Robinson Trial -- what the jury didn't hear

[professorpan]

I would have tacked this on to the other Robinson trial thread, but thought it deserved its own:<br><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.courttv.com/trials/priest/051106_jurydidnthear_ctv.html?print=yes&page=">www.courttv.com/trials/pr...=yes&page=</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br>The case against Rev. Robinson: What the jury didn't hear<br><br>By Harriet Ryan<br><br>Court TV<br>TOLEDO, Ohio — The jury that convicted the Rev. Gerald Robinson Thursday listened to 41 witnesses during the three-week trial, but they did not hear every piece of information authorities uncovered in the course of their investigation.<br><br>Prosecutors were barred by law from presenting some evidence against the priest. Other information was deemed irrelevant to the murder of Sr. Margaret Ann Pahl or open to too many interpretations to benefit their case. Among the things jurors did not hear:<br><br>The polygraph. Two weeks after the murder, Robinson failed a lie detector exam given by a police investigator. A retest administered by a polygrapher hired by the Catholic diocese the next month was inconclusive. The defense has said the priest was too exhausted and stressed from the police interrogation for the test to be effective.<br><br>S&M allegation. In 2003, a nun told a diocesan panel that she was sexually abused by Robinson when she was 15. She claimed that another priest paid her father to let Robinson engage her in sadomasochistic acts involving a whip. The same woman also alleged she was raped repeatedly as a girl during satanic rituals led by priests. Authorities have not been able to substantiate or disprove her charges.<br><br>Occult book. When police searched Robinson's home in 2004, they found a pamphlet entitled "The Occult." Many passages were underlined, including one describing a black Mass in which "an innocent" was used as an altar. The booklet was published by a Catholic group in the 1970s, before the murder, but it was unclear whether Robinson obtained it before or after the murder.<br><br>Swiatecki's pleas. When police interviewed Robinson about two weeks after the murder, the other hospital chaplain, Rev. Jerome Swiatecki, accompanied him to the station. According to the detectives, Swiatecki — the son of a police officer — emphatically and repeatedly urged Robinson to "just tell them the truth." Some in law enforcement have speculated that Robinson confessed to Swiatecki, but that Swiatecki would have been bound by the seal of the confessional not to reveal any details.<br><br>Coffin photos. Police officers searching Robinson's house in 2004 found hundreds of photos of corpses in coffins. Some appeared to be very old and European. Although taking pictures of dead relatives is common among some ethnic traditions, the sheer number in the priest's house suggested that not all of the dead were family members. <p></p><i></i>

[Rigorous Intuition]

Swiatecki seems to have known something, right from the time of the murder.<br><br>From <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://rigorousintuition.blogspot.com/2006/05/devil-you-know-part-one_04.html">this post</a><!--EZCODE LINK END-->:<br><br>"Robinson said he was stunned when he walked into the sacristy and [fellow hospital chaplain Rev. Jerome] Swiatecki turned around and said, <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>'Why did you do this?'</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> Robinson said he did not know why the other priest pointed the finger at him."<br><br> <p></p><i></i>

[Sepka]

<!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>Coffin photos. Police officers searching Robinson's house in 2004 found hundreds of photos of corpses in coffins. Some appeared to be very old and European.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br>While I personally think Robinson's guilty, and that these were probably fetish objects for him, I do feel compelled to note that Victorian funerary portraits are red-hot collectibles these days, so it's at least plausible that he had an innocent explanation for these.<br><br>-Sepka the Space Weasel <p></p><i></i>

[mother]

Thanks for posting this, Pan. What the heck is this about the coffin collection, and what is Robinson's ethnic excuse? I am morally certain that there's a huge body of info no jury will ever hear. My suspicions center around the hospital staff, and Robinson's access to the sick and dying, and to mothers giving birth. I know Pan, that you are far less hotheaded about these matters than I- what's your skeptical take on this? <p></p><i></i>

[professorpan]

I don't know, mother. It's hard to say based upon the limited information at hand. Maybe if any of the jurors talk we might get more insight. <br><br>I'll certainly post anything new that appears on my radar. <p></p><i></i>