Reginald Oliver Denny
Encyclopedia
Reginald Denny, a white construction truck driver
, was beaten nearly to death by a group of assailants who came to be known as the "L.A. Four", while LAPD squad cars that were parked around the corner were ordered to leave the area, instead of helping Denny. The attack was captured by a Los Angeles News Service helicopter
piloted by Bob Tur
and shot by Marika Tur. The video was broadcast live on US national television.
, an African-American, being repeatedly beaten by a group of LAPD
officers. More than a year later, on April 29, 1992, all four officers (three white and one Hispanic) were acquitted when the jury could not reach a verdict. The result sparked outrage about racism
across the country, especially in South Central Los Angeles
and South East Los Angeles where an African-American mob
took to the streets shouting "Black justice!" and "No justice, no peace!" in what became known as the 1992 Los Angeles riots
.
Reginald Oliver Denny, then 33 years old, was a construction truck driver. On the first day of the rioting, Denny was attacked, pulled from his truck and brutally beaten, sustaining serious head and other injuries. As a result of the injuries he suffered during the attacks, Denny had to undergo years of rehabilitative therapy, and his speech and ability to walk were permanently damaged.
After the 1993 trial of his black assailants, he appeared on the Phil Donahue Show to shake hands with one of the assailants, Henry Keith Watson, after he apologised to Denny for the attacks. Denny largely avoids the media and rarely speaks about his ordeal. As of 2007, he works independently as a boat motor mechanic in Lake Havasu City, Arizona
, where he moved after an unsuccessful lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles.
including arrests for auto theft and robbery
but had no convictions. A football
star in high school, he dreamed of becoming a professional football player and briefly played in a semi-professional
league. When he was 16, he dropped out of school. He joined a gang called the "Eight Tray Gangster Crips
".
Williams became the most recognized participant of L.A. riots due to the live news broadcast of his attack on Denny and because of his memorable nickname
which was repeated frequently in news media
. Williams was identified as the man who had used a brick on Denny by computer enhancement of the videotape which revealed an identifying tattoo. Although the Denny beating received great publicity, Williams and his companions also assaulted and beat several Asian
and Latino
motorists who were passing through the area. Williams was charged with attempted murder
as well as assault
and mayhem
.
After the riots the Mexican Mafia
had a "hit
" out on Williams, the contract to kill him was picked up by the now infamous and then little known MS-13. In 1993, Williams was convicted of mayhem and misdemeanor
assault and was sentenced to 10 years. In 1997, Williams was released for good behavior, but in 2003, he received a 46-year sentence at Pelican Bay State Prison
for the 2000 murder of Grover Tinner, a drug dealer.
Antoine "Twan" Miller was a 19-year-old who lived with the Williams family. Miller's mother was a drug addict; and as a child, Miller was sent to live with his grandmother. When he was 12, his grandmother killed his grandfather and was convicted of this murder, leaving Miller homeless. Williams' mother, well-known around the neighborhood as kind and caring, took Miller into her home. Miller's only previous arrest was for joyriding
. At the age of 31, Miller was shot in a Hollywood nightclub on February 1, 2004 and died from his wounds soon after.
Henry Keith "Kiki" Watson was a 27-year-old former U.S. Marine
and an ex-convict
who had served time for robbery
. After his release from prison, he married, had children and was working two jobs. According to Williams, Watson was known around the neighborhood as a "gentleman". After he was freed from jail in 1993, he appeared on the Phil Donahue
show and apologized to Denny for the attacks. Later, he would serve three years in prison for a narcotics conviction. Fifteen years after the attacks, Watson said during an interview "Nobody specifically sought out Reginald Denny to cause him any harm. We got caught up in the moment, just like everyone else." As of 2007, Watson still lives in Los Angeles and operates his own limousine
service.
Gary Williams (unrelated to Damian Williams) was a crack
addict who was routinely seen at a local gas station as a beggar.
Anthony Brown was also a member of Eight Tray Gangster Crips.
Lance Parker was a 26-year-old process server who had no previous criminal record
.
where he said the sand was due. He left the Santa Monica Freeway and took a familiar shortcut across Florence Avenue to get to his destination. His truck had no radio, so he was unaware he was driving into a riot. At 6:46 p.m., after entering the intersection at Normandie, rioters threw rocks at his windows and he heard people shouting for him to stop. Overhead, a news helicopter with reporter Bob Tur
aboard captured the events that followed.
Denny stopped in the middle of the street. Antoine Miller opened the truck door, giving others the chance to pull Denny out. Another man, Henry Keith Watson, then held Denny's head down with his foot. Denny was kicked in the abdomen by an unidentifed man. Two other unidentified men who had led a liquor store break-in earlier that day hurled a five-pound piece of medical equipment at Denny's head and hit him three times with a claw hammer. Damian Williams then threw a slab of concrete at Denny's head and knocked him unconscious.
Williams then did a victory dance over Denny. He then flashed gang signs at news helicopters, which were televising the events live, and pointed and laughed at Denny. Anthony Brown then spat on Denny and left with Williams. Several bystanders took pictures of Denny but did not attempt to help him. LAPD officers, despite the fact that they were in the vicinity as the attack took place, did not provide help to Denny.
After the beating, various men threw beer bottles at the unconscious Denny. Gary Williams approached Denny and rifled through his pockets. Lance Parker stopped near Denny and attempted to shoot the fuel tank of Denny's truck but missed.
Bobby Green (a truck driver), Titus Murphy and Terri Barnett (boyfriend and girlfriend), and Lei Yuille (a dietitian), who had been watching the events on TV, came to Denny's aid. Denny eventually regained consciousness and dragged himself back into the cab, driving away from the scene slowly and erratically;. Green, himself a truck driver, boarded Denny's truck and took over at the wheel, driving him to the hospital. At the time that Green took over, Denny was on the brink of losing consciousness again, and suffered a seizure shortly thereafter. Throughout the incident, LAPD squad cars were parked around the corner; they were however ordered to stay back from the riot in fear of officer safety.
Paramedics who attended to Denny said he came very close to death. His skull was fractured in 91 places and pushed into the brain. His left eye was so badly dislocated that it would have fallen into his sinus cavity had the surgeons not replaced the crushed bone with a piece of plastic. A permanent crater remains in his head despite efforts to correct it. Denny had to undergo years of rehabilitative therapy and his speech and ability to walk were permanently damaged.
police chief Daryl Gates
started a search for three of Denny's attackers who were identified from the video of the beating. Gates himself arrested Damian Williams while Henry Watson and Antoine Miller were arrested by other officers. Soon afterwards Gary Williams gave himself up to the police, having stolen Denny's wallet. The arrested three were suspected to be part of the gang 8-Tray Gangster Crips.
Gary Williams pleaded guilty to charges of robbery and assault in the spring of 1993 and was sentenced to three years in jail. Judge John W. Ouderkirk granted Miller a separate trial on the grounds that the strong evidence against Watson and Damian Williams could harm his case. The two, in addition to assault charges, were charged with attempted murder. Damian Williams was also charged with aggravated mayhem.
Edi M.O. Faal was the defense attorney for Damian Williams and Earl C. Broadly was the defense attorney for Henry Watson. On Wednesday, July 28, 1993, Watson's and Williams' trial began. The two were charged with the assault of Denny as well as five other motorists and two firefighters who were driving past the intersection of Florence and Normandie shortly after the start of the Los Angeles riots on April 29, 1992. At the trial, Denny faced his attackers for the first time since they had assaulted him. On August 12, 1993, a jury of five whites, three blacks, three Latinos, and one Asian was chosen.
As in the Rodney King
police trial, the prosecution relied heavily on video shot by a third party, this time in a helicopter. They also planned to build up portraits of Watson and Williams as criminals, antisocial, and beyond likelihood of rehabilitation and redemption.
On Thursday, August 19, Lawrence Morrison, deputy district attorney
, delivered the opening statement. A week later, the videotape of the beating was shown. The doctors who treated Denny testified, describing his wounds and their efforts to repair them and were followed by witnesses of the beating. The defense was denied direct contact with the witnesses to protect their identities. In late August, Denny's rescuers testified for the prosecution. The prosecution rested on September 17, 1993.
The defense began pleading on September 20, making a case for unpremeditated assault. Faal began by challenging the video evidence and portrayed Williams as a victim of poverty and racism. She and Broadly tried to humanize their clients.
In the closing arguments the defense attorneys claimed Williams and Watson were being used as scapegoats for the L.A. riots. The prosecution counter argued that the two had knowingly tried to kill Denny and were not victims.
After a few jury changes, a hung jury nullified
all charges except a felony count of mayhem for Williams, and one misdemeanor assault charge for both Williams and Watson on October 18. Watson was then given credit for time served and was released. As the families of the defendants celebrated the lesser sentences, Denny surprisingly approached Damian Williams' mother Georgina and hugged her. Other family members then exchanged warm embraces and words of reconciliation with him.
For weeks afterwards, public debate about racism and whether the verdict was just or unjust raged on. As the debate continued, Williams was denied bail and sentenced to a maximum of ten years in prison on December 7, 1993 by Judge Ouderkirk. Williams was released early for good behavior in 1997. On December 5, 2003, he received a life sentence for murdering a drug dealer in July, 2000. He will not be eligible for parole until he serves 47 years.
. Together, they operated a company called Los Angeles News Service (LANS). In the rush to cover the riots as they developed, dozens of television networks and stations around the world simply copied and aired the LANS footage without permission.
LANS sued nearly all of them in federal court for copyright infringement
; At least one of these lawsuits was successful. The last case was finally settled in 2004. Only a small handful of stations, mostly in California, already had preexisting agreements with LANS or waited to negotiate agreements before airing the footage, and thus were not sued.
In July 2006, the site YouTube
was also sued in federal court for copyright infringement. Robert Tur said, in the lawsuit, that in one week's time, a version of the video uploaded by a YouTube user was viewed over 1,000 times via the site, thereby hurting his ability to license the video. The case was later dismissed by the United States District Court for the Central District of California
Truck driver
A truck driver , is a person who earns a living as the driver of a truck, usually a semi truck, box truck, or dump truck.Truck drivers provide an essential service to...
, was beaten nearly to death by a group of assailants who came to be known as the "L.A. Four", while LAPD squad cars that were parked around the corner were ordered to leave the area, instead of helping Denny. The attack was captured by a Los Angeles News Service helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
piloted by Bob Tur
Bob Tur
Robert A. "Bob" Tur is an American scientific researcher that used his knowledge of sensor physics and systems integration to build the first modern news helicopters for live new reporting. As a broadcast reporter, and eventual 10,000 hour commercial pilot, Tur created the Los Angeles News Service...
and shot by Marika Tur. The video was broadcast live on US national television.
Reginald Denny
On March 3, 1991, video tape captured Rodney KingRodney King
Rodney Glen King is an American best known for his involvement in a police brutality case involving the Los Angeles Police Department on March 3, 1991...
, an African-American, being repeatedly beaten by a group of LAPD
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
officers. More than a year later, on April 29, 1992, all four officers (three white and one Hispanic) were acquitted when the jury could not reach a verdict. The result sparked outrage about racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
across the country, especially in South Central Los Angeles
South Los Angeles
South Los Angeles, often abbreviated as South L.A. and formerly South Central Los Angeles, is the official name for a large geographic and cultural portion lying to the southwest and southeast of downtown Los Angeles, California. The area was formerly called South Central, and is still widely known...
and South East Los Angeles where an African-American mob
Ochlocracy
Ochlocracy or mob rule is government by mob or a mass of people, or the intimidation of legitimate authorities.As a pejorative for majoritarianism, it is akin to the Latin phrase mobile vulgus meaning "the fickle crowd", from which the English term "mob" was originally derived in the...
took to the streets shouting "Black justice!" and "No justice, no peace!" in what became known as the 1992 Los Angeles riots
1992 Los Angeles riots
The 1992 Los Angeles Riots or South Central Riots, also known as the 1992 Los Angeles Civil Unrest were sparked on April 29, 1992, when a jury acquitted three white and one hispanic Los Angeles Police Department officers accused in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King following a...
.
Reginald Oliver Denny, then 33 years old, was a construction truck driver. On the first day of the rioting, Denny was attacked, pulled from his truck and brutally beaten, sustaining serious head and other injuries. As a result of the injuries he suffered during the attacks, Denny had to undergo years of rehabilitative therapy, and his speech and ability to walk were permanently damaged.
After the 1993 trial of his black assailants, he appeared on the Phil Donahue Show to shake hands with one of the assailants, Henry Keith Watson, after he apologised to Denny for the attacks. Denny largely avoids the media and rarely speaks about his ordeal. As of 2007, he works independently as a boat motor mechanic in Lake Havasu City, Arizona
Lake Havasu City, Arizona
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 41,938 people, 17,911 households, and 12,716 families residing in the city. The population density was 974.4 people per square mile . There were 23,018 housing units at an average density of 534.8 per square mile...
, where he moved after an unsuccessful lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles.
The "L.A. Four"
The L.A. Four was a nickname given to the first four men charged with the attack on Denny: Damian Williams, Henry Watson, Antoine Miller and Gary Williams. Two additional men, Anthony Brown and Lance Parker, were also charged with the attack on Denny but not until after the "L.A. Four" nickname had spread. The six men were redubbed the "L.A. Four+".Members
Damian "Football" Williams, probably the best-known of the assailants, was a 19-year-old with a criminal recordCriminal record
A criminal record is a record of a person's criminal history, generally used by potential employers, lenders etc. to assess his or her trustworthiness. The information included in a criminal record varies between countries and even between jurisdictions within a country...
including arrests for auto theft and robbery
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
but had no convictions. A football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
star in high school, he dreamed of becoming a professional football player and briefly played in a semi-professional
Semi-professional
A semi-professional athlete is one who is paid to play and thus is not an amateur, but for whom sport is not a full-time occupation, generally because the level of pay is too low to make a reasonable living based solely upon that source, thus making the athlete not a full professional...
league. When he was 16, he dropped out of school. He joined a gang called the "Eight Tray Gangster Crips
Crips
The Crips are a primarily, but not exclusively, African American gang. They were founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969 mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams...
".
Williams became the most recognized participant of L.A. riots due to the live news broadcast of his attack on Denny and because of his memorable nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
which was repeated frequently in news media
News media
The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...
. Williams was identified as the man who had used a brick on Denny by computer enhancement of the videotape which revealed an identifying tattoo. Although the Denny beating received great publicity, Williams and his companions also assaulted and beat several Asian
Asian people
Asian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :...
and Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
motorists who were passing through the area. Williams was charged with attempted murder
Attempted murder
Attempted murder is a crime in England and Wales and Northern Ireland.-Today:In English criminal law, attempted murder is the crime of more than merely preparing to commit unlawful killing and at the same time having a specific intention to cause the death of human being under the Queen's Peace...
as well as assault
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
and mayhem
Mayhem (crime)
Mayhem is a criminal offence consisting of the intentional maiming of another person.Under the common law of England and Wales and other common law jurisdictions, it originally consisted of the intentional and wanton removal of a body part that would handicap a person's ability to defend himself in...
.
After the riots the Mexican Mafia
Mexican Mafia
The Mexican Mafia , also known as La Eme , 13 is a Mexican American criminal organization, and is one of the oldest and most powerful prison gangs in the United States.-Foundation:...
had a "hit
Contract killing
Contract killing is a form of murder, in which one party hires another party to kill a target individual or group of people. It involves an illegal agreement between two parties in which one party agrees to kill the target in exchange for consideration, monetary, or otherwise. The hiring party may...
" out on Williams, the contract to kill him was picked up by the now infamous and then little known MS-13. In 1993, Williams was convicted of mayhem and misdemeanor
Misdemeanor
A misdemeanor is a "lesser" criminal act in many common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences...
assault and was sentenced to 10 years. In 1997, Williams was released for good behavior, but in 2003, he received a 46-year sentence at Pelican Bay State Prison
Pelican Bay State Prison
Pelican Bay State Prison is a supermax California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison near Crescent City in unincorporated Del Norte County, California. The facility is explicitly designed to keep California’s alleged “worst of the worst” prisoners in long-term solitary...
for the 2000 murder of Grover Tinner, a drug dealer.
Antoine "Twan" Miller was a 19-year-old who lived with the Williams family. Miller's mother was a drug addict; and as a child, Miller was sent to live with his grandmother. When he was 12, his grandmother killed his grandfather and was convicted of this murder, leaving Miller homeless. Williams' mother, well-known around the neighborhood as kind and caring, took Miller into her home. Miller's only previous arrest was for joyriding
Joyride (crime)
To joyride is to drive around in a stolen car, boat, or other vehicle with no particular goal, a ride taken solely for pleasure.In English law, joyriding is not considered to be theft, because the intention to "permanently deprive" the owner of the vehicle cannot be proven...
. At the age of 31, Miller was shot in a Hollywood nightclub on February 1, 2004 and died from his wounds soon after.
Henry Keith "Kiki" Watson was a 27-year-old former U.S. Marine
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
and an ex-convict
Convict
A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison", sometimes referred to in slang as simply a "con". Convicts are often called prisoners or inmates. Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences often are not termed...
who had served time for robbery
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
. After his release from prison, he married, had children and was working two jobs. According to Williams, Watson was known around the neighborhood as a "gentleman". After he was freed from jail in 1993, he appeared on the Phil Donahue
Phil Donahue
Phillip John "Phil" Donahue is an American media personality, writer, and film producer best known as the creator and host of The Phil Donahue Show. The television program, also known as Donahue, was the first to use a talk show format. The show had a 26-year run on U.S...
show and apologized to Denny for the attacks. Later, he would serve three years in prison for a narcotics conviction. Fifteen years after the attacks, Watson said during an interview "Nobody specifically sought out Reginald Denny to cause him any harm. We got caught up in the moment, just like everyone else." As of 2007, Watson still lives in Los Angeles and operates his own limousine
Limousine
A limousine is a luxury sedan or saloon car, especially one with a lengthened wheelbase or driven by a chauffeur. The chassis of a limousine may have been extended by the manufacturer or by an independent coachbuilder. These are called "stretch" limousines and are traditionally black or white....
service.
Gary Williams (unrelated to Damian Williams) was a crack
Crack cocaine
Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...
addict who was routinely seen at a local gas station as a beggar.
Anthony Brown was also a member of Eight Tray Gangster Crips.
Lance Parker was a 26-year-old process server who had no previous criminal record
Criminal record
A criminal record is a record of a person's criminal history, generally used by potential employers, lenders etc. to assess his or her trustworthiness. The information included in a criminal record varies between countries and even between jurisdictions within a country...
.
Events of April 29, 1992
On April 29, 1992, at 5:39 PM, Denny loaded his red, 18-wheel truck with 27 tons of sand and began driving to a plant in InglewoodInglewood, California
Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, southwest of downtown Los Angeles. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. Its population stood at 109,673 as of the 2010 Census...
where he said the sand was due. He left the Santa Monica Freeway and took a familiar shortcut across Florence Avenue to get to his destination. His truck had no radio, so he was unaware he was driving into a riot. At 6:46 p.m., after entering the intersection at Normandie, rioters threw rocks at his windows and he heard people shouting for him to stop. Overhead, a news helicopter with reporter Bob Tur
Bob Tur
Robert A. "Bob" Tur is an American scientific researcher that used his knowledge of sensor physics and systems integration to build the first modern news helicopters for live new reporting. As a broadcast reporter, and eventual 10,000 hour commercial pilot, Tur created the Los Angeles News Service...
aboard captured the events that followed.
Denny stopped in the middle of the street. Antoine Miller opened the truck door, giving others the chance to pull Denny out. Another man, Henry Keith Watson, then held Denny's head down with his foot. Denny was kicked in the abdomen by an unidentifed man. Two other unidentified men who had led a liquor store break-in earlier that day hurled a five-pound piece of medical equipment at Denny's head and hit him three times with a claw hammer. Damian Williams then threw a slab of concrete at Denny's head and knocked him unconscious.
Williams then did a victory dance over Denny. He then flashed gang signs at news helicopters, which were televising the events live, and pointed and laughed at Denny. Anthony Brown then spat on Denny and left with Williams. Several bystanders took pictures of Denny but did not attempt to help him. LAPD officers, despite the fact that they were in the vicinity as the attack took place, did not provide help to Denny.
After the beating, various men threw beer bottles at the unconscious Denny. Gary Williams approached Denny and rifled through his pockets. Lance Parker stopped near Denny and attempted to shoot the fuel tank of Denny's truck but missed.
Bobby Green (a truck driver), Titus Murphy and Terri Barnett (boyfriend and girlfriend), and Lei Yuille (a dietitian), who had been watching the events on TV, came to Denny's aid. Denny eventually regained consciousness and dragged himself back into the cab, driving away from the scene slowly and erratically;. Green, himself a truck driver, boarded Denny's truck and took over at the wheel, driving him to the hospital. At the time that Green took over, Denny was on the brink of losing consciousness again, and suffered a seizure shortly thereafter. Throughout the incident, LAPD squad cars were parked around the corner; they were however ordered to stay back from the riot in fear of officer safety.
Paramedics who attended to Denny said he came very close to death. His skull was fractured in 91 places and pushed into the brain. His left eye was so badly dislocated that it would have fallen into his sinus cavity had the surgeons not replaced the crushed bone with a piece of plastic. A permanent crater remains in his head despite efforts to correct it. Denny had to undergo years of rehabilitative therapy and his speech and ability to walk were permanently damaged.
The trials of the L.A. Four
On May 12, outgoing Los AngelesLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
police chief Daryl Gates
Daryl Gates
Daryl Gates was the Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department from 1978 to 1992.-Early life:...
started a search for three of Denny's attackers who were identified from the video of the beating. Gates himself arrested Damian Williams while Henry Watson and Antoine Miller were arrested by other officers. Soon afterwards Gary Williams gave himself up to the police, having stolen Denny's wallet. The arrested three were suspected to be part of the gang 8-Tray Gangster Crips.
Gary Williams pleaded guilty to charges of robbery and assault in the spring of 1993 and was sentenced to three years in jail. Judge John W. Ouderkirk granted Miller a separate trial on the grounds that the strong evidence against Watson and Damian Williams could harm his case. The two, in addition to assault charges, were charged with attempted murder. Damian Williams was also charged with aggravated mayhem.
Edi M.O. Faal was the defense attorney for Damian Williams and Earl C. Broadly was the defense attorney for Henry Watson. On Wednesday, July 28, 1993, Watson's and Williams' trial began. The two were charged with the assault of Denny as well as five other motorists and two firefighters who were driving past the intersection of Florence and Normandie shortly after the start of the Los Angeles riots on April 29, 1992. At the trial, Denny faced his attackers for the first time since they had assaulted him. On August 12, 1993, a jury of five whites, three blacks, three Latinos, and one Asian was chosen.
As in the Rodney King
Rodney King
Rodney Glen King is an American best known for his involvement in a police brutality case involving the Los Angeles Police Department on March 3, 1991...
police trial, the prosecution relied heavily on video shot by a third party, this time in a helicopter. They also planned to build up portraits of Watson and Williams as criminals, antisocial, and beyond likelihood of rehabilitation and redemption.
On Thursday, August 19, Lawrence Morrison, deputy district attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
, delivered the opening statement. A week later, the videotape of the beating was shown. The doctors who treated Denny testified, describing his wounds and their efforts to repair them and were followed by witnesses of the beating. The defense was denied direct contact with the witnesses to protect their identities. In late August, Denny's rescuers testified for the prosecution. The prosecution rested on September 17, 1993.
The defense began pleading on September 20, making a case for unpremeditated assault. Faal began by challenging the video evidence and portrayed Williams as a victim of poverty and racism. She and Broadly tried to humanize their clients.
In the closing arguments the defense attorneys claimed Williams and Watson were being used as scapegoats for the L.A. riots. The prosecution counter argued that the two had knowingly tried to kill Denny and were not victims.
After a few jury changes, a hung jury nullified
Jury nullification
Jury nullification occurs in a trial when a jury reaches a verdict contrary to the judge's instructions as to the law.A jury verdict contrary to the letter of the law pertains only to the particular case before it; however, if a pattern of acquittals develops in response to repeated attempts to...
all charges except a felony count of mayhem for Williams, and one misdemeanor assault charge for both Williams and Watson on October 18. Watson was then given credit for time served and was released. As the families of the defendants celebrated the lesser sentences, Denny surprisingly approached Damian Williams' mother Georgina and hugged her. Other family members then exchanged warm embraces and words of reconciliation with him.
For weeks afterwards, public debate about racism and whether the verdict was just or unjust raged on. As the debate continued, Williams was denied bail and sentenced to a maximum of ten years in prison on December 7, 1993 by Judge Ouderkirk. Williams was released early for good behavior in 1997. On December 5, 2003, he received a life sentence for murdering a drug dealer in July, 2000. He will not be eligible for parole until he serves 47 years.
Other related litigation
The best available footage of Denny's beating on April 29, 1992 was filmed by Marika Tur from a helicopter piloted by her then-husband, reporter Bob TurBob Tur
Robert A. "Bob" Tur is an American scientific researcher that used his knowledge of sensor physics and systems integration to build the first modern news helicopters for live new reporting. As a broadcast reporter, and eventual 10,000 hour commercial pilot, Tur created the Los Angeles News Service...
. Together, they operated a company called Los Angeles News Service (LANS). In the rush to cover the riots as they developed, dozens of television networks and stations around the world simply copied and aired the LANS footage without permission.
LANS sued nearly all of them in federal court for copyright infringement
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
; At least one of these lawsuits was successful. The last case was finally settled in 2004. Only a small handful of stations, mostly in California, already had preexisting agreements with LANS or waited to negotiate agreements before airing the footage, and thus were not sued.
In July 2006, the site YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
was also sued in federal court for copyright infringement. Robert Tur said, in the lawsuit, that in one week's time, a version of the video uploaded by a YouTube user was viewed over 1,000 times via the site, thereby hurting his ability to license the video. The case was later dismissed by the United States District Court for the Central District of California
United States District Court for the Central District of California
The United States District Court for the Central District of California serves over 18 million people in southern and central California, making it the largest federal judicial district by population...