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For context, here’s the other evidence the judge is referring to: > Asked about the new DNA evidence, Rutledge repeatedly insisted Lee was "lawfully executed"

by awb 5y ago

For context, here’s the other evidence the judge is referring to: > Asked about the new DNA evidence, Rutledge repeatedly insisted Lee was "lawfully executed" and pointed to the testimony of an eyewitness who purportedly saw Lee enter Reese's home that day and then leave, "erratically," 20 minutes later. There’s also more context here for anyone interested in the case: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ledell_Lee https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ledell_Lee As for the DNA findings: > In April 2021, new DNA testing found "unknown male" DNA on the murder weapon and bloody clothes found at the scene. However, the test also "found moderate support" that blood on Lee's left shoe could have belonged to Reese. EDIT: Apparently, a “tire thumper” looks a lot like a small wooden bat, so there’s not as much confusion as I thought about the murder weapon. I mistakenly thought the prosecution was alleging a “tire iron” was the murder weapon. https://www.thv11.com/mobile/article/news/crime/ledell-lee-dna-testing-results-debra-reese/91-781451b1-4820-47c5-86a9-52099d7ed00f https://www.thv11.com/mobile/article/news/crime/ledell-lee-d...

tyingq 5y ago
A "tire thumper" is often a wooden bat. https://www.amazon.com/RoadPro-RPTT-1-Thumper-19-Inches-Assorted/dp/B001JT5CFY https://www.amazon.com/RoadPro-RPTT-1-Thumper-19-Inches-Asso...
- awb 5y ago
  Ah, OK. I got it mixed up with “tire iron”.
- bananapear 5y ago
  > This 19 wooden tire thumper lets you know if your tires are fully pressurized by making a thump as it hits the rubber. Just swing the thumper and listen for the sound. If your tires are low in pressure it makes a different sound. Save time checking tire pressure on your rig with this wooden tire thumper. Is this some kind of nonsense to avoid marketing it as a weapon, or do people really use these to check tyre pressures instead of… looking at or kicking the tyre? Or even a tyre pressure gauge?
  - mikestew 5y ago
    Yes, if one views the package marketing at your local truck stop (and probably not at your family-friendly Pilot) it is quite obvious that it is a versatile tool, and you might even use it on occasion to check tires. But, yes, it is manufactured and market to thump one thing: someone’s skull.
    - awb 5y ago
      Wikipedia says that the murdered woman’s husband bought it for her for self-defense rather than to check tire pressure.
    - darksaints 5y ago
      Tire thumpers are an actual thing that truck drivers use to check tire pressure. Unlike cars, you can't just visually inspect tire pressure on empty trucks, because dual-mounted tires with one tire completely deflated will still "look" normal. Checking with a small bat is something so routine, I would wager on you never finding a truck anywhere that doesn't have one readily accessible in the cab, and that tire thumpers are used to thump tires over thumping humans 10000000:1. Source: I paid for college as a class A truck driver, and I used one to check every single dual-mounted tire every single day.
  - riffic 5y ago
    it's absolutely a weapon.
    - darksaints 5y ago
      Anything can be a weapon if you use it as one. That doesn't mean they are meant to be weapons.
      - deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
  - ozzmotik 5y ago
    https://lancasteronline.com/opinion/columnists/tire-thumper-tool-or-weapon/article_9cb5c0b0-bf1f-11e3-b8f9-001a4bcf6878.html https://lancasteronline.com/opinion/columnists/tire-thumper-... >Drivers of big rigs, with a gazillion tires, don’t want to take the time to apply a pressure gauge to each one... so according to this, the intended market for a tire thumper is evidently drivers of 18 wheelers, as it would take an inordinate amount of time to check the tire pressure of every single tire with a pressure gauge. that being said, it very clearly can be used for other, more nefarious purposes, and I would be inclined to assume that a large percentage of individuals purchasing one intend to use it for said other purposes. it's conceptually similar to how gas stations, etc, ostensibly sell "glass roses" as a gift a and a certain type of tire pressure gauge as a tool, when in reality, the majority of purchases for them are to be used as paraphernalia for consuming illicit substances (methamphetamine/any substance to be vaporized via indirect heat and freebase cocaine/"crack", respectively.) it's telling in the latter case that you can usually find chore boy or some other similar scouring pad generally sold near the gauge (which is used as a screen for capturing the melted substance,) especially in places where no such cleaning products are sold elsewhere.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
mikeryan 5y ago
Any attorney or judge who justifies their conviction on eyewitness testimony has to know, at this point, its bullshit. Every criminal attorney at this point knows the infallibility of an eye witness has been proven over and over to be false.
- awb 5y ago
  Eye witness testimony is unreliable, but that doesn’t mean it’s always false. It just shouldn’t be the only evidence or the primary evidence in a conviction, as in this case. But if it’s used to corroborate other known facts that haven’t been revealed to the witness, then it’s still beneficial.
- beerandt 5y ago
  This wasn't an eye witnesses glance, or false memory. It was a witness who literally chased/followed the suspect from the crime scene to a place where people knew who he was.

by awb 5y ago

tyingq 5y ago

A "tire thumper" is often a wooden bat. https://www.amazon.com/RoadPro-RPTT-1-Thumper-19-Inches-Assorted/dp/B001JT5CFY https://www.amazon.com/RoadPro-RPTT-1-Thumper-19-Inches-Asso...

awb 5y ago
Ah, OK. I got it mixed up with “tire iron”.
bananapear 5y ago
> This 19 wooden tire thumper lets you know if your tires are fully pressurized by making a thump as it hits the rubber. Just swing the thumper and listen for the sound. If your tires are low in pressure it makes a different sound. Save time checking tire pressure on your rig with this wooden tire thumper. Is this some kind of nonsense to avoid marketing it as a weapon, or do people really use these to check tyre pressures instead of… looking at or kicking the tyre? Or even a tyre pressure gauge?
- mikestew 5y ago
  Yes, if one views the package marketing at your local truck stop (and probably not at your family-friendly Pilot) it is quite obvious that it is a versatile tool, and you might even use it on occasion to check tires. But, yes, it is manufactured and market to thump one thing: someone’s skull.
  - awb 5y ago
    Wikipedia says that the murdered woman’s husband bought it for her for self-defense rather than to check tire pressure.
  - darksaints 5y ago
    Tire thumpers are an actual thing that truck drivers use to check tire pressure. Unlike cars, you can't just visually inspect tire pressure on empty trucks, because dual-mounted tires with one tire completely deflated will still "look" normal. Checking with a small bat is something so routine, I would wager on you never finding a truck anywhere that doesn't have one readily accessible in the cab, and that tire thumpers are used to thump tires over thumping humans 10000000:1. Source: I paid for college as a class A truck driver, and I used one to check every single dual-mounted tire every single day.
- riffic 5y ago
  it's absolutely a weapon.
  - darksaints 5y ago
    Anything can be a weapon if you use it as one. That doesn't mean they are meant to be weapons.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
- ozzmotik 5y ago
  https://lancasteronline.com/opinion/columnists/tire-thumper-tool-or-weapon/article_9cb5c0b0-bf1f-11e3-b8f9-001a4bcf6878.html https://lancasteronline.com/opinion/columnists/tire-thumper-... >Drivers of big rigs, with a gazillion tires, don’t want to take the time to apply a pressure gauge to each one... so according to this, the intended market for a tire thumper is evidently drivers of 18 wheelers, as it would take an inordinate amount of time to check the tire pressure of every single tire with a pressure gauge. that being said, it very clearly can be used for other, more nefarious purposes, and I would be inclined to assume that a large percentage of individuals purchasing one intend to use it for said other purposes. it's conceptually similar to how gas stations, etc, ostensibly sell "glass roses" as a gift a and a certain type of tire pressure gauge as a tool, when in reality, the majority of purchases for them are to be used as paraphernalia for consuming illicit substances (methamphetamine/any substance to be vaporized via indirect heat and freebase cocaine/"crack", respectively.) it's telling in the latter case that you can usually find chore boy or some other similar scouring pad generally sold near the gauge (which is used as a screen for capturing the melted substance,) especially in places where no such cleaning products are sold elsewhere.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

mikeryan 5y ago

Any attorney or judge who justifies their conviction on eyewitness testimony has to know, at this point, its bullshit. Every criminal attorney at this point knows the infallibility of an eye witness has been proven over and over to be false.

awb 5y ago
Eye witness testimony is unreliable, but that doesn’t mean it’s always false. It just shouldn’t be the only evidence or the primary evidence in a conviction, as in this case. But if it’s used to corroborate other known facts that haven’t been revealed to the witness, then it’s still beneficial.
beerandt 5y ago
This wasn't an eye witnesses glance, or false memory. It was a witness who literally chased/followed the suspect from the crime scene to a place where people knew who he was.