Defendant Has Mouth Taped Shut in Court. Martyr or Jerk?

This has everything ATS thrives on. A suspect gagged and handcuffed for demanding his rights in court, accusations of racism, and terroristic threat charges filed.

A Johnstown man who was scheduled to go on trial for assaulting a prison guard became so disruptive during jury selection on Thursday that the judge had the man’s mouth briefly taped shut and his hands handcuffed to a belt around his waist.

From the time the panel of about 40 potential jurors entered the courtroom, Britt became unruly and disruptive.

The defendant complained loudly about only white people being on the panel. He lashed out about deputies being racist.

“Nobody else is black. This is embarrassing to me and my country,” Britt said.

Britt, who was acting as his own attorney, said at times, “You’re hindering my freedom of speech.”

When the panel again was taken out, one of the deputies wrapped a heavy, red tape across Britt’s mouth and around his head. But that still didn’t silence him as he continued to mouth loud noises through the tape.

Finally, Creany sent the prospective jurors out again and ordered the deputies, “Remove him from the courtroom and take him back to the prison.”

The sheriff said that Britt will be charged with criminal mischief for kicking the door and with terroristic threats and disorderly conduct for threatening deputies.

I just don't know. I'm leaning toward calling him a jerk, but the original charges were punching and elbowing a prison guard. Elbowing? Isn't that two minutes in the penalty box? Maybe he's just really irritated. Maybe he's read some of our 'Soverign Citizen" threads.

It just seems that there may be a little more here than I'm seeing at first glance. Any thoughts?

Pennsylvania Defendant Gagged in Court

" Elbowing? Isn't that two minutes in the penalty box?"

lol how dare you good sir.


Check out the locked up series on youtube , and what some of these guards have to go thru , to deal with these criminals.


I would raise here pay over politicians anyday.


There are enough abuses for these guards , who just want a paycheck to feed there fams. To deal with physical assault .


lol . they just doing there jobs , most of em anyway. They deserve some extra slack. That emotional abuse adds up after a while , your just not the same


after you see the life of a prison guard lol

Originally posted by yourboycal2
" Elbowing? Isn't that two minutes in the penalty box?"

lol how dare you good sir.


Check out the locked up series on youtube , and what some of these guards have to go thru , to deal with these criminals.


I would raise here pay over politicians anyday.


There are enough abuses for these guards , who just want a paycheck to feed there fams. To deal with physical assault .


lol . they just doing there jobs , most of em anyway. They deserve some extra slack. That emotional abuse adds up after a while , your just not the same


after you see the life of a prison guard lol

They always have the choice to not work in the for-profit prison industry...why should I feel sorry for someone who knowingly signs up for that?

Well...he was acting as his own lawyer....Personally I think more lawyers should be gagged in court!
In all seriousness though...it'll make it rather hard for him to defend himself with his mouth taped shut. This sounds more like kindergarten than a courtroom.....

Knowing how these prison guards have those jobs as a ego boost and treat the prisoners I`m not so sure the guard didn`t deserve it. I know some guards and Pennsylvania ones at that. They were a shoe string away from being there on the inside I might add at one time or another.

This looks like the same guy and I`m thinking he may have stepped on someone's toes with to much power perhaps. Now I want to know why is he locked up anyhow?

www.youtube.com...


www.youtube.com...=9s

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reply to post by charles1952


Jerk may be to polite What a moron. He has a bright future as a sex object in Prison.

reply to post by Connman

Dear Connman,

As far as I can tell, he's in prison waiting for trial. He allegedly stole his father's car. I think your video has the right guy, but his father was a politician, too, and I don't know if this is Erik, Jr.

With respect,
Charles1952

reply to post by aching_knuckles


"They always have the choice to not work in the for-profit prison industry...why should I feel sorry for someone who knowingly signs up for that? "


Outlandish!


This is hard economic times . Its the first time for many spoilt brats. TO get a taste of reality. Finally realize cheap really is expensive!


secondly , Just because most of them are doing there jobs for a profit business has nothing to do with being assaulted for it and expecting it !


you should feel sorry for them , because they get one tiny pay check compared to what they are worth . They keep criminals of society behind bars. (Yes non violent - drug users should be free)

but like many guardsmen say


they not here for swearing in church


lol...


You better appreciate them , and what they do for a tiny peice of the pie.


You know how in a retail business the people on the floor taste the wrath of customers ? Which should really be directed at head office...

Same with prison guards .

THey take the wrath of the policy makers...


feces mixtures .

Yea , they stir it into a cup for days or weeks , make it nice and nasty for maximum stickyness!!!


innocent guard wants to hand the prisoner his ray and SPLASH,


....



They are underpaid and under appreciated , espically with what they deal with on a daily basis. do u know that that does to a human ? It crosses wires

reply to post by Connman
And I know others in the NY penal system who are decent people looking to put food on their family's tables. Have any of them ever become so irate over prisoner behavior that they fantasized about slugging him/her? Absolutely yes. Have any of them ever done it? Absolutely not or they would have been out of a union-protected pension job (not the most noble reason, perhaps, but an honest one). I know these people personally and they're all good apples who are doing their job and keeping your family and my family safe at night by keeping watch over these prisoners, most of whom have been locked up for legitimate reasons. Can't claim that there is never a bad apple in the bunch (or a few) and you have to hope they'll eventually be weeded out because honestly, are you willing to stand in line for that particular job?

Anyway, back on topic. This is a tough one because it's our right to participate in our own defense and face our accuser; however, if he's using his civil liberties to grandstand and spew in a disruptive way about his supposed persecution (don't forget we're talking about someone already in jail for another crime), perhaps he should lose that right. I'm going to go with the Jerk moniker.

In any event, two things I firmly believe - I can assure you he wasn't there just for lightly "elbowing" the guard and trying to tape his mouth shut is ridiculous, disgusting and humiliating regardless of the circumstances. They should have dismissed the jury immediately and told him that the facts will be reviewed and decided upon without his input (or ad lidem with a court appointed attorney, even if he doesn't want one) if he can't behave himself and participate in his defense in a beneficial manner.

Originally posted by yourboycal2

They are underpaid and under appreciated , espically with what they deal with on a daily basis. do u know that that does to a human ? It crosses wires

Exactly, so why would one sign up for it? No one is holding a gun to your head to work there. Just like a slaughterhouse...you couldnt pay me enough to work there.

Originally posted by timidgal Have any of them ever become so irate over prisoner behavior that they fantasized about slugging him/her? Absolutely yes. Have any of them ever done it? Absolutely not

Tell me another one...

NY...home of AT-TI-CA! AT-TI-CA!

Originally posted by yourboycal2
reply to post by aching_knuckles

 

"They always have the choice to not work in the for-profit prison industry...why should I feel sorry for someone who knowingly signs up for that? "


Outlandish!


This is hard economic times . Its the first time for many spoilt brats. TO get a taste of reality. Finally realize cheap really is expensive!


secondly , Just because most of them are doing there jobs for a profit business has nothing to do with being assaulted for it and expecting it !


you should feel sorry for them , because they get one tiny pay check compared to what they are worth . They keep criminals of society behind bars. (Yes non violent - drug users should be free)

but like many guardsmen say


they not here for swearing in church


lol...


You better appreciate them , and what they do for a tiny peice of the pie.


You know how in a retail business the people on the floor taste the wrath of customers ? Which should really be directed at head office...

Same with prison guards .

THey take the wrath of the policy makers...


feces mixtures .

Yea , they stir it into a cup for days or weeks , make it nice and nasty for maximum stickyness!!!


innocent guard wants to hand the prisoner his ray and SPLASH,


....



They are underpaid and under appreciated , espically with what they deal with on a daily basis. do u know that that does to a human ? It crosses wires

You dont' know what you are talking about. You've obviously never been in the big house. The guards are worse than most of the prisoners, they abuse them every chance they get, and totally get off on their sick power trip. Only a total loser, and a sadistic one at that, would take the job in the first place. Don't give me this tough economic times crap. Just doing their jobs. Yah. That's what all the nazis said too.

reply to post by charles1952


Assaulting an officer of the law (and this includes correctional officers and jailers) is a big nono and is guaranteed to get you deeper into doodoo than if you did what your teachers taught you in grade school and kept your hands, feet and other objects to yourself. I was a C.O. long time ago. Assaulting an officer of the law could easily get you 7 extra years added to your sentence and that includes if they spit on you or in your eyes or face or throw feces at you or piss on you (which they can and will do). Prison is a zoo, quite literally.

Well first of all the guy is an idiot. By having his outburst in front of people who will eventually be on his jury, he just showed he has no ability to control himself. It will not be hard for them to imagine that in prison he is also unable to control himself.

I do not think the Judge should have taped him up. He should have had him removed, assigned a Public Defender to finish off with Jury selection. Instead what this judge has done is actually given this Convict a chance to appeal. Taping him up and having him sitting in front of his future jury can be viewed as prejudicial.

What kind of charge is elbowing and punching? It is assault, plain and simple.

reply to post by aching_knuckles
Over 40 years ago, dude - we should never forget but it's time to leave that mantra alone and stop using it as some type of protest mantra for the penal system as a whole. We can debate all day about what happened at Attica in 1971 but the bottom line is that those prisoners were locked up for a reason and their actions on that day, whether or not answered with excessive force (again, not getting into a debate) was solely facilitated by the actions of some prisoners. It's easy to point fingers when we're not in the middle of the heat.

Attica is one out of about 60 or 65 state prisons in NY, most of which are overcrowded and dangerous places. Again I ask, are you personally standing in line for one of these jobs? If you and your family lived by one of those correctional facilities, would you want those guards trying to keep the status quo?

No disrespect but let's be realistic. It's understandable to be anti-government with all the BS that's taken place, and perhaps the real issue is the overcrowding of prisons because our country is in such poor shape on so many different levels, but that's not what we're talking about here.

reply to post by aching_knuckles


"Exactly, so why would one sign up for it? No one is holding a gun to your head to work there. Just like a slaughterhouse...you couldnt pay me enough to work there."


Its called to make a living. You know during these hard economic times? Why bash them for working there ? when all you need to do is give them a little understanding?


Pay you to work in a slaughterhouse ? ha ! you would probably pass out with your inflated ego , and the animals might damage there hooves stepping on u

reply to post by CaptChaos


"You dont' know what you are talking about. You've obviously never been in the big house. The guards are worse than most of the prisoners, they abuse them every chance they get, and totally get off on their sick power trip. Only a total loser, and a sadistic one at that, would take the job in the first place. Don't give me this tough economic times crap. Just doing their jobs. Yah. That's what all the nazis said too"



right.... because they are all like that ?

abuse them every chance they get ? really......

Guards are worse then most prisoners ? lol . Thats why they are the ones behind bars rite?


I've read articles about police brutality in some cases. I guess all police are the same right?

I read about a corrupt Judge , I guess they are all the same ?

I read a few ignorant posts like yours on ATS does that make all members as bad as you ?


didn't think so....



You bash them for taking this job seriously ?


Who will watch the prisoners? Shall we just let them roam free in public to commit more crimes?


Is that what you like ? could we dump them in your community ?

Will anyone mind ?


Lets see how your friendly criminals do without the guards?

if it doesn't work out , don't cry for those corrections officers back

I would love to hear your alternative solutions for inmates to have no guards? Since the "power hungry" sadistic guards are to blame?

Good find Charles. Restraints to protect others is one issue.... but taping an inmate's mouth shut? This is not the legal or justice system they taught me about in school...

If authorities can silence this man in such a way... what's going to stop them from doing the same to us in the future? What we allow to happen to others becomes a possibility to happen to ourselves. Don't forget that!

Originally posted by aching_knuckles

They always have the choice to not work in the for-profit prison industry...why should I feel sorry for someone who knowingly signs up for that?

indeed being a prison guard is no different than being a straw-boss in ol' dixie

reply to post by charles1952


There is not freedom of speech on the courtroom.. Why is it everyone only goes so far as to barely, and I use that term loosely, read the bill of rights yet refuses to understand how those rights work?

Its not a trial, so his tirades against the deputies is inappropriate to say the least. By acting up in front of potential jurors he is also disrespecting those people who were called in and reported for jury duty.


He is representing himself - acting as his own lawyer - and looking like a tool in the process. By behaving in that manner with potential jurors, he is not helping himself. He is prejudicing every single juror he acts out in front of, and in turn, setting himself up for appeal should the jury find him guilty while using any jurors he spouted off in front of.

The judge was within his rights to gag and restrain him while allowing him to remain in the room. The guy is lucky he was not slapped with contempt charges. Is it really that hard for people to behave in a structured setting?