Split verdict in Kristin Smart murder: Why Paul Flores was found guilty but not his dad
Kristin Smart was murdered in 2002. A jury found Paul Flores not guilty in the murder. I wanted to talk about the jury verdict in Kristin’s murder but first I wanted to discuss what the jury decision means in the family’s eyes.
The verdict means nothing to Kristin’s family, but it does to Paul’s family, so I have to talk about it.
Paul’s father was always in the press, but in his interview with the family, he told them how he was in the back of the courtroom and how his son was not. He said Paul has a hearing disability – he can’t hear, so in the courtroom they have him wear hearing aids, so when Paul Flores does his testimony he can hear everything but he can’t understand the questions. He said Paul has multiple learning disabilities and he’s not able to work or go to school. His father said Paul can hear all of the questions and answers but he can’t understand them. He said his son never had a chance to respond to his father when he was giving his testimony.
In other words, it was a fair trial but not a fair verdict.
In the week that Kristin was killed, I got a phone call from the Flores family asking if the verdict would have been any different. I said the same thing. Yes, from a legal standpoint, the verdict would be the same as any other judge, jury or police officer. And yes, it would probably have been a lot better if Kristin had been able to hear, but we’ve never known. The verdict means nothing to the family.
I’ve been trying to figure out for four years why Flores was convicted. He was never given a trial and an attorney and a chance to be heard. He’s not a danger to society. Let’s look into it