarding inconsistent testimony, by imposing an excessive parole ineligibility in sentencing and in failing to consider the lack of direct evidence when considering an appropriate sentence.
No date for the appeal has been set.
However, Weiltzin says she and the Mariani family will be there every step of the way if an appeal is granted.
"We are committed to being there every single day, every time we are called to do this for Mark."
Wouldn't it be funny if on appeal (let's just say..), the presiding judge actually gives him a longer sentence/parole eligibility?
ReplyDeleteMy personal opinion of Rob (and I know the guy), is that he's lucky he's not being pursued as a dangerous offender.