Jul 28, 2005 9:43 am US/Central
Judge: Jail Interviews Can Be Used In Vang Trial
Hayward, Wis. (AP) ―
A judge has ruled that interview transcripts and letters sent to a Chicago Tribune reporter can be used at the trial of a man accused of killing six hunters in the northwoods.
Defense attorneys tried to have the jailhouse communications between Chai Soua Vang, a truck driver from St. Paul, Minn., who allegedly detailed events before and after the Nov. 21 shootings, and Tribune reporter Colleen Mastony kept out of the murder trial set to start in September.
Sawyer County Circuit Judge Norman Yackel's order on Wednesday said Vang knew authorities were monitoring his calls and letters.
"The state had no control over the Chicago reporter and she was clearly not an agent of the state," Yackel wrote. "The defendant was aware that his attorneys did not want him talking to the reporter. He did it anyway."
The Tribune said it would oppose attempts to get Mastony to testify. Her story has not been published.
"We resist having our reporters being witnesses when there are other ways for them to find the information," an attorney for the newspaper, Paulette Dodson, said.
Steve Kohn, Vang's attorney, said he expected Mastony to be on witness lists for the prosecution and defense.
"Whether she will be called or not, I don't know," Kohn said.
Vang, 36, is accused of killing six deer hunters in the Wisconsin northwoods after a confrontation over hunting on private land. He has pleaded not guilty to first-degree intentional homicide and attempted first-degree homicide in the shootings.
According to court documents, Vang has said he shot the victims because they called him names, disrespected him and "shot at me first."
Vang is a Hmong immigrant who came to the United States from a refugee camp in Thailand in 1980 when he was 11.
Prosecutors said they were pleased with the judge's decision.
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