My Prediction

I posted this as a comment over on PC's blog, in his recent thread about the defense recommended verdict slips. Since I'm laying my chips on the table by calling this a "prediction" I thought it appropriate that I post it here as it's own new topic as well:

Generally speaking, a defense that plans to seriously go for a "home run" (ie, a not guilty verdict) usually will move to have the lesser murder charges (2nd and 3rd degree) dropped, and stake all their hopes on a choice between 1st degree and innocence. This way, they avoid the danger of a jury that might have voted innocent coming to a compromise lesser guilty verdict.

But here, we see the defense overjoyed that those options are in the instructions. Getting 2nd or 3rd, to them, would be like hitting a double or a triple! No need to even worry about the DP phase (ie, a possible strikeout) if they hit one of these

Reading the tea leaves, this tells me they don't plan to challenge the case much in the guilt-or-innocence phase (which is strategically wise, in that it avoids insulting the jury's intelligence with tin-foil hatted conspiracy theories on how Harlow and Joe were "set up"), but to save their main efforts for the DP phase.

Oh the defense attornies will no doubt go through the motions; they'll make occasional mild efforts to cross examine witnesses, perhaps bring in their 5 (LOL!) alibi witnesses (who'll get shredded by the prosecution), and then at the end, make the usual speech about "presumed innocence" and "reasonable doubt." But they aren't going to push it. Like I said, they don't want to antagonize the same jurors who'll be sitting in on the penalty phase by insulting their intelligence.

Then will come the penalty phase...THIS is when, I predict, you'll see the defense attornies come to life. And you know, they actually have a reasonable shot here. The defense would try to argue the fire "wasn't really all that bad;" that those firemen "weren't really in as much danger as those prosecutors are alledging."

If the defense can do that, and bring in a lot of pro-Harlow and Joe character witnesses (if you recall, a very early defense motion for a delay cited the need for a worldwide character witness search as one of it's reasons behind the request)...perhaps even tug at the jury's heartstrings with Harlow's abuse story (mentioned on the BBTs)...then yeah, they could "win" in the DP phase.

And I think, strategically, that is what they are going for now. That, and no more.

So, if anyone here is expecting massive revelations and fireworks at trial time; i.e. some sort of Perry Mason bombshell to be dropped that might let H&J waltz out of there free...well, prepare ye self for a huge disappointment.

That is my prediction.

Brent and Jonah Go A-Protestin'

From the local San Diego HillcrestBlog:


You can read the whole blog entry here, but it's interesting that the blog author lists fellow AGS-GGW actor Jonah Blechman (aka 'Miko') as his lover; I wasn't even aware they were an item!

Of course, he signs off every one of his blog posts "Your friend and lover," so, perhaps in that sense we are all Brent's lovers (including me). :-)

Anyways, this photo appears to be from the San Diego protest Saturday before last, mentioned briefly in Brent's last post (before jetting off to New York) that he was too pooped to write about yet.

And J.C. Adams has a round-up of other recent Prop 8 porn star activism here.

Update: OK, a bit off topic (concerns Brent's current NYC jaunt) but funny: Brent leaves a party, and runs into Michael Lucas on the way out. :-)

Update 2: LOL!



Update 3: Brent was actually protesting Prop 8 on both seacoasts this month:


...and manages to get name-dropped several other times in this HX column as well.

I Think Something's About To Happen...

...but that's all I'm going to say about it, for now.

"You Know, I Never Thought I'd Be Worried About Going to Death Row...It's, It's Just Really Hard..."

Starting November 5th (tomorrow) Here! TV will present a seven-part documentary about porn stars "Everything You Wanted To Know About Gay Porn Stars* *but were afraid to ask." According to a recent interview in the Advocate (thanks Will for this tip) documentarian John Roecker "captures those often-troubled souls of gay adult cinema."

What's interesting about this as far as we are concerned is that one of the "porn stars" Roecker interviews is Harlow Cuadra:

"Roecker is particularly proud of the episode centering on Harlow Cuadra, a former porn star and escort accused (along with boyfriend Joseph Kerekes) of brutally murdering rival porn producer Bryan Kocis. “This kid was being pummeled on the blogs, so I wrote to him in prison. I wanted to give him the same respect I gave everyone else. I said, ‘If you want to tell your story, here’s your forum.’ ” Roecker interviewed the now–27-year-old by phone from his Pennsylvania prison, and the audio appears in the film along with personal photos he acquired from Cuadra’s mother. Roecker considers his work with Cuadra “the most emotionally draining experience” of his life.

As Cuadra awaits trial, scheduled for January, Roecker says prosecutors have been asking him to turn over letters he exchanged with the inmate, even though he says those letters and their telephone calls had been monitored. “I’m not doing anything illegal,” he says. “If there was a smoking gun, I’d go to the authorities.” Roecker has kept in touch with Cuadra since and hopes to follow up with another chapter in the series."

"This kid was being pummeled on the blogs..." Really? Well that's shocking. Does anyone know of any blogs that might have engaged in this sort of pummelling? Anyone have any idea what blogs Roecker might be referring to?

Buuuut seriously folks...also of interest to us here are two of the other interviewees: Jason Ridge, who tried a few months back to create a "Free Harlow" campaign as a publicity stunt to promote his fledgling studio, and Caleb Carter, an early promulgator of the now discredited "hit man" story.








Hmmmm...given this Advocate quote by Roecker that he set out on a crusade to address the wrongs wrought by those eeeeevil Harlow-pummelling blogs out there, not to mention the story direction two of his other interviewees would have undoubtably urged on him...I'd say anyone who views this documentary should be prepared to do so with a skeptical eye.

Which won't be me, it looks like. I was a Here! subscriber for a while (it is a pay cable service, like HBO), but I never watched it. Until now, there was never anything on this channel that interested me. Then, I moved and changed providers, and they don't carry it. Which is just as well, because based on my previous subscription, I doubt I would have elected to in any case.

So, if anyone out there manages to get Here!, you'll have to fill us in with comments on how this show goes. But like I said, take this thing with a grain of salt (it looks like you'll need to keep a full salt shaker handy near your TV for this purpose).

A trailer clip below. You can clearly see Roecker's main overall storyline he's pushing here: The nightmare dark side of being in gay porn. He actually managed to convince a couple of these knuckleheads to shoot themselves up with needles and light a crackpipe on camera.

Also interesting to me is how Roecker uses a near-blinding stage light on the floor, to illuminate his subjects from below. This is a common photographic trick, used when you want to make your subjects look as bad as possible. From this angle, every shadow becomes unflattering, every flaw and wrinkle is highlighted, and the subjects are made to age about ten years as a result. Incidentally, this lighting technique became infamous earlier in this political campaign season, when a John McCain hating photographer used it to take really bad pictures of the candidate (she was fired by her magazine as a result).

Like I said, salt shakers people, salt shakers!



Update: Promo video for the Harlow episode:



Update 2: First comment posted on Jason Curious' thread:



Update 3: Here! seems to have pushed back the scheduled air date of the series until later this month, as according to J.C. Adams a pre-broadcast screening will now take place in L.A. on November 19.

Update 4: Harlow gets a marriage proposal. Hey why not, Scott Peterson gets them all the time! In any case, another clue as to the slant this documentary is about to take.

Update 5: John Roecker (left) and Jason Ridge (right). YJCMTSU!:



Update 6: Jason Curious plans a celebratory afterparty.