And finally… pure Ragin
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An appeal court in the US overturned a man’s conviction for prostitution and drug trafficking offences because his attorney was asleep for most of the trial.
Nicholas Ragin, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2006, accused his court-appointed attorney Nikita V. Mackey of ineffective counsel.
In a post-trial sworn affidavit, he said: “Counsel fell asleep twice during trial, which more than shows his lack of interest and dedication to my case.”
Witnesses said Mr Mackey slept “almost every day morning and evening” for around half an hour each time.
In a written decision, appeal judges observed: “There were no witnesses that testified that Mackey was not asleep - not even Mackey.”
They ruled that “a defendant is deprived of his Sixth Amendment right to counsel when counsel sleeps during a substantial portion of the defendant’s trial”.
US Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose has confirmed that she is “committed to retrying Mr Ragin for the crimes he committed”.
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