http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2006/07/14/thanking_jesus_in_court_lands_man_in_jail/
Thanking Jesus in court lands man in jail
July 14, 2006
HONOLULU --Junior Stowers raised his hands and exclaimed, "Thank you,
Jesus!" in court last month when he was acquitted by a jury of abusing
his son.
But his joy was short-lived when Circuit Judge Patrick Border held him
in contempt of court for the "outburst" and threw him in jail.
Stowers, 47, sat in the courtroom and a cellblock for about six hours
until the judge granted him a hearing on the contempt charge and
released him.
The judge at a July 7 hearing dropped the contempt charge, a petty
misdemeanor that carries up to 30 days in jail.
Stowers couldn't be reached for comment. But his attorney in the
contempt case, Deputy Public Defender Susan Arnett, said he wasn't
treated fairly.
"I don't think there's anything about saying 'Thank you, Jesus' that
rises to the level of contemptuous behavior in this case," she told
The Honolulu Advertiser.
Stowers is a devoutly religious man active in his church who
spontaneously expressed his thanks to the higher power in which he
believed, she said.
Family members and Stowers' pastor at Assembly of God Church, Iakopo
Sale, who watched from the gallery were "very upset that those words
could land somebody in jail," Arnett said.
Border declined to comment but indicated the court minutes reflected
his actions. The minutes showed he found Stowers' "nonverbal gestures
and outbursts to be disruptive and improper regardless of content."
Court minutes said Border later dropped the charge because he realized
Stowers' trial lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Carmel Kwock, did not
have time to tell Stowers the judge had ordered both sides not to show
emotion when the verdict was announced.
Stowers, of Honolulu, was charged with hitting his 15-year-old son
with a broomstick in January. The misdemeanor charge of abusing a
household member carries a sentence of up to a year in jail. Stowers
was free on a $1,000 bond.
During the trial last month, the boy recanted his earlier statements
that his father hit him, according to court records.
The boy instead testified his brother had hit him with a car door, a
story verified by the brother in court.
Just before the verdict was announced on June 29, Border called city
Deputy Prosecutor Sean Sanada and Kwock to the bench and told them he
didn't want a show of emotion by either side, according to a defense
request to dismiss the contempt charge.
When Stowers made his remarks after the verdict was announced, the
judge told him, "There will (be) no more of that," the papers said.
Stowers asked to approach the bench and apologize, but the judge told
him he could not and ordered him to remain in the courtroom, the
defense request said.
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