[fullwidth background_color=”” background_image=”” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding_top=”20″ padding_bottom=”20″ padding_left=”0″ padding_right=”0″ hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][title size=”1″ content_align=”left” style_type=”underline solid” sep_color=”#000000″ margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]Prosecutors in Byron Smith murder trial submit court filing in response to Smith’s appeal[/title][fusion_text]Monday, June 8th 2015
The attorneys who prosecuted the Byron Smith murder trial in Little Falls submitted a court filing Thursday which was a response to Smith’s appeal of his convictions for the Thanksgiving Day 2012 shootings of Haile Kifer and Nicholas Brady, who broke into Smith’s house and were shot multiple times. According to the 61 page report filed Thursday, prosecutors wrote in detail what Smith did for what Smith claimed was his evidence of self-defense including waiting in his basement for the two to break into his house. The report then continues into the murder of the two teenagers and what Smith did following. Jurors needed just three hours to convict Smith on first degree murder charges. The appeal Smith filed argued that he was prevented by the trial judge from presenting a complete defense. Morrison County District Court Judge Douglas Anderson denied Smith’s request to let jurors hear from Brady’s friends who would have connected Brady to previous burglaries at Smith’s house. But Anderson didn’t allow that testimony because he said there was no evidence that Smith knew that Brady was involved in the burglaries before the shootings. Prosecutors stressed that point repeatedly in the brief filed Thursday, arguing that it didn’t matter that Smith learned days after the shooting that Brady had burglarized his home more than once prior to the day of the shootings. Another one of those claims was that the judge improperly prevented the defense from calling an expert witness who was going to testify about how high-stress situations can affect how a person sees, hears and reacts to events during a crisis. The appeal also claims that the grand jury indictment of Smith was flawed and that prosecutors committed misconduct in closing arguments. It also argues that Anderson improperly closed the courtroom when hearing arguments about whether to allow evidence of Brady’s participation in previous burglaries. Prosecutors said those decisions by the judge were proper and that if there was any error, it wouldn’t have changed the fact that Smith planned and carried out the murder of the teenagers. The State Appellate Court has continued to hear reports from both sides in the Smith case and have yet to set any date for appeals.
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