No, Ms. DiLauro, Mr. Flood has the right, just as you do, to express his opinion. Mr. Flood is a "commentator" not a reporter.
Mr. Adegbile was an employee of the organization which filed the appeal in the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Philadelphia, based not on guilt or innocence, but on the trial judge's conduct of the sentencing phase of the trial, his instructions to the jury and the verdict form they were given.
The right to adequate counsel guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution does not end at the conclusion of the initial trial. It continues through the appeals process. The court found that the sentencing instructions the jury received, and the verdict form they had to use in the sentencing, were unclear, and therefore the sentence was improper.
As for the "right wing media," how is it that they can adhere to a strict constructionist view on the Second Amendment, but not on the Sixth? And, if "Mr. Flood is not entitled to chide others for their views," why are you?
Mary Beth Crafts
Lewes
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