Donlon trial a topsy-turvy affair

After weeks spent observing the happenings in Lisa Donlon’s murder trial, we keep coming back to one phrase: upside down.

First a quick re-cap: Donlon is on trial for murder in the shooting death of her husband. The consensus in the courtroom seems to be that Jason Donlon was asleep in bed when he was slain. Donlon is claiming self-defense, saying she was his prisoner and expected he would kill her if she didn’t act. The state is arguing she had other options.

So, back to our refrain: this trial is upside down, and there are numerous reasons we say this.

Friday, attorneys argued over whether evidence of Donlon’s sex life was admissible. The statutes pointed to were rape statutes. But Donlon’s not accused of rape. There are allegations she was raped and that was part of why she killed her husband. So, District Attorney Roman Kalytiak was put in the unusual position of taking what would usually be the defense attorney’s side, arguing in favor of the evidence as a way of essentially defending a dead man.

A few days ago a little dust-up outside the presence of the jury and the judge further illustrated that point. The gist of the exchange of heated words seemed to be that Assistant Public Defender Zachary Renfro was upset at what he perceived as a line of questioning from Kalytiak that amounted to blaming the victim. The victim, in this case, being his client, an alleged victim of severe domestic violence.

If there is a side of the bar more often accused of victim blaming than defense attorneys we are unaware of it. That one would take umbrage when perceiving such a tactic from a prosecutor was, to say the least, unusual.

Perhaps as a result of the disorientation from the topsy-turvy nature of this case, tempers have been running high in the courtroom.

And while we believe that best decorum be maintained, we can certainly sympathize. This trial has at its core an issue we have for years been saying needs more public attention, one our neighbors need to be more passionate about.

The state will soon stage its yearly anti-domestic violence Choose Respect rallies. If the past is any prologue, many of the marchers will be people currently involved in the Lisa Donlon case.

We hope that if any good can come out of this case it’s that the issues it raises and the passions it inflames will result in an increase in the number of people choosing respect.