Harvey, Miss- Jessica Cheatteam a 15 year old teen is afraid to testify and is jailed for contempt of Court.
A 15-year-old Harvey girl who is Jefferson Parish prosecutors' key witness in a second-degree murder case spent a night in jail after she refused to testify against the accused killer Wednesday, a silence apparently based in her fear of the defendant or his family.
Jessica Cheatteam was held in contempt of court Wednesday after she flatly refused to say in open court and in front of a jury that Michael Williams shot Terry Redmond on April 26, 2009, in Harvey's Scotsdale neighborhood, a claim she shared with Sheriff's Office detectives who were investigating the slaying two years ago.
Cheatteam, who was 13 years old when Redmond was shot several times, was sitting at the witness stand only feet from Williams, 18, while members of his family sat in the audience yards behind him.
Her refusal to testify led Judge June Darensburg of the 24th Judicial District Court to send the jury out of the courtroom and arrange for a public defender, Graham Bosworth, to provide legal advice to the teenager. But after conferring privately with Bosworth, Cheatteam again refused to testify.
"Are you refusing to testify and answer our questions?" asked Assistant District Attorney Sunny Funk, who is prosecuting Williams with David Hufft.
"That's correct," Cheatteam said.
Darensburg then found Cheatteam in contempt of court and sentenced her to six months in jail, the maximum for contempt. Cheatteam seemed unfazed as she was escorted out of court to the Rivarde Juvenile Detention Center in Harvey.
What's changed in the South? A teen is afraid for her and her families safety is jailed for contempt of Court.
Link:
http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2011/05/scared_teen_witness_refuses_to.html