Expendable For A Cause.

At the preliminary hearing, Richard was beaten up by court bailiffs. It is unclear what happened, but as an elderly female witness was brought into the courtroom behind him, three bailiffs jumped on Richard and dragged him, still in his chair into the holding cell.

Richard was completely defenceless, as he was forced (unconstitutionally) to wear ankle shackles and as such, not a threat to anyone. He had no history of violence towards any court staff or prison guards. Nonetheless, one bailiff had him in a chokehold, while another – let’s name and shame him – Steve De Prima, evidently a violent thug, punched Richard several times in the face. Clearly enjoying beating up a defenceless man, they refused to allow Richard’s defence team into the holding cell. Eventually, Arturo Hernandez was permitted to peer in through a peephole and cried out, “You don’t have to hit him anymore. He’s not moving anymore.” He then turned to the courtroom and said “There’s four guys on top of him.”

“Three bailiffs repeatendly struck the lanky defendant with their fists as they jumped on him and quickly pulled him out a doorway and back to his holding cell. Ramirez, who as usual was manacled in leg chains, did not cry out during the brief struggle. After a half-hour recess, Ramirez’s preliminary hearing continued with the defendant grinning broadly as he was led back into the courtroom. A red scratch mark was evident on his neck where one of the bailiffs had applied a chokehold.”

– L.A. Times, 1st May 1986.

Who is the criminal here? People clearly are not safe around Steve De Prima and company. One of the useless Hernandez defence attorneys asserted that De Prima had been “antagonistic and hostile” towards the defendant for the previous 8 weeks of the hearing. De Prima’s excuse was that the defendant had turned around as the witness (Esperanza Contreras Gonzales) entered, so he took it upon himself to assault Richard, grabbing him by the hair, and forcing him to face the front of the courtroom. The defence stated that Richard had only turned to confer with his lawyers.

Steve De Prima and his uncontrolled anger issues were removed for the duration of the case, but he was not punished. It is unknown whether the other aggressive bailiffs were allowed to remain.

Richard’s history of multiple serious head injuries and epilepsy was covered up and would not have been known to bailiffs, but he was the last person anybody should have been punching in the head – not that any defendant should be punched, whatever they are accused of. What kind of clown court was this, where three men (and apparently a fourth) were allowed to attack a defenceless and chained man before he was even on proper trial, let alone convicted? They had no right to mete out their own personal ‘justice’ in such a way. There was also some strange, unprofessional goings-on between both the defence and the prosecution here.

After the day’s session, Hernandez said that Ramirez had suffered scratches, but no extensive injuries. Ramirez laughed when he came back in the courtroom, Hernandez said, because he was embarrased. Hernandez accused Halpin of trying to provoke him into fighting. As Hernandez shouted at the bailiffs to stop hitting his client, the defense lawyer said, “Halpin was saying, ‘why don’t you wait until they come out and beat them up?”

– L.A. Times, 1st May 1986.

It is important to note that this was also during the discussion regarding Jesse Perez and the false murder weapon. What a convenient distraction from the fact that Perez admitted he received the Jennings pistol before the Dois were supposedly murdered with it. The entire Ramirez case never fails to disgust.

-VenningB-

4th November 2022