Mark J. Seamands Acquitted of Assault Charges
Mark J. Seamands has been found not guilty of two counts of felony second-degree assault for the branding of his children. Two other counts, gross misdemeanor fourth-degree assault, ended in a mistrial.
Fourth-degree assault charges could still be filed, but Deputy Prosecuting Attorney John Troberg said he didn't think prosecuting would be in the Seamands family's best interests.
Fourth-degree assault charges could still be filed, but Deputy Prosecuting Attorney John Troberg said he didn't think prosecuting would be in the Seamands family's best interests.
Labels: Mark Seamands
posted by Tom Harper at 6:26 PM
20 Comments:
This really sucks. I couldn't believe those kids said "oh, we wanted to be branded, it'll bond us as a family." Sound a little coached to anybody but me?
This just goes to show you how brain dead people are around here. An abusive dad is seen as "good". Branding is seen as a way to bond with your kids. No one sees that these kids are not acting appropriately -- teen age kids aren't supposed to LIKE, or go for what Dad wants. It's against the whole concept of healthy teens.
My teens would never wear jeans I bought, or get their hair cut the way I wanted, muchless get a lifelong scar on their body.
The fact that dad wanted to do this says he's a sadist.
This is a very sorry day for Clallam County.
Are they all sharing the same bed and interbreeding?
WOW...As stupid as this dad is, I guess the jury was even more stupid. Incredible. Not only does this send a really GREAT message, but it also gives us SUCH a GREAT IMAGE in the eyes of anyone paying attention.
This is really sad and spooky shit.
Freakville!
I think I'll play the soundtrack from "Deliverance" now. It just seems to be really appropriate.
And to think....I thought "lighter tag" was a bizarre PA/Sequim ritual last year. Peninsulinos need to start planning for 2011. Branding childeren is going to be difficult to top.
picked up on the national news, too.
Hey Barb and Russ, see if you can spin THIS into a 'visit the peninsula' slogan.
I suspect the DA is to blame for the verdict....
this post showed up on the Seattle Times comment:
here have been a couple trials in this area that could be called jury nullification. Judges will try and bully a jury into thinking they have no options but the letter of the law but once the door closes the jury can make any decision they think is right. Jury nullifying the law. If you say those words during jury selection some judges will charge you with contempt of court. Believe it's your right, just don't talk about it outside of the jury room. In the cases I know of it was the honorable thing to do. Sometimes in past history wasn't."
If the words "collar and leash" had been used instead of branding...would people think the same thing?
The really stunning thing with some of the commenters is that they're all women haters. Blame the mother for being a f***-Up, and give the dude all the credit.
I don't know about you, but I've never met a drug addled Mom without a Dad that didn't have his own issues. Especially considering the oldest of these kids is 18.
And, for all you "oh you can't judge him if you don't know him" doesn't float. We judge rapists (who are all "nice guys"). We judge murders (even those who's mothers love them). The whole concept of society is that we, as a collective body, make rules and make decisions based on actions.
Branding your children is WRONG. PERIOD. No matter what you say, it doesn't make it right.
ONLY SLAVES (and possessions) ARE BRANDED. It is not appropriate, and from my viewpoint, we need an investigation as to what sort of morons are in our DA's office. Seems that they can't argue their way out of a paper bag with one end open..
all it takes for jury nullification is two or three people on the jury to be approached by friends (or friends of friends) of the defendant and persuaded to not go with the "letter of the law". This is the dark side of Jury Nullification.
When it is used to nullify the letter of a law that we, as a people, disagree with, that is the upside. When the jury decides to ignore the letter of the law and allow an exception for one person, that is a problem.
The question here for the jury is: If the brand had been put anywhere else, not on the arm, chest, or leg, but instead on the forehead, would that have influenced you? What if the brand was a swastika? Would that have been different. If the CONTENT and placing of the brand had been different, would you have made the exception? IF so, you are all guilty of not upholding the letter of the law
Port Angeles gets new nightspot as man with a dream brings vision to downtown.
This aging fart prefers staying home most evenings anymore. But I hope that they make it popular enough that it will be successful.
I may pop in during the day just to check it and the food out, and of course a cheap beer before the two buck beers are history.
BBC, not open until 4pm....so, forget the day drink
The revolution will not be televised....
we're watching, right here in our little city, the decay of the civil world.
Brand your kids...do your own thing, papa's got a brand new bag....mind your own business, where's the beef?
Meaningless snippets of phrases (from songs, and ad slogans) will replace thought. Jesus love you.
not open until 4pm....so, forget the day drink.
Well, I don't know if that will pay the rent but it's not my investment. If I was going to start a business there wouldn't be a name on the door and you would have to knock on the door to get in.
Back in the good old days there was a place like that in almost every town where you could go drink, smoke, dance, party hardy. Permits? We don't need no fucking permits.
Jesus love you.
No shit, a dead man loves me? A hell of a lot of good that is going to do me, I can't even borrow twenty bucks from him.
Dude, Jesus was outside the Wal-Mart and wanted to borrow twenty bucks from me. I think he pronounced his name "Hay-soos" but, dude, I knew it was Jesus. I didn't have any money so I said "J-dawg, bro, catch me later, man. Peace out!" Jesus smiled and nodded. Dude, he knows the score.
so, is our DA going to retry them on the two counts that were mistrialed?
If they don't, we have a problem with our justice system.
Where is Max Mania when you need him?
No different than all the piercings parents allow their kids to get!
yes, it is VERY different from the piercings that parents allow their kids to get.
The parent wasn't doing the piercing, and piercings close right up when you take out the metal (with no scar, unless you're talking about the gauged ear holes, but those can be closed with the help of a plastic surgeon).
Searing the flesh of their child with a hot object is NOT the same as having a piercing salon pierce the flesh. Burn scars take years, and years to fade -- and brandings are the mark of a SLAVE.
The psychological difference between a father injuring his children on purpose, and a child opting to get their nose pierced (as a rebel act, usually AGAINST the parents wishes) is the difference between an UNHEALTHY child/parent relationship, and a healthy one.
use some common sense, please?
A "rebel act" sounds like an unhealthy relationship to me.
last poster: you've never had teenagers, apparently.
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