The Court's Actions Helped the Prosecutor Convict.
The court's concealment from the jury, Christopher Wootton's full violent behavior, allowed the prosecution to falsely portray wootton as a “peacemaker”, in fact Wootton was one of several very drunk aggressors who attacked Drew and his friend Adam in a parking lot with no justification.
Drew and his friend Adam were clearly in a life threatening situation. There were just two of them, outnumbered by 10-12 others. While still wearing his backpack, Drew was pushed and shoved deep into a sorority parking lot, knocked to the ground and repeatedly kicked by a group including Sigma Pi and possibly Delta Upsilon members or their friends. (Berkeley Police Department photos document injuries Drew sustained from his attackers. Drew had many bruises, abrasions and dried blood deposits from his head down to his lower legs.)
Wootton joined the attack on Drew bygrabbing Drew from behind, lifting him up, spinning him around, then throwing him to the ground at the feet of another Sigma Pi member, who then picked Drew up and slammed Drew onto a car hood, hard enough to put a big dent into the car. Wootton weighed 195. Drew weighed 175. And no one saw Drew hit anyone.
Wooton’s reported blood alcohol content at the time of his death was 0.21. A .21 is the equivalent of 14 drinks in his system. Drew’s reported BAC was 0.00.
Every human being in that situation would be afraid. This was clearly, not murder. This was self-defense.
The court's concealment from the jury, Christopher Wootton's full violent behavior, allowed the prosecution to falsely portray wootton as a “peacemaker”, in fact Wootton was one of several very drunk aggressors who attacked Drew and his friend Adam in a parking lot with no justification.
Drew and his friend Adam were clearly in a life threatening situation. There were just two of them, outnumbered by 10-12 others. While still wearing his backpack, Drew was pushed and shoved deep into a sorority parking lot, knocked to the ground and repeatedly kicked by a group including Sigma Pi and possibly Delta Upsilon members or their friends. (Berkeley Police Department photos document injuries Drew sustained from his attackers. Drew had many bruises, abrasions and dried blood deposits from his head down to his lower legs.)
Wootton joined the attack on Drew bygrabbing Drew from behind, lifting him up, spinning him around, then throwing him to the ground at the feet of another Sigma Pi member, who then picked Drew up and slammed Drew onto a car hood, hard enough to put a big dent into the car. Wootton weighed 195. Drew weighed 175. And no one saw Drew hit anyone.
Wooton’s reported blood alcohol content at the time of his death was 0.21. A .21 is the equivalent of 14 drinks in his system. Drew’s reported BAC was 0.00.
Every human being in that situation would be afraid. This was clearly, not murder. This was self-defense.
