DEFENCE RESTS IN SPECTOR RETRIAL
PHIL SPECTOR’s murder retrial is nearing its conclusion after both prosecuting and defence attorneys rested their cases.
The music mogul’s attorney rested his case on Thursday (12Mar09), a month after the prosecution served up their witnesses and evidence in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Judge Larry Paul Fidler advised Spector of his right to testify, but the producer chose not to take the stand.
His attorney Doron Weinberg’s final witness was forensic psychologist Elizabeth Loftus, who cast doubt on the testimony of the prosecution’s leading witness, Spector’s one-time chauffeur, who has maintained he heard his boss say he thought he had killed somebody.
Spector is accused of shooting actress Lana Clarkson in the foyer of his Alhambra, California mansion in 2003. His defence team maintains Clarkson shot herself.
Loftus, a professor and author of 22 books on human memory, witness testimony and repressed memory, told jurors that witness observations can be influenced by stress, lighting and time.
After the defence rested, prosecutors began their rebuttal case.
The retrial continues.
In Spector’s first trial, the jury was deadlocked with the majority favouring a conviction. The second trial began in October (08).
Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)
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