Court Pays for Make-Up Artist to Cover Neo-Nazi's Tattoos
A Neo-Nazi's lawyer has convinced a court to allow a make-up artist to come in every day -- costing the court $125 each session -- and cover up his client's racist tattoos.
John Ditullio is accused of murder after he allegedly broke into a neighbor's home in New Port Richey, Florida, stabbed 44-year-old Patricia Wells, and killed 17-year-old Kristofer King, a friend of Wells' son. The home was next door to a notorious mobile home known as the Nazi Compound, which was decorated with swastika flags.
Ditullio has several offensive tattoos: a strip of barbed wire down the right side of his face from his forehead to his cheekbone, and a swastika and a crude insult on his neck.
His lawyer, Bjorn E. Brunvand, argued that it was necessary to let Ditullio cover these tattoos for the trial. "There’s no doubt in my mind -- without the makeup being used, there’s no way a jury could look at John and judge him fairly. It’s too frightening when you see him with the tattoos. It’s a scary picture."
Meanwhile, Kristofer King's mother, Charlene Bricken, is outraged: "The judge is bending over backwards for the criminal. Did somebody tie him down while he was in jail and put these tattoos on him?"
Despite his tattoos no longer being outwardly visible, Ditullio is obviously the same man inside: He recently taunted Bricken by sending her a Christmas card from jail.
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Fair trial should be followed by a proper hanging.
His last trial ended in a hanging-- Of the jury.
"Wells testified last year her attacker was a short, slightly built man. Ditullio stands over six feet tall and weighs more than 200 pounds. Much of the defense case rests on the conflicting identifications.
Many of the new defense witnesses are being called specifically to establish issues of height and weight.
"It happened so fast that I didn't have time to try and look at details," Wells testified.
This is the second time that Ditullio has faced a trial. He was tried a year ago, but the jury was deadlocked 10-2 in favor of acquittal after a weeklong trial." ~ http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/local/nature_coast/neo-nazi-ditullio-murder-trial-120610
Even scary white people deserve justice, Mark.
The plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data'.
He chose the tattoos. Each one is who he is.
Who he is needs to be seen by the jury.
How dare the judge conspire to hide who he is from the jury!
no way should letters be able to be sent from inside jail to a victims mother to harass and cause her pain--letters coming in are vetted checked and read so surely ones going out should be--if they are not--in general a prisoner can keep running his underworld operations from the inside and the smuggling procedures getting stuff into jail-which we all know happens lot. I m incensed he could taunt this poor woman and needs to have time added onto his sentence as punishment and be prohibited from further contact with any victims family.
He put them on his body to make a statement about who he is. Bravo for him, and I support his right to do so. As he stands trial, who he is becomes a part of the process. He should be proud of his tats, as proud as he was when he purchased them. I am opposed to the make-up being paid by the public.
Sorry, Mr. Ditullio, but when you decide to have permanent marks placed on your body in visible positions, you lost the right to hide them when being judged. I would agree that being judged is why he placed them there in the first place.