And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: link sent by Pat Morris Lawyers file briefs in Many Horses case By Eric Davis http://www.mobridgetribune.com/mobridgetribune/myheadline.asp?S=97&P=9912&PubID=541&EC=0 Lawyers in the case of the death of Robert Many Horses of Mobridge filed briefs last week, detailing the facts of the case and answering the question of whether the defendants in the case could have prevented the death. The memorandums regarding the death of Many Horses, 22, attempted to answer whether his death could have been avoided by giving him proper medical attention. The memorandums detailed the events of the early morning of June 30. According to Walworth County State's Attorney Dan Todd's memorandum, in the early morning hours of June 30, the four defendants, Layne Gisi, 19, Joy Hahne, 18, Ryan Goehring, 16, and Jody Larson, 19, met Many Horses at Boomer's convenience store in Mobridge and invited him to join them. The four defendants and Many Horses rode in Hahne's vehicle to a gravel road 3 to 4 miles northeast of Mobridge, known to most people as "Frey Seed Road." While driving to the road, and at the road area, Gisi and Many Horses shared a pint of Yukon Jack. Gisi and Many Horses were both intoxicated and were vomiting at the scene. While at the road, Many Horses started to become incoherent and later became unresponsive. Many Horses fell and cut his forehead causing it to bleed. Gisi attempted to wake Many Horses by slapping him and then picking him up and throwing him in a ditch. Rick Sommers, attorney for Gisi, argues this point by saying that there is no evidence supporting the claim that Gisi threw Many Horses in a ditch. The attempts to awaken Many Horses failed. Hahne instructed Larson and Gisi to place Many Horses in the vehicle. Sommers states in his brief that Many Horses slipped from the grasp of Larson and Gisi and was dropped to the ground. While driving towards Mobridge, according to Todd, Hahne asked where they should take him and the reply was "anywhere." Hahne pulled into an alley and asked Larson and Gisi to remove Many Horses from the car. Gisi opened the car door and Many Horses fell out. He picked up Many Horses and put him head first into a garbage can. Gisi indicated that he thought it would be a funny joke if Many Horses was to wake up inside the garbage can. At 7 a.m., Mobridge Chief of Police Brooks Johnson found Many Horses in the garbage can. An autopsy report indicated that the cause of death was complications due to ethanol toxicity, also known as alcohol poisoning. Many Horses' blood ethanol level was 0.446 at the time of his death. In her testimony at the preliminary hearing, Many Horses' foster parent, Lila Martel, said that he had fetal alcohol syndrome which caused his height to be under 5 feet tall and reduced his weight. She also said Many Horses was unable to manage his own affairs. She testified that Many Horses had an alcohol problem and was scheduled to attend an inpatient alcohol treatment program. In the brief filed by Sommers, he stated that Many Horses had been drinking prior to meeting with the four defendants. He wrote that at a minimum, Many Horses had a 40-ounce bottle of Old English malt liquor and a beer prior to meeting with the four defendants. Earlier that evening, Many Horses had arrived at a residence in Mobridge where he was already intoxicated and asked to leave because of his condition. Sommers also wrote that the alcohol Gisi and Many Horses shared did not have time to "absorb into Many Horses system" because he vomited shortly after drinking it. Sommers contends that the placing of Many Horses into a garbage can was meant to be a joke, "a tasteless joke, but it was intended to be a joke." Todd argues that the defendants had a duty to provide medical aid to Many Horses, stating that "statutory or common law places upon someone a responsibility for care or support of another person." "Civil law imposes upon individuals an obligation to act honestly and morally towards others," he wrote. Sommers stated that Todd's argument "flies in the face of his own expert witness, Dr. Rick Kalister." Kalister testified that a non-medically trained person would not know the difference between a comatose state and passed out. Kalister also testified that while at Mobridge Regional Hospital, he never saw anyone bring a person in because they had passed out from alcohol. The attorneys for Gisi and Hahne have filed for a dismissal of the case due to lack of evidence. According to Hahne's attorney, Drew Johnson, the only role that Hahne played in the incident was that her car was the vehicle they were riding in and she was the driver. David Von Wald, attorney for Larson, wrote that if the court cannot find sufficient evidence for the charges against Gisi, then there is no evidence against Larson. According to testimony, Larson's role in the events was helping Gisi place Many Horses into the back seat of Hahne's vehicle after he had passed out. The charges against the four defendants were amended on Aug. 3. Gisi was originally charged with second degree murder, but after the release of the autopsy report, it was reduced to manslaughter in the first degree. Hahne, Larson and Goehring have been charged with aiding and abetting manslaughter in the first degree. "If one could only ask Robert now what he would think of prosecuting his friends for their conduct," Johnson wrote, "Robert would come to their defense and ask that those charges be dismissed." © 1999 Mobridge Tribune All Rights Reserved Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ UPDATES: CAMP JUSTICE http://shell.webbernet.net/~ishgooda/oglala/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
