Happy Super Bowl Sunday! The lack of the Patriots playing in the big game this year decidedly lowers the stakes for me, but it also removes any real stress from the event. I’ll just be chilling at home, watching with my kids.
I have taken it extra easy this weekend, which was necessary after how the last couple of weeks have gone. The winter weather threw Northwest Arkansas into absolute chaos for a week, and that paired with the onset of covering a capital murder trial had me feeling like I really needed to catch my breath.
Reporting on this trial is a major chore. Mauricio Torres is charged with capital murder in the death of his six-year-old son. He has already been convicted twice. The first was tossed out due to a sentencing technicality, and the second was declared a mistrial during the sentencing phase when his stepson, when asked if Torres had ever abused him, jumped out of the witness box and attempted to attack the defendant.
Benton County prosecutor Nathan Smith is a very talented attorney, and his strategy is clearly just to lay things out for the jury in a linear fashion and let the events and the evidence speak for themselves. The first day was a whirlwind, with seven different witnesses called to the stand. Two were teachers of the victim and their testimony was very similar, detailing how he was a sweet kid that went through clear and evident changes. They also both noticed and documented physical signs of abuse.
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