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Rapper “Lil Boosie” acquitted of murder

On Behalf of | May 17, 2012 | Firm News, Murder & Other Homicide Crimes |

Last week, we wrote a post about the murder trial of Torence Hatch, the Baton Rouge rapper known as Lil Boosie. Hatch had been on trial for the 2009 murder of a man gunned down in his home. As we noted, Hatch was accused of hiring a hitman to kill the victim. Prosecutors had apparently included in their evidence a song, the lyrics of which the prosecutors felt contained strong suggestions that Hatch was responsible for the slaying.

The 29-year-old rapper is presently serving an eight-year prison sentence on drug charges unconnected to the murder. The verdict was a real victory for him, as he would have faced life in prison had he been convicted of the murder.

Defense attorneys in the case noted that the swift verdict-jurors came back with a decision in an hour-indicated that Hatch should never have been charged. The prosecution’s case, according to defense attorneys, largely rested on violent imagery and lyrics in Hatch’s music. The “evidence,” they contended, was part of the entertainment industry by which Hatch made his living, and doesn’t reflect on his character or his guilt in the slaying.

The man responsible for the murder, a 19-year-old, reportedly faces murder charges connected to six deaths, including that of the victim in this case. Those murder reportedly took place over a period of 14 months.

In criminal cases, the government bears the burden of proving their case beyond a reasonable doubt. Flimsy evidence is something a good defense attorney will detect and bring to the fore in building up a defense case.

Source: USA Today, “Jurors acquit rapper Lil Boosie of murder,” May 12, 2012

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