[ARIES666]

Continued from previous post....Tinsel Town T-Girl Tragedy


"Sylvia’s attorney pointed out that this transference of intent was meant to apply to a sniper situation wherein a sniper would be shooting at specific people and accidentally hitting an unintended person. This then is a catch 22 situation for the State. It allows them to hold a person liable for a greater offense than was actually committed. To apply this to Sylvia’s case is immoral and uncompassionate.

By law an accidental killing is not Murder. It is Involuntary Manslaughter at most.

In order to be guilty of second degree Murder you have to have shown intent and premeditation beyond a reasonable doubt. There is plenty of reasonable doubt in this case. The gun is fired only once. It is fired only when Tanya has her hands on it and is trying to take it away from Sylvia. As Sylvia’s attorney and others pointed out, this gun was never fired when Sylvia had sole control of the weapon. This proves that Sylvia never had any intent. Without intent this case falls apart and comes down to Involuntary Manslaughter at the worst and self defense at the best.

This court would not see that this was actually a tragic accident and not an intentional act. The Judge in this case wasn’t swayed by the 58 people who all wrote letters and signed a petition urging him to reduce Sylvia’s sentence down to an Involuntary Manslaughter. This judge threw the book at her. The correct sentence for Second Degree Murder is l5 years to life according to section l90a of the Penal Code. This judge sentenced her to 20 years to life by applying the wrong Penal Code section. He apparently cited section 190d. It reads as follows. “Every person guilty of murder in the second degree shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a term of 20 years to life if the killing was perpetrated by means of shooting a firearm from a motor vehicle, intentionally at another person outside of the vehicle with the intent to inflict great bodily injury.” This gun was never fired from within a vehicle. The struggle for control of this gun took place well outside of any vehicle. He next applied an Armed Allegation section l2022.53d and added an additional 25 years to life. After that he still wasn’t finished. He ordered a $10,000 restitution fine to be paid to Laura’s family, if Sylvia is ever released on parole. None of these additional charges could have been added if Sylvia had been found guilty of Manslaughter or less. This is a high price to pay for an accidental shooting in which Sylvia did not have control of the weapon.

The person perceived to be morally responsibility for this tragedy by the Hollywood Community is Tanya, but the law does not try people for moral guilt, only legal and because of the self-defense aspect Tanya escapes all legal consequences for her actions. In all fairness to Tanya, she is reported to be very distraught over Laura’s death. Everyone involved in this tragedy knows it was a tragic accident and suffers for it.

Sylvia was sentenced on July 27, 2004 to 45 years to life. Given all of the mitigating circumstances in this case, is this justice? Sylvia’s friends are unable to afford a second attorney to handle her appeal at this time. It is hoped that this story will persuade a prominent appeals attorney to defend Sylvia without charge. This case cries out for a correct and compassionate justice. This was after all a tragic accident in which the verdict and punishment do not fit the case. Has there been a more unjust verdict since the O.J. Simpson trial?

News agencies wishing to run this story may contact Sylvia’s Defense Group at the following e-mail address, avdg2004@hotmail.com. We will put you in touch with Sylvia and arrange for you to meet the principle people in this story. Attorneys wishing to defend Sylvia on appeal may use the same address"