The Closing Argument that convicted Louise Woodward

[BluebirdintheSky]

At the post mortem, the healing stage of the head injury was found to be such that the initial trauma would've had to be inflicted BEFORE Woodward even started working for the Eappens.and he had a wrist injury at the same stage of healing. Two women had seen the father (albeit accidentally) drop the baby on his head on the hard floor of a supermarket and try to grab him by the wrist. This wasn't mentioned until after the trial and the PM evidence was "lost behind a cabinet" by the prosecution.

[blackdencc]

i turns out the baby died of natural causes.

[Emjomaker]

It is so easy to get tired out by a difficult baby but in no way is it acceptable to be rough and shake them you should just put them in their bed and leave the room to cool off if your stressed. I honestly am not sure what I make of it she knows if she is guilty or not that's the unfortunate thing the evidence is mixed I do think she probably shook him in frustration though but didn't intend to kill him ... Never shake a baby ...

[ChrisIIIcube]

@ciarogciarogeile Neither you, nor the defense team could ever explain the perimacular folds... meanwhile, the circumstantial evidence spoke volumes. 

[pokerrich9]

@ChrisIIIcube this is a total joke, this imaginative story telling would not be allowed in the UK and goes against the rule of law... surely it is for the jury to decide on the events they thought took place than to be lead into thinking what took place through imaginatve story telling

[ciarogciarogeile]

@pokerrich9 exactly. He's trying to get the jury to decide the verdict on the basis of a hypothetical situation for which there is no solid proof, rather than on the evidence presented in court, which is exactly what the judge reminded them to do, in fact. Whether she did it or not, the jury is still required to use the evidence rather than the conjecture put forward by this guy. This kind of emotionally provocative language and storytelling should never be admissible in court.

[pokerrich9]

@numba1danman totally agree, where is the defence team in all this, the guy is just going on some sort of disney imagination which he has manifested in his own world without evidence to support. wow america your criminal justice system is shameful...

[lee5537]

I'm a true believer of hiden nanny cams..

[donboy65]

People who get too stressful should NEVER be around children.

[ciarogciarogeile]

the closing argument should only sum up the facts of the case and what is theorized to have happened where there is only circumstantial evidence, and not appeal to the emotions of easily led jurors by using this kind of tone, register and language. the fact that her conviction was later changed to manslaughter is a case in point: this kind of argument convicted her of murder, when murder wasnt the case. she DIDNT TRY TO KILL the baby, it was accidental. which is little better, of course. tragic.

[ciarogciarogeile]

i dont agree with this part of any trial; the "better" closing argument is always made by the more charismatic lawyer, no matter how flawed the case is. it allows undue influence from the counsel to affect the jury's decision. the conversational technique and his use of diminutives like "mattie" show this clearly, he sounds like hes trying to sell a car. i dont think this should be allowed at all.

[pokerrich9]

@ciarogciarogeile im in shock that this took place, this is soemthing that would happen in 16th century england but now happens in 20th century america...embarassing

[ciarogciarogeile]

@pokerrich9 it was a witchhunt. she was wrongly convicted, them who say she was guilty need only look at the fact that she was released, since the case was based on circumstantial evidence, which implicated the parents of the baby as much as it did her. he had a fracture to his arm from months before she travelled to the US, which was not on any hospital records. they killed him through neglect, i have few doubts about that. but the trial itself was a circus, with this guy and his greasy speech.

[ChrisIIIcube]

@ciarogciarogeile If you did not watch the entire trial ...then you do not know what you are commenting about.

[ciarogciarogeile]

@ChrisIIIcube I did watch the entire trial, thanks very much. I also remember watching it live at the time when I was only small, with my mother. So yes, I do know what I'm commenting about. Glad we've cleared that up.

[SuzLa1]

Why would they hire an 18 year old who isn't trained in child care to look after their children, to save money?

[Saitman]

There are no half truth, half lies. A half truth, is a whole lie.

[EffLabels]

Did she do it?

[GambitFox79]

Guilty or not, this is the greatest closing argument I've ever heard. Cicero himself would be proud.

[milton456]

Louise Woodward is a cold blooded murderer! She will pay for her sins! You fuckin piece of British trash! You and your supporters will rot in hell!

[becciboo26]

i remember this and watched the trial from start to finish and never thought she was guilty

[ChrisIIIcube]

@becciboo26

Your operative phrase being... "never thought".

Next time you should actually try thinking.

[AstuteClass]

@ChrisIIIcube

I've read your comments on these videos, and you seem to condescendingly lambaste anyone with differing opinions to you. Grow up, you fucking moron.

[ChrisIIIcube]

@AstuteClass You have a cool screename.

[silentfades]

@becciboo26 well a panel of jurors did not only think but found her guilty as charged

may she not live one day without recalling this and hopefully will never give birth or care for a child again

[MrUkben]

how the hell did she get away with the, she was found guilty yet walks. she a killer and a very dangious lady around children. and her parents stole from the very people whom the lies were told to. justice yeah right what a joke.

[inkey2]

@MrUkben it's so true....anyone can accuse anyone of a crime. In my life I have been accused of things I did not do. The first real job I had I was 20 years old. W/in 3 months on the job the "bosses son" comes up to me one day and accuses me of stealing from the store. I was absolutely flabergasted to the point where I could barely believe it was happening....like a dream

[Kidsgrove49]

Post mortem evidence should have been able to prove the age of the head injury. If it was old, poor Matthew could have died at any time and she's not guilty. We'll never know for sure, and reasonable doubt is present.

Argument over this case still rumbles on. To me, that also indicates resonable doubt and that the original verdict was unsound.

[bus140808]

Speaking as a limey myself I think the reason her sentence outraged a load of brits is because the law in this country is too soft and a load of crap

[inkey2]

@bus140808 I just do not understand why it outraged Brits....I am sure there are other cases in the USA where an American girl was accused of killing or abusing children. It's not like it was a kangaroo court like in the movie midnight express

[RaeRae914]

Little bitch..

[Jane1620]

I suppose that Matty killed himself. She is a bitch that couldn't control her temper.She got angry and killed him. A beautifully little boy was killed by Louise Woodward.She should be in jail.

[memovp]

But without food..starving to dead

[Jane1620]

She did it.

[siattisc]

sorry i mean the little boy lol

[samnbobby]

I wonder what the reaction would have been if an usa Nanny had caused the death of a British child or if an American Nanny had worked for the Eappens. Louise must feel some guilt over the baby's death - she's surely guilty of not getting medical help sooner if nothing else. Any teenager with an ounce of common sense would get help if a child had been out of sorts all day. Regarding her trust fund, surely the sensible thing for all concerned is if an audited balance sheet is made public.

[siattisc]

i thought it was the girls farther that killed her not louise??????????????

[ChrisIIIcube]

No... It was Louise Woodward who killed Matthew Eapon. Louise would slam the baby's head on hard surfaces to get him to sleep.

She was tried and convicted of 2nd Degree Murder... but Judge Hillard Zorbel let her go with time served...about the same time as Matthew Eapons lifespan.

[mrface19]

Yes, because you know that for certain, don't you?

[ChrisIIIcube]

I watched the trial and agreed with the unanimous jury.

Why have a jury at all if the judge can just cast aside their verdict.

[mrface19]

That's not knowing it for certain. Don't say things in that manner unless you were there. For all you know the parents were the guilty party...

[ChrisIIIcube]

Pretty difficult to ignore her friends testimony about Louise bragging about her "special" method for putting the baby to sleep.

And why would the people in line for the broadway show lie? They didn't even know her.

How can you ignore the medical evidence?

[MrGrevy]

@mrface19 stfu

[Anoldtreeok]

@ChrisIIIcube Um, did you even look beyond that? It was later revealed no one on the jury actually thought she was a murderer...

[ChrisIIIcube]

@Anoldtreeok Yeah right... the jury just CONVICTED HER OF MURDER for laughs, you know, just to check out her reaction.

[ciarogciarogeile]

@ChrisIIIcube the jury were idiots, and biased because of the media coverage before the trial. she should have been convicted of manslaughter first time around. afterwards, the jury said that they "didnt think she intended to murder" the baby, which contradicts what the word murder actually means. I dont think she meant to kill him, she just lashed out (which doesnt make her any better) but killing the baby wasnt her intention. she has to live with what she did.

[inkey2]

@samnbobby : look.....Americans generally like Brits, actually... like them alot...its not like she was an Arab / muslum. She was a white anglo speaking perfect English (or at least perfect by American standards) Being a Brit has absolutely nothing to do with her being founduilty ....Americans get convicted for crimes like this all the time.

[samnbobby]

sorry but i didnt say that americans dont like brits! i was just saying if the shoe was on the other foot, for both sides, not just british side,

[inkey2]

to @sammnbobby: all I was really trying to say is that Americans don't even consider Brits foreigners. It was not like she was an Iranian. In my heart I honestly do not believe there was any bias due to her not being American. (side note point of interest: the Eappan family lived about 1 mile from me)