http://wtop.com/alexandria/2017/05/judges-deny-severance-appeal/

A three-judge panel has upheld the murder convictions and multiple life sentences of Charles Severance, who was found guilty in 2015 of killing three prominent Alexandria residents.

Severance, 56, was convicted of capital murder for the shooting deaths of Ron Kirby and Ruthanne Lodato and of first-degree murder for the fatal shooting of Nancy Dunning. Their deaths spanned a decade and terrified the Alexandria community.

The Virginia appeals court judges rejected all three of Severance’s arguments under appeal. His attorneys could not immediately be reached for comment.

The panel found there was sufficient evidence — both direct and circumstantial — to convict Severance of the charges, and that his own writings established his motive.

All three were shot at close range inside their front doors. The same type of gun was used in all three shootings, but the weapon was never found. A witness positively identified Severance as the man who shot Lodato and several other witnesses testified to seeing a man matching Severance’s appearance near the scenes of the crimes.

“We find that the crimes were sufficiently similar and idiosyncratic to establish an inference that the same person committed all three murders,” according to the ruling written by Judge Mary Grace O’Brien.

The court also rejected Severance’s appeal that he should have been tried separately for the charges related to Dunning’s 2003 killing.

“Each murder was not an act committed in isolation, but part of a plan of retaliation against people appellant considered part of ‘the establishment class.’ The murders were separate expressions of a general plan,” the ruling reads.

Finally, the judges ruled the enhanced sentence stemming from the two counts of capital murder for the deaths of Kirby and Lodato did not violate Severance’s Fifth Amendment right against double jeopardy.

“The intent of the (capital murder) statute is to enhance the punishment for a defendant who commits multiple murders,” the ruling reads.

Severance is serving three, consecutive life sentences for the convictions. Virginia does not offer the chance of parole to felons.

In Virginia, both capital murder and felony murder carry sentences of either life in prison or the death penalty. Alexandria prosecutors chose not to seek the death penalty.

A Fairfax County jury found Severance guilty of all 10 counts including malicious wounding for shooting and injuring of Janet Franko, who cared for a member of the Lodato family.

He is going to get the chair!!!

He needs a hug and a stern warning, and then should be set free to vote Democrat for years to come.

Severance payback.

If he was only an illegal in California......

Fox News Wrote:
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> He is going to get the chair!!!


The jury gave him three life sentences, not the death penalty.

text from the appeal in writing itself:

Factual Background (of the conviction evidence)

"We consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the prevailing party, the Commonwealth."

AND THERE IS THE REAL TRUTH IN THE MATTER. THEY HAVE A RECORD FOR DOING SO IN THEIR OWN FAVOR REPEATEDLY, WHICH IS HIGHLY CRIMINAL.

however - the news articles i saw never commented on the evidence shown in the appeal: there were eye witnesses of severance at three places of murder AND very good ballistics evidence

there was no motive presented probably because alexandria was highly involved: however defense did not argue the lack of motive or of superceeding motive either

It might help if you understood how the system worked.

It is the job of the trier of fact in the trial court, which is the jury in a jury trial and the judge in a bench trial, to consider the evidence submitted by the parties, evaluate the nature, quality and content of the evidence, determine which evidence is credible and which is not, and to reach a judgment or verdict based on the credible evidence and the law and not based on bias or prejudice. On appeal both the Virginia Court of Appeals and the Virginia Supreme Court assume that the trier of fact did its job correctly. If there is adequate evidence to support the trier of fact's finding, the finding is not to be reversed, EVEN IF THE APPEALS JUDGES THINK THE TRIER OF FACT GOT IT WRONG. This is the same rule that applies in ALL APPEALS, civil and criminal. The standard was no different in the Severance case.

Suppose the prosecution put one witness on the stand, the brother of the victim who is known to have a grudge against the defendant, who says he saw the defendant shoot and kill the victim. The defense puts a priest and half a dozen nuns on the stand who say the defendant was in mass at the time the victim was shot. If the trier of fact finds that the defendant is guilty, under the rules of both appeals courts that finding is supposed to be upheld on appeal. When the appeals judges look at the record, the testimony of the one witness who claims the defendant committed the crime is sufficient, even against conflicting evidence from people that the appeals judges might personally believe is more reliable. when the appeals court says "We consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the prevailing party, the Commonwealth", this is what they mean.

He is innocent. At least one victim was most likely killed by her own husband. The crimes were not that similar, and actually had some fairly substantial differences.

Innocence is irrelevant in an appeal. Appeals are not about giving the accused a second chance to have the court declare him innocent. They are about deciding whether the lower court properly followed the rules.

THEY INTERFERED WITH HIS MARRIAGE AND CUT OFF VISITATION TO HIS CHILDREN

THEY WERE IN TALKS WITH HIS PARENTS TO HAVE HIM LOCKED UP WITHOUT A TRIAL

WHILE THEY DON'T SAY SO - THE GOV WAS DEEP INTO FUCKING THAT MAN OVER

and the victims? a teacher and a road boss (likely corrupt as hell, only mexicans get road work in virginia for 30 years: we all can see that)

i'm clueless how he picked his victims and the motive: wasn't presented by gov prosecuting, was argued by defense in the appeal

there are many things about this case that stink

one thing i didn't hear of is government making moves to evict him - well actually locking him up without a trial "for being mentally instable" is absolute abduction of all one's freedoms and chattels and the posser too.

THE LESSON HERE IS HE PICKED THE WRONG WAY TO FIGHT FALLS CHURCH COMMUNISM

Attachments:

on the other hand i have no idea if this guy is worth words for - maybe he's a total asshole

however i do know that gov has frequently in the past quartered gov workers in denizens houses

by shooting the home owner