Hung jury in firefighter assault trial

Of all the bungles in the prosecution, and of all the inaccurate, unchallenged statements mindlessly parroted by Mason’s attorney in the SLO Tribune’s article (“Mistrial Declared on Ryan Mason”), this is one of them:

QUOTING THE ARTICLE: “The weakest part of the prosecution’s case, said Casciola, was their main witness, Brigham, because his story changed too many times for jurors to believe it.”

1. One of the many important issues the prosecution failed to mention, or emphasize due to its severity, includes the failure to mention the likelihood of Jory Brigham sustaining a head injury. Referencing the quote, above, during the trial there was little, if any, mention of the fact that someone who had sustained 17 fractures to the face while lying on a hard-surface flooring (requiring SEVEN steel plates and a heap load of wires and screws to affix in place) would have a head/brain injury. In addition, he very likely has some level of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Both the brain/head injury and PTSD would cause difficulties with long- and short-term memory, and other higher levels of brain function. This would make it very likely that there would be inconsistencies over time, as the brain worked to repair itself and to compensate for the stress reactions brought on by PTSD.

But the DA’s prosecutor, Kristy Imel, did not feel this was worth emphasizing. So eight of the jury members walked away from the jury table believing Jory Brigham is a liar when, in fact, he is simply suffering the effects of his vicious beating by John Ryan Mason, a SLOCity paramedic and martial-arts devotee.

2. In addition to the significance of John Ryan Mason using elbow strikes not being emphasized in the trial, or explained by prosecution, nor was the significance of the added lethality of any blows or strikes when the victim’s head is against a hard floor brought up in the trial, there is no mention of the fact that many martial arts tournaments now ban elbow strikes because of the likelihood of injury to the recipient of the strike.

The fact that many martial-arts tournaments ban the very tactic Mason used on Jory Brigham speaks to the dangers of the tactic. Mason knew this, and made his choice of attack tactic based on that knowledge. He knew it was the potential consequences of elbow strikes, yet use that tactic, anyway. This speaks directly to Mason’s intent, and should have been made a big, fat issue in the trial.

To demonstrate what elbow strikes look like in a fighting match, visit the following video:

VIOLENCE WARNING: DON’T CLICK ON THIS LINK IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE A VIOLENT FIGHTING MATCH. Here is a link (tinyurl.com/976gw5q) to a series of knock-out elbow strikes thrown in several Thai fighting matches. Each knock-out is shown twice: once at full speed, followed by once at a speed normal people can follow.

NOTE THAT FOR ANY OF THESE VIDEOS, TO CATCH THE KNOCK-OUT ELBOW STRIKES, JUST SCAN AHEAD TO NEAR THE END OF THE VIDEO.

Apparently the DA’s prosecuting attorney is not very well acquainted with the nature and controversies about elbow strikes, or does know but doesn’t see the significance of Mason choosing that specific tactic to beat-down Jory Brigham.

Information about lacerations occurring from elbow strikes (one of the reasons they are banned by many martial arts tournaments) can be easily found, but the far worse results of elbow strikes, especially the less savory ones, aren’t discussed in newspapers. The martial-arts industry is dependent on the good will of the people because, should enough people become concerned about what goes on in these fighting matches, it can bring pressure on the relative freedom the martial-arts industry has had in the amount of violence that is associated with these matches.

For instance, you don’t hear much about an elbow strike taking off an opponent’s ear during a martial-arts fighting match.

To demonstrate this type of injury, visit the following link:

VIOLENCE WARNING – IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE A GUY’s EAR RIPPED FROM HIS HEAD AND GO SKITTERING ACROSS THE TOURNAMENT MAT, DON’T CLICK ON THIS LINK:

(/tinyurl.com/7h8xzoz)

It is pure prosecutorial negligence to not have emphasized the damage elbow strikes can do, the fact that Mason repeatedly did multiple elbow strikes on Jory Brigham’s head, and emphasize John Ryan Mason’s long history of MMA training.

There are multiple types of elbow strikes, and elbow strikes are often combined with other techniques. A quick, NONVIOLENT, INSTRUCTIONAL video can be found at http://tinyurl.com/8jv439r, on about page 102, as well as a list of the different types of elbow strikes. The demonstrator is performing these elbow strikes on a dummy.

Elbow strikes, even in close quarters, involve the added torque force of the twisting (“wind-up and release”), of the upper-torso musculature. The most lethal strikes include an elbow strike delivered from a standing position, dropping down to the ground at the same time he does the elbow strike.

Mason delivered multiple elbow strikes. The following link goes to a video of a fighting match where this tactic was used, which occurs towards the end of the video.

VIOLENCE WARNINGTHIS VIDEO DEMONSTRATES ELBOW STRIKES DELIVERED IN CLOSE SUCCESSION: /tinyurl.com/7n5ntk9

3. The prosecutor failed to emphasize/mention the significance of the fact that, for much of the attack by Mason, Jory Brigham was lying on a hard-surfaced floor, face up. Normally, a victim’s autonomic response to threat will see and react to an incoming blow to the face/head, and attempt to flinch away, out of range. If the victim’s movement is not restricted by a solid surface behind him, he will automatically react by flinching away from the incoming strike which, hopefully, will help decrease the amount of injuries the victim incurs from the elbow strike. However, if his movement is restrained—such as would be the case if he was lying on the floor–all of the force of the elbow strike(s) will be transferred to the target site, the head and face. In addition, since the head cannot move away from the incoming strike, the force of the multiple elbow strikes will be transferred to the brain.. Therefore, all of the force of the elbow strikes will be transferred to the face, cranium and brain. If this occurs, there is more of a chance for brain injury because of the brain sloshing around in the cranium, and there is more of a chance that the facial injuries will be more severe than if his head was not restrained.

4. Clearly, John Ryan Mason, with his history of MMA training and fighting, and additional paramedic knowledge, knows of the damage that can be done by elbow strikes, including elbow strikes on a victim who is lying on a floor or other solid material. He also must know that brain injuries can occur from such strikes, and that elbow strikes from a standing-dropping position are considered the most lethal of elbow strikes. Why wasn’t this emphasized in the trial? Since Mason knows about the possible effects of his actions, that he used this possibly lethal blow, repeatedly, on Brigham’s head and face speaks to Mason’s intent. How could such an important key to the prosecution be overlooked by the prosecutor?

5. Mason, after delivering the potentially multiple, potentially lethal elbow strikes to Brigham’s head and face, instead of trying to give aid to his obviously injured victim, Mason ran away to try to escape legal punishment for his actions. Despite having the knowledge and experience which would indicate to Mason that Brigham was in serious medical danger, Mason (a SLOCity paramedic) delivered multiple potentially-lethal elbow strikes to Jory Brigham, and then ran away in an attempt to escape being arrested for his assault. The implication of this is obvious, and it speaks to Mason’s intent: to murder Brigham.

6.Mason’s violent assault on Brigham produced additional memory-impairing injuries in Brigham It wasn’t just the elbow-strikes beat-down, brain injury and PTSD that could contribute to Brigham’s difficulties with memory. As a consequence of Brigham’s attack, the surgery and anesthesia required for the multi-procedure repair of the injuries inflicted on Brigham by Mason would also be expected to have lasting, subtle effects on Jory Brigham’s cognitive abilities. As time passed following the attack, Jory’s ability to recall the specifics of events and the attack could have been impaired. This is not unusual in brain injuries and PTSD. Certainly, there might have been impaired recall of the specifics of events, including the attack by John Ryan Mason. Finally, Jory Brigham is likely to have acquired PTSD as a result of Mason’s beat-down, the surgery and anesthesia to repair the injuries, and other medical treatments. In addition, the memories may have been repressed and/or “remodeled” by the brain over time in an attempt to deal with the significant burden of injuries the brain had to process and heal.

6. Brigham was likely on pain medication for an extended period of time following the violent assault by Mason. Pain medication, especially opiates and muscle relaxants, can have detrimental impact on a patient’s memory and other higher-level brain functions. That Brigham had problems consistently remembering the assault by Mason is not surprising at all. Why wasn’t this emphasized to the jury? Anyone who has been on pain medication for any length of time would recognize the potential for this to occur.

7. Mason’s attack was an attempt to murder Jory Brigham. Since Mason’s MMA training certainly made him familiar with the type of damage that can occur with the type of blows Mason chose to viciously assault Brigham, it is clear that Mason CHOSE use possibly lethal blows to Brigham. Then Mason ran away from the scene of his crime, without rendering any treatment to Brigham, or even alerting another paramedic (or anyone else) that someone was seriously injured and lying on the men’s room floor at Pappy McGregor’s. Mason, a paramedic, left the man he had just severely beaten lying injured, bleeding, and lying on a bathroom floor.

SUMMARY: Because of his MMA training and experience, Mason knew the attack he made on Brigham would possibly be lethal (and certainly would leave significant, life-changing injuries). Mason, once he induced those potentially life-threatening injuries to Brigham, CHOSE to run away in attempt to save himself from being arrested. Combine those two, and it shows clear intent to murder.

It was Mason’s intention to lethally injure Brigham, and for that he should have been charged with attempted murder. The question needing answered by the District Attorney’s office is how they could have allowed the prosecutor to so thoroughly botch the prosecution of John Ryan Mason.