April 29, 2010
Our Blocked Testimony
The 6th Amendment to the Constitution guarantees the right to present a defense and to call witnesses, but on the first day of Wayne Bent’s trial, Judge Gerald Baca struck several of our crucial witnesses from the witness list. All of the excluded were women who had relevant testimony which would have rebutted the assertions of state’s “expert” witnesses. Their testimony was not “cumulative” as Judge Baca alleged. Two of the women had participated in or witnessed the events leading up to the “pouring out of the plagues” ceremony, and one witness, Misty Sayer, had sought out and experienced the same healing ritual that both of the State’s minor witnesses had testified to, and over which my father was charged and ultimately convicted. Of Misty, Judge Baca stated, “I don’t find her testimony is material or relevant, and I’ll strike her testimony and not permit her to testify.”
But was Misty’s testimony irrelevant? Misty could have explained how the ceremony worked, and how it impacted upon her in a positive way. Wouldn’t it have been important for the jury to hear this exculpatory testimony? Judge Baca’s decision had a serious impact on my father’s ability to present a defense, thus violating his 6th Amendment rights. The only witnesses from our church who testified in my father’s defense were two men whose testimony was not directly relevant to the healing events in question.
In recent weeks we have been in communication with some researchers who have followed Wayne Bent’s criminal case from the beginning, and who have raised serious legal issues about how the trial was conducted. They have sought from us, and received, several written statements from those concerned about the outcome of this case, including important statements from two of the excluded witnesses, Tonda Dale and Misty Sayer. These statements are posted on the Strong City Mirror site, and more are forthcoming. This “mirror site” is independently operated and not affiliated with this website or The Lord Our Righteousness Church. These statements should be read by everyone who has an interest in justice and religious tolerance.
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