A judge told convicted Jewish Community Center shooter Frazier Glenn Cross Jr. Thursday he could not call two defense attorneys as witnesses during the penalty phase of his trial.
Cross, who is representing himself, is trying to convince the jury he deserves life in prison for the murders of Reat Underwood, William Corporon and Terri LaManno in April 2014. Cross had asked Ron Wurtz and Val Wachtel, two Kansas attorneys with experience litigating death penalty cases, to testify on his behalf.
But Johnson County Judge Thomas Kelly Ryan told Cross that the jury wasn’t there to consider policy issues. The two lawyers’ testimony was expected to touch on the lengthy and often costly appeals associated with death penalty verdicts.
“I’ll appeal it, Judge,” Cross retorted. “You’ll be embarrassed.”
Ryan informed Cross that the case would be appealed automatically if he’s sentenced to death.
With Wurtz and Wachtel off the witness list, that left Ray Riniker, an investigator with the Kansas Death Penalty Defense Unit, to take the stand. Riniker brought with him an estimated 200 pages of records related to Cross’ 20-year military career. (Cross served under the name Frazier Glenn Miller Jr.) Riniker testified that Cross’ service record includes two tours in Vietnam, many medals and an honorable discharge.
“Would you conclude I behaved myself pretty good?” Cross asked Riniker.
“Yes, I would,” Riniker replied.
Then Cross got back on the stand to play a video he said would “expose” the real intentions of the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish civil liberties organization.
Prosecutors objected to showing the video, which Cross stated would take “about an hour,” on the grounds it similar to evidence already in the record. But Ryan allowed Cross to play his video.
Cross is expected to call just one more witness Friday, a pulmonologist flying in from Los Angeles. If both sides can agree on jury instructions, then the case could go to the jury before the weekend. But Ryan has already floated the possibility of waiting until Tuesday to let jurors weigh in.
