Thomas Woolly
The manslaughter trial of Thomas Woolly got off to an interesting start Tuesday with a discussion on whether the defendant could have his Bible in the courtroom.
Deputy District Attorney Jack Roth brought the matter up before the jury was brought in.
Roth said prosecutors had no problem with Woolly having his Bible with him.
“The people aren’t saying he can’t look at it when he wants to,” Roth said. “What the people object to is the prominent display on the defense table.”
Roth offered citations of several previous cases where the issue came up, including one in which the judge offered a defendant a manila envelope to keep the Bible stored in.
Woolly’s lawyer Patrick Mika responded by saying, “I don’t know if we have 12 atheists on the jury or 12 religious people.”
“Mr. Woolly is a religious person,” Mika added. “He would prefer to have the Bible open at all times. A closed Bible doesn’t do anybody any good anyway.”
Judge Robert Lowrey said he was concerned that a display of the Bible “could cause a juror to have thoughts that are not relevant to the case.”
“This court has no qualms with the argument that Mr. Woolly is a religious man,” the judge added.
When Wooley put his Bible away, the judge told him he leave it out, just so long as it remained open.
And with that, the jury came in and testimony got underway.
Woolly is accused in the May 10, 2009 fatal shooting of Lisa Baumann, 19, in an apartment at 4116 Westmeadow Drive. His lawyer has argued that the shooting was accidental. Prosecutors claim Woolly was reckless in his handling of the gun.
The trial is in recess until 1:3o p.m. today. Stay with the Sidebar blog for updates.
I truly believe that Mr. Woolly is disrespecting our U.S. Constitution and the Christian religion by having a Bible in the courtroom to influence jurors to be sympathetic towards him. If Mr. Woolly is such a religious man why was he at a party with a woman who wasn’t his wife? Believers in Christ depend on his guidance and protection and don’t carry guns into an apartment with alcohol and underage girls. This whole Bible and crying in the courtroom stunt is clearly an orchestrated defense tactic. As I’m sure postponing the trial till right before Christmas was. There are two different photos of Woolly on the web of him pointing a pistol at himself! This man is obviously reckless and disregards any knowledge of safe weapon handling. He needs to be held responsible for his carelessness without question. Upon researching this case on the web I discovered that initial reports stated Woolly was returning the pistols hammer to it’s non ready to fire position when it slipped and fired. Now reports are saying that his thumb slipped on the hammer without having already cocked it. I think this man is lying and will do or say whatever to avoid responsibility for his actions. If he was at an apartment with friends he knew why did he have a pistol? What kind of friends were they? Why did he have a pistol? Drug dealings or premeditated activities perhaps? I hope that the judge throws the book at this guy! I have a son attending School here in the Springs and would feel a lot more secure knowing that this guy is off the streets and a gun out of his hand.
Where are the updates for this trial?
Why do all the news reports on this story keep mentioning Woolly received a purple heart? This has no relevance to the case. Not one of these news reports mentions that Woolly was forced to undergo a substance abuse program at Fort Carson for his cocaine use. Or that he had been demoted as a disciplinary action. Why are there reports trying to make this guy out to be a hero? He killed a teenager and needs to be held responsible! Why a manslaughter charge and not a murder charge? The Colorado Springs judicial system is a joke! This guy is going to get away with murder!