Jury deliberates Sunday, Monday, Tuesday … fails to reach verdict in Hall brothers’ trial

   HARRISON  – Jury deliberations that began Sunday night in the trial of two Farwell men who are accused of abusing a now seven-year-old Harrison boy ended Tuesday with a mistrial when a verdict could not be reached.
     According to 55th Circuit Court officials, the hung jury resulted in a mistrial Tuesday afternoon. Decisions will now need to be made as to what will happen next so no new dates are set for motions from either the prosecutor or defense attorneys.
    Gerald Hall, the father of the boy, and Glen Hall, his uncle, were facing charges of first-degree child abuse and torture in connection with an incident alleged to have happened around Oct. 10, 2008 at their West Ludington Drive residence in Farwell.
    

Norm Gage, prosecuted Hall brothers' trial

Gerald Hall, 37, and Glen Hall, 47, were charged with child abuse for allegedly causing second- and third-degree burns to a then-six-year-old. The first-degree child abuse is a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
     The jury consisting of eight women and four men began the deliberations after long days of testimony in the 55th Circuit Court. Judge Roy Mienk presided over the trial, which began with jury selection on Tuesday, Feb. 23. The jury began deliberating Sunday before the determination was made late Tuesday that a verdict could not be reached.
     Testimony began Wednesday, Feb. 24. Testimony often would go late into the night with court not recessing until late. Court went until after 10 p.m. Friday and Sunday.
     One reason for the late nights is that the court wanted to end testimony and closing arguments prior to Monday, March 1. The trial was lasting longer than originally planned and Glen Hall’s attorney, Dwight Carpenter, needs to be off for medical reasons after that date so the desire was to get all testimony and closing arguments in before he had to leave.     Carpenter’s office staff confirmed he was aware of the outcome. He was not available to comment because of his medical leave.
     Gerald Hall, 37, was represented by Todd Diederich, who is a partner in the law firm of Dreyer, Hovey & Diederich, LLP. He could not be reached for comment today, Wednesday, March 2.
     Norm Gage, Gladwin County assistant prosecutor, was the primary prosecutor on the case with Gladwin County Prosecutor Aaron Miller also in the courtroom as the specially appointed prosecutor on the case. Clare County Prosecutor Michelle Ambrozaitis removed herself and her office from prosecuting the case due to a conflict when she was in private practice.
     “It speaks for itself,” Gage said of the outcome. No decisions have been made as to the future of the case at this time.
     Gage said reviewing the evidence and talking to the jury both will be factors in deciding what to do. “At this point, it’s in the hands of my boss Aaron Miller,” Gage said.
     Miller was not available for comment today as to further information on the case.
     Numerous medical experts testified during the course of the trial including doctors who treated the then six-year-old at the emergency room on Oct. 10, the doctor who completed a follow-up visit a few days later and medical personnel contacted by the defense and prosecution as expert witnesses.
     The medical personnel testified as to the injuries they saw either directly or through photographs and reports submitted to them. Both the defense and prosecution tried to show what caused redness and two large blisters that appeared as bloody scrapes after they appeared to have popped on the boy’s rear.
     Theories included that he had a rash much like  a diaper rash from having such frequent bowel movements, that a hot shower was used to give the boy the burns and that a lighter and small, propane tank were used to injure the boy.
     The defense used witnesses to try and show it was from a rash after the boy had problems with diarrhea. The prosecution had witnesses testify to how burns caused the redness and marks on the boy’s bottom.
     The medical experts did not reach the same conclusions on how the injuries happened. They also could not each support their opinion with medical certainty.
     Sgt. Josh Lator, of the Michigan State Police, testified as an expert witness in forensic interviews and as an expert in child abuse and neglect.    Lator completed a forensic interview of the boy before he took over handling the case from the Clare County Sheriff’s Department.
     Diederich questioned information put in the request for the search warrant done by Lator. He asked Lator why the search warrant stated that medical personnel were told by the boy that he had been burned when the nurse and doctor on duty at the MidMichigan Regional Medical Center-Clare both testified they were not told by Hall’s son that he had been burnt.
     Diederich also questioned why many details were not in the police report related to the forensic interview.
     Lator explained the police report summarized the main points, but was not meant to be a transcript of the video. “A report focuses on an alleged or actual abuse disclosure,” Lator said.
     He also explained his attempts to contact some witnesses such as the deputy who originally was investigating the case.
     “Wouldn’t you have talked to witnesses if you had known about the alibi defense,” Carpenter questioned.
     “Once the case is turned over to the prosecutor, it is not common to interview more people unless requested,” he said.
     The mother, Diane Stone, was a witness in the case. The evidence presented about Stone did not necessarily portray her in the best light, but   Gage argued that did not make her abusive.
     Carpenter and Diederich argued during their closing arguments that Stone had financial problems, a history of abusive behavior and other issues that she and other witnesses testified about.
     Stone testified that Gerald Hall owed her back child support. Friend of the Court records were pulled and showed that he was current in his payments.
     The defense also showed through a neighbor’s testimony that Stone, who had her son removed from her custody due to issues with Child Protective Services on another child, had a sandy backyard and a green picnic table. During the preliminary examination, the boy testified the incident occurred on a green picnic table during a sunny day.
     One of her neighbors testified that she owned a green picnic table.
     The mother had picked her son up on Oct. 10, 2008 for her visitation time in the afternoon.
     Defense witnesses outlined a timeline showing that Gerald and Glen Hall were not together throughout the day on Oct. 10, 2008. Gerald Hall’s son had testified both men were there at the time of the incident.
     Glen Hall was picked up at about 9 a.m. for a day of appointments by his mother, Geraldine Huttunen. She also took her grandson with her for the appointments.
     Besides transporting Glen Hall, Huttunen cared for her grandson during the appointments. She was able to provide those in the courtroom with the stories, some with a sense of humor making everyone laugh, of what her grandson’s personality was like and how she kept him entertained. She also witnessed that he had diarrhea as he had an accident while they were waiting for Glen Hall to finish his first appointment.
     The other witnesses verified that Huttunen transported Glen Hall and time of appointments. Glen Hall had a 10 a.m. appointment that lasted two hours and then the family headed to Clare so he could attend a job interview.
     Other witnesses testified that Gerald Hall left early in the morning for work and that he worked until approximately noon or 12:30 p.m. before traveling back home. He only returned home for a brief time period before leaving for the weekend.
     The two men were home after a football game on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2008 until the morning of Oct. 10, 2008. Gerald Hall’s son, who goes by the name GT rather than Gerald Hall Jr., also was living at the residence.
     He testified he was asleep until about 11 a.m., but that with thin walls a commotion in the middle of the night or early in the morning would have woke him.
     GT Hall testified to how he got punished in the household, how he found out he had a brother and would protect him even if it meant standing up to an adult and what his father and uncle’s personalities were like.
     Gerald Hall’s ex-wife, Joan Mogg, also testified to how he treated her children. She is the mother of GT Hall. She said she picked up her son around 2:30/3 and saw Gerald Hall’s son, who appeared fine at that point.
     She also talked about the type of discipline used with her son and how she was comfortable with her son living at the residence.
     “GT loves his father and Gerald has been a good father to him always,” she said.
Pamela Bracknell, who was Gerald Hall’s fiancée, testified to how he was good with her children. She also testified that he came to visit her in Ohio on the night of Oct. 10, 2008.
     Bracknell said she lived with him for about four years before she moved to Ohio. She moved to be closer to her children after learning she had a terminal condition, she said, not due to any relationship problems.
     Bracknell described how her 13-year-old daughter knew Gerald Hall for about seven to eight years and considered him as a father figure. Her daughter testified to that as well.
     Both mother and daughter testified to the personalities of the two brothers and the discipline techniques used in the home.
     William Beemer, the Hall brothers’ neighbor, testified the men did not have a backyard as the property dropped down steeply to the river. He also testified they did not own a green picnic table.
     Beemer, along with other witnesses, testified to the type of personality that the boy had and the type of people that Gerald and Glen Hall were. Several witnesses testified to his demeanor in the morning as well as in the afternoon.