Update: Actually, according to PC's 7:35pm update, Harlow got two lives, served consecutively, plus a few other goodies:
"Life w/o Parole for first-degree murderIt's entirely appropriate that Harlow should get two life sentences to Joe's one, as Harlow was, after all, the dominant partner and criminal mastermind in this relationship (see Update 6 to this post here). The only other sentences I could've hoped for was anger management classes; and $1000 restitution to Matthew Brannon (since Harlow obviously isn't going to "webmaster school" at ODU now).
Life w/o Parole for criminal conspiracy engaging
20 Years for the rest
1 Year probation."
Update 2: GayWired: "Porn Wannabe Harlow Cuadra Gets Life in Prison". I like the accompanying photo!
Update 3: LOL! of the week: Harlow's lawyers declare victory! No, I am NOT making this up. Although, they admit "[Harlow] wasn’t the best witness."
Update 4: An emotional Melnick "lauds all who aided conviction." ""We were prepared for Harlow taking the stand; I felt he did very poorly," Melnick said. "I saw some things, like when he said (Kocis) was talking after his neck was slashed that nearly decapitated him.""Update 5: Meanwhile, another touching story from a porn star, wrongly accused. Wow, according to Howard, he's only gotten one fan letter so far (was it from Nep?).
42 comments:
Phew!
Not surprizing. The informal polls on the blogs indicated that Harlow would get life and should get life.
I can't say I'm surprised or disappointed.
Damn you V.J., I was SURE I would be first this time!
And YOU again Geoff?? I give up.
Although I said early that I thought Harlow did the cutting, I can see plenty of reasonable doubt about that. He is culpable and guilty, but he may only have been an accomplice. Life without is fair enough. Put him to work in the prison infirmary checking hernias and prostates.
You know, the irony here is, mixed with the general prison population, I wouldn't be surprised if Harlow now has a higher actuarial mortality rate than he would if he had been sent to Pennsylvania's death row.
I guess time will tell.
Well, it's over folks. Let the post game show begin.
I'm sure freewronglyconvictedharlowcuadra.com has already been claimed. Anybody want to send in $70k?
Geoff--
That would be a waste of good money.
But one can hear the spin cycle cranking up in the background.
We need a reality show wrap-up. Where are they now? What are the boybatter bum boys doing to pay the rent? What are Nep and company doing to get laid?
Further wrap-up: how does Sean Lockhart's income from porn making over the last two years compare with Harlow and Joe's expectations? How many checks did John Roecker bounce in the most recent cycle? How do his total nsf charges this calendar year compare with his income from the Here!TV mockumentary?
"Geoff Harvard said...
Further wrap-up: how does Sean Lockhart's income from porn making over the last two years compare with Harlow and Joe's expectations?"
I don't know, but Brent was musing about buying a horse ranch on the central California coast someday, in a blog post a few months ago, IIRC.
A fool and his illusions are soon parted, but not soon enough.
The next thing to look for will be media interviews of the 12 jurors. They should be interesting...
Geoff Harvard said...
How do his total nsf charges this calendar year compare with his income from the Here!TV mockumentary?
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Legendary director W. Herzog I think it was said that America has created a new genre, and it is not the mockumentary, but the "crockumentary". And I think that is what the Here TV thing might be.
Pastor George has posted a very loving, inspiring message on PC's. But he left out the "Harlow killed no one" line this time. And he offered some vague excuse for not attending the trial. Somehow I think even he has come to his senses.
Well, that's awfully swell of him, considering his support and encouragement of Harlow's folly almost got him executed.
I have been in a gnostic trance for a few minutes. The Holy Spirit has given me a Word of Knowledge that Pastor George is of a feather with other fictional internet creatures emanating from Greensboro.
Yea!
Harlow has to spend the next 60 years thinking about what he did.
Yea!!!
And it's not telling any tales out of school to say that Harlow and Joe's expectations for the amount of money they'd make off of Brent vids was a weeeee bit optimistic.
Oh and the Unnamed One already has a Free Harlow website. Quelle surprise, I know.
will g said...
Pastor George has posted a very loving, inspiring message on PC's. But he left out the "Harlow killed no one" line this time. And he offered some vague excuse for not attending the trial. Somehow I think even he has come to his senses.
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He has. And he almost made me feel like I was too hard on him.
John Lennon wrote and sang with conviction that: "All I want is the truth, just gimme some truth now" on his best selling and most enduring solo LP recording.
Jody said...
Yea!
Harlow has to spend the next 60 years thinking about what he did.
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Uh huh! If he is smart enough to comprehend what, when, where, and how it all unraveled for him, then it might drive him completely mad. That slow understanding, an insight here, and a moment of clarity there.
So this life thing, it is not big joke everyone is in on but Harlow, is another really bad day he is having I would say. This time he really gets it that it is real.
Now Harlow was just getting settled in good in his last jail digs. So now does he have to move out of that place for a lesser one with worse view and fewer amenities?
Or is he now moving on up!
>This time he really gets it that it is real.This time he really gets it that it is real.
I sure hope he does. As I think about it though, I imagine he'll probably spend the first 30 years in denial, maintaining his innocence.
At least his mom and his siblings will still be able to write to him. That should make life a little easier on her.
"but he may only have been an accomplice"
Exactly Geoff,
personally I feel there are so many unanswered questions as to exactly who did what.
Life without poss. is fair-
I am so iffy on the death penalty issue -
it is selfish but I am glad it is not being dealt with here.
Now that this phase has passed us-
Burning question I have-
Why did Harlow want a trial?-
to [as he said] "get the truth out"
What the hell was the "truth"?
He waited and wanted and waited and wanted a trial - got one and it really went bad for him.
Could he have been naive/stupid enough to believe the outcome would be any different than it was?
Was Mitch there to give him some "good advice"? he's paying the bills and will have the "priveledge" to continue to pay them until he gets bored of his new lover. Mitch has one thing in his favor - if he is the controlling type- he will now be able to keep tabs on his young, jailed for life boyfriend- he will
know exactly where beloved Harlow is at all times.
He may not like Harlows other gentleman visitors but even with his big bucks there is not much Mitch can do about that.
Harlow is where he belongs.
His Mother and family should never have had to go through this-
life can be very unfair.
Well, I'm going to step away from the computer for a bit, do some shopping.
After two years of flapping my gums about this case, this case is now over. So, I'm gonna celebrate...pick myself out a nice juicy steak, and grill it up.
Or perhaps, some juicy lamb instead. :-)
There will be minor aftershocks to blog about in coming days, and some final thoughts milling about inside my head...but the main part is now over. After two years. Finally.
Look for a gradually decreasing frequency of postings, from now until May 15, which as per my earlier post is still on schedule as the date of my retirement.
V.J. said...
"Burning question I have-
Why did Harlow want a trial?-
to [as he said] "get the truth out"
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Unbelievable confidence and optimism here at play. Just like he did not have the stop signs or warnings, no red flags, no worries, not any of those things we get when it just does not feel right to us. I wonder if he ever got headaches? Or did he never even feel those?
He had the balls of a brass monkey. And really figured that there was that 80% chance of walking away free one day.
However he was delusional, and unrealistic. That is the thread that runs though the whole story right up to the Guilty verdict.
That trait might have made him good as hustling too.
""Burning question I have-
Why did Harlow want a trial?-"
Oh, I have a future post, already written inside my head, BURSTING to get out on this very subject.
Not sure when I'll get around to posting it here, but you wait...it'll be a doozy, I guarantee you!
Steak on the grill now (I was gonna get a lamb to roast, and there was none in the entire supermarket meat section to be found...can you believe that?!?!).
Blogger jim said...
Steak on the grill now (I was gonna get a lamb to roast, and there was none in the entire supermarket meat section to be found...can you believe that?!?!).
Uh Lamb is popular this time of year,Costco was wiped out Friday.
Enjoy your steak Jim ;)
[burp]
Well he always has that one-year probation to look forward to after his two life sentences are completed.
Regarding Update 3...here is what the Times Leader reported a few days ago:
"Going against his lawyer's advice not to testify, Cuadra told the Luzerne County jury..."
And here's from the Harlow defense "victory interview" linked to in Update 3:
"“He has to take the stand in a death-penalty case. There was no question he had to,” Walker said. D’Andrea agreed and said he’d put Cuadra on the stand no matter how many times he’d get a do-over of the case."
The trial was a frenzy of pan-perjury as the participants and witnesses all tried to conceal or minimize their guilt.
I don't believe Joe's allocution.
I don't believe Harlow's testimony.
I don't believe Michael Kocis's testimony that he knew nothing about Bryan's pornography business. Where did he think the money came from, the failed cell phone business? Bryan hadn't had a regular job or income for a decade.
That master of the lateral arabesque, Robert Wagner, has been evasive about his role in Cobra and has fled the U. S.
The list is by no means inclusive.
One thing we tend to forget these days Geoff, is that Bryan went by a fake name (Bryan Phillips) as head of Cobra.
So logically, he was concealing his porn involvement from somebody...and who more likely to keep in the dark than relatives?
"Robert Wagner, has been evasive about his role in Cobra and has fled the U. S."
He hasn't been evasive since he left the stand, and in fact, has been openly contradictory of the whole "they have blood on their hands" mantra.
Time once again guys, to move on re: this subject.
Jim, I nearly spat up my Cheerios reading the interviews with the defense team in both newspapers this morning. Not since Harlow's testimony have I felt my intelligence so insulted. It almost makes me wonder if they are intentionally trying to lay the groundwork for an appeal by Harlow on the basis of incompetent counsel? There's already the built-in argument that the new lawyers didn't have enough time to prepare, conveniently set up by Roecker. Now, with such boneheaded statements as their admission that Harlow made a very bad witness but that they would still put him on the stand if they had to do it over again, the cynic in me wonders what's really going on here. I just cannot believe they are really that stupid.
"It almost makes me wonder if they are intentionally trying to lay the groundwork for an appeal by Harlow on the basis of incompetent counsel?"
That's possible. I think it's more likely they are trying to set up some sort of argument for clemency, for when a relatively soft-hearted governor gets elected in PA.
I've been seeing this pattern, in fact. Not only on PC's blog, but on mainstream sites like Towleroad, Advocate and Queerty, in which sock puppets are emerging, repeating the same meme: poor Harlow, dominated by Joe, sent to prison for life!
If any of you have free time in the coming days, just Google "Harlow Cuadra" and/or "Bryan Kocis," scan the comments section, and you'll see what I mean. It seems to be an organized propaganda effort, geared towards creating a fan base who can perhaps influence a future governors office.
Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to counter this propaganda when you see it, linking back to here for support.
And just a reminder...even after I'm gone, I am leaving this blog up forever.
re will g, and attsy said they'd put harlow on the stand again,
i dont think it's anything sinister or manipulative.
i assume they'd sought a delay after joe refused to testify, and it was turned down in chambers.
they had no choice; the evidence was overwhelming he was there at the house, pics, cell phone, rental, motel, computer, etc. Plus the preparations with two knives, one in va and one in Pa and lighter fluid; tapes, tel call to sean to tell him to go the website.
Now with all that evidence, no one contradicted any of it, and there were no other witnesses, save joe and maybe renee, before the defense changed their mind about her.
i agree with the defense, in a 100 out of 100 times to redo it, he had to go on the stand; he was lost otherwise. now imagine, if his testimony had been otherwise, whatever u want to think, there was some chance of persuading one juror that something else happened. he had to take that chance.
jim thinks that there was reasonable doubt already, and Harlow should have stood on his right not to testify; i just don't agree. but it didn't make any difference as far as i can see; the jury didn't believe him.
as far as his being combative or non-responsive, i didn't see the testimony or the transcript, so i don't know. but he said nothing that was corroborated that he didn't participate in the crime, and that he didn't conspire with joe to do the crime. the jealous rage, harlow's calling sean to inform him of the murder/fire, harlow's calling falcon re his representation of sean, his going on the run with joe for that long period of time in florida, and in jail for way over one year waiting trial in silence, all these facts run counter to someone who just witnessed a murder with which that he had nothing to do.
the case was a loser, and the defense, whatever u think, saved his life. re appeals on issues of evidence, no delay after joe sandbagged the defense etc, they'll happen somehow, someone will pay.
and harlow can always wonder (others as well) if he would have gotten a hung jury if he didn't take the stand. and i repeat, when the case is this weak, and u've clearly lost, u have to change the game, u have to have the defendant tell his version to the jury.
and it was a story, right? and that's exactly what the jury was expecting, a story, not the truth, based on the Plan/Letter to Renee. the tapes were a masterful offensive move; the Plan/Letter killed any defense.
What I'd like to know is what Joe told the lawyer disqualified in the 8 meetings over "fees," and what that strategy was all about.
re sock puppets, Harlow's supporters, to be blunt, I don't give a rat's ass about his supporters, I don't think it has any impact in the future re pardon, commutation, etc.
I've thought about this a lot over the last 2 weeks, and I don't remember reading or seeing a trial where the evidence was so overwhelming re the guilt of the defendant. and under PA law, there is no difference between the actual one slashing, and an accomplice.
And re all the hype about Stockholm Syndrome, etc., I don't buy it now, and I didn't before; he put on no proof, and it's just no credible when you look at how he acted afterwards. he was in over his head thinking he could game his way out of the crime; Joe was equally stupid, on the net in his motel room to have an alibi.
If he gets one, it's not on the merits, it's politics.
Jim Said:
I've been seeing this pattern, in fact. Not only on PC's blog, but on mainstream sites like Towleroad, Advocate and Queerty, in which sock puppets are emerging, repeating the same meme: poor Harlow, dominated by Joe, sent to prison for life!
_______
LOL!!
Jim, you forgot to add the most loquacious of them opened blogger accounts March 09. How very odd! ;)
Jim if you haven't already saw Harlow newest online pic from behind bars, I thought I'd give you and the readers the link:
http://regent.blogs.com/.a/6a00d8341ca4b653ef011168fb3101970c-800wi
PHOTO FROM UNZIPPED
>""Burning question I have-
Why did Harlow want a trial?-"
Because he really does think he isn't guilty.
It's a simple as that. Now he may think that way because he's in denial, he was abused, because he was in a sick and twisted game with Joe where dominance shifted back and forth constantly or because he has no conscience. You can make a case for any of those.
I think Harlow really believes he isn't guilty. Keep in mind though in most cases of the child abuse I used to investigate, even when caught dead to rights with overwhelming evidence, the abusers didn't think they were guilty of anything either.
GorgeousBoys said...
Harlow newest online pic from behind bars, I thought I'd give you and the readers the link:
http://regent.blogs.com/.a/6a00d8341ca4b653ef011168fb3101970c-800wi
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Gotta admit it's done really well.
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