Ken Kurtis
Contributor
Oh. My. God. I am stunned. Not so much that he was acquitted had the jury found him not guilty (it was probably going to be tough to prove beyond a reasonable doubt anyhow) but that the trial was stopped by the JUDGE who directed a verdict of acquittal because the State failed to prove it's case.
I'm not a lawyer (and maybe Bruce or others can weigh in) but it seems to me that the State blew it in their presentation of the case. I've followed news reports as closely as I can and, as far as I can tell, the State offered NO expert testimony from someone like Bill Oliver, Glen Egstrom, Brett Gilliam, me, or others who do this regularly as to why just looking at the scuba circumstances and facts of the case, you can make (IMHO) a pretty strong argument that this was not an accident. And I would think you first have to establish that he did the deed before you go into motive, which seems to be all they focused on (insurance money).
FTR, I don't believe the turned-off-her-air story nor do I think the Australian re-creation was representative of what really happened. To me, the damming action is the bearhug that was observed by another diver in another group and who testified at trial. Watson says he was holding Tina by the shoulders to prevent her from doing a panicked ascent. But think about it: When someone panics, they bolt for the surface and they bolt quickly, strongly, and usually without warning. (As a side note Watson has presented himself as not all that experienced enough to save Tina yet he was clever enough to recognize early signs of panic????)
So even if you accept Watson's story that Tina panicked and he was just trying to help her, how did he get his arms around her shoulders? Because when a panicky diver starts going up and you go to grab them you're LUCKY if you're able to get them by the . . . ANKLES. How did he manage to get her by the shoulders?????
As far as turning off the tank, you don't need to do that. Wait for her to exhale, pull her reg out, grab her shoulders to pin her arms so she can't get the reg back in, hold on for 30 seconds or so, let her drop to the bottom, and then concoct your story on ther way up. (Don't forget your safety stop.)
Anyhow, it would be one thing had Watson presented a defense and the jury didn't buy the prosecution's version. But to have the judge just say "We're done" feels like nothing short of prosecutorial incompetence (in my humble not-legally-based opinion). Oh. My. God.
- Ken
I'm not a lawyer (and maybe Bruce or others can weigh in) but it seems to me that the State blew it in their presentation of the case. I've followed news reports as closely as I can and, as far as I can tell, the State offered NO expert testimony from someone like Bill Oliver, Glen Egstrom, Brett Gilliam, me, or others who do this regularly as to why just looking at the scuba circumstances and facts of the case, you can make (IMHO) a pretty strong argument that this was not an accident. And I would think you first have to establish that he did the deed before you go into motive, which seems to be all they focused on (insurance money).
FTR, I don't believe the turned-off-her-air story nor do I think the Australian re-creation was representative of what really happened. To me, the damming action is the bearhug that was observed by another diver in another group and who testified at trial. Watson says he was holding Tina by the shoulders to prevent her from doing a panicked ascent. But think about it: When someone panics, they bolt for the surface and they bolt quickly, strongly, and usually without warning. (As a side note Watson has presented himself as not all that experienced enough to save Tina yet he was clever enough to recognize early signs of panic????)
So even if you accept Watson's story that Tina panicked and he was just trying to help her, how did he get his arms around her shoulders? Because when a panicky diver starts going up and you go to grab them you're LUCKY if you're able to get them by the . . . ANKLES. How did he manage to get her by the shoulders?????
As far as turning off the tank, you don't need to do that. Wait for her to exhale, pull her reg out, grab her shoulders to pin her arms so she can't get the reg back in, hold on for 30 seconds or so, let her drop to the bottom, and then concoct your story on ther way up. (Don't forget your safety stop.)
Anyhow, it would be one thing had Watson presented a defense and the jury didn't buy the prosecution's version. But to have the judge just say "We're done" feels like nothing short of prosecutorial incompetence (in my humble not-legally-based opinion). Oh. My. God.
- Ken
Last edited:
