LAKEPORT — After two days of testimony in the Renato Hughes change of venue hearing, Judge Arthur H. Mann continued the matter until Friday at 9 a.m. in Dept. 2. Defense Attorney Stuart Hanlon requested that the hearing be continued until then because he could not return until Friday due to prior commitments.
During the last two days, Judge Mann heard testimony from expert witnesses Bryan Stephenson and Craig Haney. Stephenson, a law professor from Alabama testified that he believed that the Hughes murder case had extraordinary circumstances and a fair trial would likely not be possible due largely in part to the alleged crime”s seriousness and also that the crime was interracial.
Hughes, a young African American man, is charged with the murder of two friends, Christian Foster and Rashad Williams who prosecutors admit were shot and killed by Shannon Edmonds, a local white resident, during an alleged home invasion robbery.
Haney, a professor of psychology at the University of California-Santa Cruz, testified that the media”s coverage of the case from the start was biased against Hughes and therefore also added to the possibility of Hughes not being able to receive a fair trial in Lake County.
Lake County District Attorney Jon Hopkins argued the testimony and was adamant that the expert”s testimony did not reflect Lake County”s ability to provide a fair trial for Hughes.
Contact Rene Morales at rmorales@record-bee.com.
