A man is currently being tried for a murder that happened all the way back in 1999. He is 47 years old now. The incident that he has been accused of participating in took place in Longmont, Colorado, when a woman in an alley was apparently beaten up and then killed.
The prosecution has now determined that they are going to show that the man has a history of violent behavior. To do it, they are looking at other incidents that he was involved in to see if there is a pattern. Some of these incidents happened two decades ago.
For example, the man was charged with third-degree assault, and he entered a guilty plea. The incident happened in 1997, and he attacked another man with a tire iron. The two were outside of a restaurant, and the other man did survive.
On top of attempting to show this violent trend, the prosecution is also trying to show that the man likes to point to others when these things happen, trying to pass blame away from himself. Furthermore, they want to show that he does not always seem obviously and outwardly angry, even before these incidents occur. Finally, they want to show that he has been violent toward women on multiple occasions.
When examining evidence that is this old, it is very important that everything is done correctly and professionally. Everyone in Colorado has a right to a fair trial, after all — one that examines only the real facts of the case. It is important that this right is always honored, no matter the accusations against them.
Source: Daily Camera, “Lujan, suspect in 1999 Longmont murder, has history of violent behavior” John Bear, Longmont Times-Call, Oct. 28, 2014