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Jury finds Scott Doll not guilty of promoting prison contraband

By Howard B. Owens

A jury of six Batavia residents took only about five minutes to reach a not guilty verdict in the promoting prison contraband trial of Scott F. Doll.

Assistant District Attorney Robert Zickl had little to say after the trial.

"I guess I don’t have a reaction," Zickl said. "This is divided up. Everybody has different jobs to do. They have their job, I have mine. Everybody does their job and this is where we wind up."

Doll's attorney, Dan Killelea, said Scott insisted from the beginning that he was not guilty.

"I think his faith in the jury system was very shaken by his conviction in the murder trial," said Killelea, who helped defend Doll in May against charges that he killed retired corrections officer Joseph Benaquist.

"I’m hoping, I’m really hoping, this restores some of his faith in the system, because it’s a system I believe in. I think it’s the best system we have, though it’s not perfect."

He also praised Zickl for putting on a thorough case and presenting a strong closing argument.

"Bob Zickl did, I believe, a tremendous job," Killelea said. "I thought his closing argument was outstanding. He had me worried. He gave the jurors a lot to work with if they were going to go that way. I hope I was able to point out some holes in the case and I’m hoping that’s what they hung their hat on."

As for the implication that a specific corrections officer supplied the aspirin to Doll, Killelea said it wasn't his intention to draw a bead on a specific individual.

"I think in light of the circumstantial nature of the prosecution’s case, I don’t think the facts led to only one conclusion -- that he was guilty -- and I’m hopeful the jury agreed with me and found reasonable doubt in other legitimate conclusions that could have been reached," Killelea said.

Doll, dressed in a prison-supplied pair of tan slacks and white shirt, showed no apparent reaction to the verdict.

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Howard B. Owens

I thought this story would draw a lot more attention than it has.

Not guilty -- pretty damn surprising.

I even told Dan Killelea before the trial started that he was fighting an uphill battle.

Then Bob Zickl did a pretty darn good job -- as Dan says above -- of tearing apart Killelea's closing argument. I figured guilty for sure after that (not that Dan also didn't make a great closing argument).

Yesterday morning as I said sat in the courtroom as the trial began, I thought, "am I wasting my time being here?"

It turned out to be a fascinating trial. Both attorneys are masters of their craft and put on an excellent case for each side.

It's rare to see a not guilty verdict.

Nov 17, 2010, 10:36am Permalink

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