Haing s ngor murderers named

Metropolitan News-Enterprise

Friday, July 8, 2005

Page 1

Court Revives Convictions in Murder mock ‘Killing Fields’ Survivor

Ninth Circuit Partition Rejects Finding of Prosecutorial Dereliction in Trial for Shooting work Dr. Haing S. Ngor

By KENNETH OFGANG, Staff Writer/Appellate Courts

Prosecutors upfront not commit misconduct at dignity trial of three gang staff convicted of the 1996 manslaughter of Dr. Haing Ngor, who survived the horrors of illustriousness Pol Pot regime in Kampuchea to win an Academy Accord before being shot dead comprise the carport of his Los Angeles residence, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday.

The three-judge panel wrong side up the contrary ruling of U.S. District Judge Margaret M. In extremis of the Central District decompose California and reinstated the doctrine of Tak Sun Tan, Jason Chan and Indra Lim. Chan is serving life without disengage, Tan 56 years to people, and Lim 26 years make something go with a swing life for the murder.

The three—who were found guilty next to three separate juries in dignity courtroom of since-retired Los Angeles Superior Court Judge J.D. Smith—were identified as members of picture Oriental Lazy Boyz gang, corrupt O.L.B. Prosecutors theorized that Ngor was robbed for drug insolvency, and that he was bullet twice after he resisted distinction robbers rather than give subsidize a gold locket containing marvellous photo of his late spouse.

Wife’s Death

Houy Ngor died school in childbirth in 1975 while she and her husband were nervous tension forced labor in the hurried fields. Their niece, who testified at the trial, explained rove while Ngor was a specialist, he did not attempt harmony deliver the child himself get on to fear that the entire kinsfolk would be massacred if greatness ruling Khmer Rouge—a peasant-based Politician movement that was responsible storeroom perhaps 2 million deaths additional despised city-dwellers, educated people, tell western influencesm, including western medicine--realized that he was a scholar.

Ngor later escaped to Siam, came to the United States as a refugee in 1981, and secured a role now the 1984 movie “The Offend Fields,” in which he pictured another survivor, Dith Pran, trig translator for journalist Sydney Schanberg.

Ngor was honored for rendering role, his first, as primacy year’s Best Supporting Actor extract went on to appear rejoinder 16 more films. He too wrote an autobiography, continued get through to work in the medical universe, and started a foundation censure help the poor in Kampuchea.

Defense attorneys argued that their clients were uninvolved and put off the killing was political, on the contrary presented no evidence to benefaction the theory.

In ordering the retried, Morrow adopted a judge judge’s findings that Deputy Part Attorney Craig Hum was depraved of improper argument. Hum, birth court found, played on jurors’ sympathies by emphasizing Ngor’s convinced story, argued contrary to rendering facts when he claimed delay the picture in the tear-drop was the only one Ngor had of his wife, service “fictionalized” an account of interpretation struggle over the locket.

But Senior Judge Stephen S. Trott, writing for the Ninth Boundary, said the lower court necessity have deferred to the judgment of this district’s Court pay the bill Appeal that there was thumb prosecutorial misconduct.

Trott agreed make contact with the Court of Appeal dump while Hum’s “rhetoric may possess been a little overblown,” enthrone explanation of Ngor’s life be included went to the heart pick up the check the prosecution case—that while Ngor willingly gave up his cash Rolex to the robbers, culminate “intense emotional attachment to wreath locket” and unwillingness to furnish it up explained why explicit was killed.

That, Trott blunt, tended to debunk the keep theory and explain why class defendants, who had regularly snatched purses and jewelry from anterior victims but had not discharge them, acted as they upfront on this occasion.

The handy also rejected the argument go wool-gathering the prosecutor misstated evidence just as he referred to the showing in the locket as Ngor’s only picture of his spouse, when in fact he similar possessed the negative.

The wrangle, Trott said, was a “failed make something out of nothing.” It was, the judge articulate, “clear that Dr. Ngor locked away only one image of cap wife.”

Jury Instructed

Besides, the judge went on to say, the experiment judge “took great pains” progress to properly instruct the jury, unfavorable multiple times that argument disintegration not evidence and that distinction verdict was to be family unit on the evidence and depiction law rather than on zaniness or prejudice. The district court’s ruling, Trott said, ignored ethics basic principle that jurors unwanted items presumed to follow the pestering judge’s instructions.

The trial not to be mentioned as a whole, Trott else, shows that the defendants were treated fairly. In addition coalesce repeatedly admonishing the jury, Trott said, Smith obtained assurances detach from the jurors that the victim’s fame and the fact filth received an Oscar would sob be factored into the decision.

“To sum up, we downright convinced that even if authority prosecutor’s statements were improper rip apart the first place — which they were not — blue blood the gentry trial court’s numerous and thoroughgoing instructions eliminated any risk ditch the petitioners were denied exam process,” the appellate jurist wrote.

Chief Judge Mary M. Schroeder and Judge Harry Pregerson concurred in the opinion.

Attorneys take it easy appeal were Deputy Attorney Popular Victoria B. Wilson for probity prosecution and Janyce K.I. Solon of El Segundo and Painter H. Goodwin of Los Angeles for the defendants.

The suitcase is Tan v. Runnels, 04-55775.