Randy Blythe arrested for manslaughter

Nailz

Good statement, his opinion on the matter is needed with regards keeping the public in check, it's shocking how often the family of the deceased are targeted with thoughtless verbal abuse by keyboard warrior fanboys is these instances. Hopefully that will hinder all the Czech bashing on forums and give the overly zealous LOG fans — the likes you see in the comments section of a Blabbermouth article (or Metal Ireland for that matter) — to present themselves with some cop on.

cournioni

viadah wrote: »

End of this chapter until a court case is brought, statement from Randy Blythe as reported over at Gunshyassassin.com:

http://gunshyassassin.com/news/lamb-of-gods-randy-blythe-issues-official-statement/#more-29390

After spending more than a month in a Prague prison cell on bull**** charges, Randy Blythe of Lamb of God is back home. He spent his first weekend back in Richmond, and at some point during the last two days, scratched down a statement on the situation.
“Greetings. This is D. Randall Blythe, checking in from my beloved hometown of Richmond, VA, United States of America. I was recently released on bail from Pankrác Prison in Prague, Czech Republic, after over a month of incarceration,” the missive from Blythe begins. “Now that I am out for the moment, I would like to say a few things.

“1. While in prison, I had minimal knowledge of how my case was viewed anywhere but the Czech Republic. I was told by my attorney that I had a lot support from peers in the music industry, my hometown, fans, and of course my family. I cannot express how emotional it made me upon my release to read about even a fraction of the voices that were raised on my behalf.

“From legends in my music community, to fans across the world, and even people who were previously unaware of my existence but sympathized with my plight — I am truly humbled. I cannot thank you enough for your thoughts and prayers. I would especially like to thank the people of Richmond, VA, for standing by me. In the 48 hours I have been home, many people I have never met before have stopped me on the street, waved and smiled as I passed by, or said hello in a restaurant. All have said ‘We are glad you are home, Randy.’ You all make me proud and grateful that I call Richmond home.

“2. I would like [to] state that I suffered no abuse, from either authorities or inmates, during my incarceration in Pankrác. I received no special treatment, and was in general population with everyone else — make no mistake, it was prison, not some celebrity rehab tv show.

“But I was treated fairly by the guards and kindly by my fellow inmates. People are dying of starvation all over the world. Men and women are losing their lives daily in the Middle East and other war torn regions. I had food, clothes, shelter, and no one was trying to kill me. I cannot complain over a short stay in prison while many people elsewhere fight to survive on a daily basis.

“3. If it is deemed necessary for me to do so, I WILL return to Prague to stand trial. While I maintain my innocence 100%, and will do so steadfastly, I will NOT hide in the United States, safe from extradition and possible prosecution,” Blythe affirms.

“As I write this, the family of a fan of my band suffers through the indescribably tragic loss of their child. They have to deal with constantly varying media reports about the circumstances surrounding his death. I am charged with maliciously causing severe bodily harm to this young man, resulting in his death. While I consider the charge leveled against me ludicrous and without qualification, my opinion makes no difference in this matter.

“The charge exists, and for the family of this young man, questions remain. The worst possible pain remains. It is fairly common knowledge amongst fans of my band that I once lost a child as well. I, unfortunately, am intimately familiar with what their pain is like. Therefore, I know all too well that in their time of grief, this family needs and deserves some real answers, not a media explosion followed by the accused killer of their son hiding like a coward thousands of miles away while they suffer. I am a man. I was raised to face my problems head on, not run from them like a petulant child. I hope that justice is done, and the family of Daniel N. will receive the closure they undoubtably need to facilitate healing. I feel VERY STRONGLY that as an adult, it would be both irresponsible and immoral for me not to return to Prague if I am summoned. This is not about bail money. This is about a young man who lost his life. I will act with honor, and I will fight to clear my good name in this matter. Thank you for reading this, and I wish you all peace.”

Excellent statement and fair play to him for being a man where others would hide from their responsibilities.

Cill94

Nailz wrote: »

Good statement, his opinion on the matter is needed with regards keeping the public in check, it's shocking how often the family of the deceased are targeted with thoughtless verbal abuse by keyboard warrior fanboys is these instances. Hopefully that will hinder all the Czech bashing on forums and give the overly zealous LOG fans — the likes you see in the comments section of a Blabbermouth article (or Metal Ireland for that matter) — to present themselves with some cop on.

Yep, I was pretty appalled at the number of online comments I read which basically claimed that the kid was an idiot who deserved what he got. From the sounds of it even Randy would give those types of diehard fans a smack round the head if he saw them say that. The power of the herd mentality never fails to disappoint me!

weisses

Cill94 wrote: »

Yep, I was pretty appalled at the number of online comments I read which basically claimed that the kid was an idiot who deserved what he got. From the sounds of it even Randy would give those types of diehard fans a smack round the head if he saw them say that. The power of the herd mentality never fails to disappoint me!

Yeah agree .... the era of the keyboard warrior

Malice

It's definitely a thoughtful and well-written statement and fair play to him for highlighting the plight of the family that lost their son.

weisses

Malice wrote: »

It's definitely a thoughtful and well-written statement and fair play to him for highlighting the plight of the family that lost their son.

Reading his statement .. I am really amazed he didn't do any of the writing for LoG

Did he wrote that himself i wonder (not saying he's not supporting it 100%)

old gregg

a few Randy interviews starting to surface including MTV. Here's an interesting one via Rolling Stone:
http://willie-adler.allaxess.com/lamb-of-gods-randy-blythe-on-prison-life-in-the-czech-republic/

Malice

old gregg wrote: »

a few Randy interviews starting to surface including MTV. Here's an interesting one via Rolling Stone:
http://willie-adler.allaxess.com/lamb-of-gods-randy-blythe-on-prison-life-in-the-czech-republic/

This part jumped out at me:

Did the Czech government try and contact you prior to the arrest?
“The Czech authority sent a letter to the Justice Department, and our government told them basically where they can get off. They said, ‘No, we won’t cooperate.’ I don’t know if the American government thought there was not enough basis for them to pursue an investigation. Regardless, what I’m a little bit steamed about is the fact that they didn’t have the courtesy to contact me – in any way, shape or form – and say, ‘Hey, you’re wanted for manslaughter in a foreign country.’”

Unfortunately for Randy my American arrogance theory was right all along. No doubt this will have zero impact on some people's opinions of the Czech Republic and its legal system.

TheStickyBandit

weisses wrote: »

Reading his statement .. I am really amazed he didn't do any of the writing for LoG

Did he wrote that himself i wonder (not saying he's not supporting it 100%)

This has been covered before. Randy does write lyrics for LoG. Off you go to blabermouth or metal ireland if you're looking to stir shit in a serious thread about a very serious subject.

weisses

TheStickyBandit wrote: »

This has been covered before. Randy does write lyrics for LoG. Off you go to blabermouth or metal ireland if you're looking to stir shit in a serious thread about a very serious subject.

Yes and watching the DVD they said that he didn't do any of the writing that's why i said it

If you have a problem with my post you know where the report button is

And when they asked him what he would do when he got back to the states He said he needed to mow the lawn ...

Don't make it anymore serious then it is ....

Malice

TheStickyBandit wrote: »

Off you go to blabermouth or metal ireland if you're looking to stir shit in a serious thread about a very serious subject.

weisses wrote:

If you have a problem with my post you know where the report button is

Folks please play nice.

For the record I'm sure Randy's management read over that statement before it was released but I'd also imagine heart-felt sentiments might not come across too well on your average Lamb of God song .

TheStickyBandit

weisses wrote: »

Yes and watching the DVD they said that he didn't do any of the writing that's why i said it

If you have a problem with my post you know where the report button is

And when they asked him what he would do when he got back to the states He said he needed to mow the lawn ...

Don't make it anymore serious then it is ....

Did he not also say he did a lot of writing in prision?

weisses

TheStickyBandit wrote: »

Did he not also say he did a lot of writing in prision?

If he is smart he would have done that yes ... good place for inspiration i think

TheStickyBandit

weisses wrote: »

If he is smart he would have done that yes ... good place for inspiration i think

Eh....did it not say that in the statement? Christ, at least read it before you jump on the band wagon of critisism!

weisses

TheStickyBandit wrote: »

Eh....did it not say that in the statement? Christ, at least read it before you jump on the band wagon of critisism!

Excuse me ... where did i criticize the poor fella ?

frag420

Just saw on the Disturbed fb page that Randy has been indicted on murder charges this evening!

DrumSteve

What the actual ****...? How?!

Motley Crue

DrumSteve wrote: »

What the actual ****...? How?!

Probably because they had only one choice, set the charge or waive the entire thing, the law is very clear cut in this case - either charge him or forget him - you can't just sit on this indefinitely

Actually, this is good news, because while it appears that it's bad news the prosecution haven't set a trial date, so they now have three months to do that or send it back to the DPP (or the same department in Czech) for further examination. To be honest, if it gets sent back, it's unlikely to be forwarded on again.

I would imagine either Randy will be given a trial date within three months or the prosecutions case will fall apart. The longer it goes on the flimsier it looks, they're trying to build a watertight defence, but the incident took place several years ago already as it is so there will be a lot of stuff they don't have access too and never will if they haven't compiled it already.

I suspect the judge has given the prosecution this chance because it's a make or break, they have three months to be confident in preparing a watertight prosecution, if they can't then they need to drop it.

Nailz

It appears that the trials are going underway at the moment in the Czech Republic, a few news stories coming out now over the web.

http://loudwire.com/randy-blythe-trial-day-2-deceased-concertgoer-friends-testify-against-lamb-of-god-frontman/

Loudwire article wrote:

As Lamb of God singer Randy Blythe‘s Czech manslaughter trial remains in session, local media continues to cover the case’s developments from inside the courtroom. As we reported, Blythe began his trial yesterday (Feb. 4), claiming his innocence, and now there are new details to share from Day 2 of the trial.

Czech news site Blesk.cz has just put up a rundown of what occurred on Day 2 of Randy Blythe’s trial, which was full of witnesses testifying about the 2010 concert incident. Blythe was supported in court by his wife, Cindy, his parents and Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler, who took the stand yesterday to testify on behalf of Blythe.

Various friends of the deceased concertgoer, known as ‘Daniel. N,’ gave their testimonies as well, holding Blythe responsible for Daniel’s death, which they say was caused by head trauma suffered at a 2010 Lamb of God show after Blythe allegedly pushed Daniel offstage. Yesterday in court, Blythe blasted security at the venue, saying they made no effort from stopping fans from jumping onstage. While he acknowledged there was an incident or two with another fan who rushed the stage at the show, he said he never made contact with Daniel.

In today’s testimonies, one friend of the deceased fan stated, “He [Randy Blythe] pushed him off the stage. Dan fell on the back of his head. After the concert was over, something wasn’t right about Daniel and we called an ambulance.” One witness also claimed that Blythe asked Daniel if he was okay after taking the fall, and when Daniel replied, “Yes,” Lamb of God continued with their performance.

According to The Gauntlet, All three witnesses offered different versions as to what actually transpired, but they were all in agreement in claiming that Blythe was “very aggressive during the concert.” “One person was kicked, and another strangled on stage,” one witness claimed. All three witnesses also denied that any announcement was made by venue staff to not climb over barricades, get close to security or to make their way onto the stage.

Stay tuned for our continued coverage of Randy Blythe’s Czech trial.

Xenji

Trial has been delayed till March 4th now due to a witness being ill.

lord lucan

Not guilty. Proper order.

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=187027

Mushy

Just heard its a not guilty verdict!

Reiketsu

Not guilty! Fantastic news!

Joe_Dull

Hear hear! Great news.

Nailz

Just heard the news, very happy for him! Strangly enough I was listening to Ashes Of The Wake this morning completely forgetting that this hearing was on today. What he had done made me respect him more, he could well have hid in the US for the rest of his days and avoid this potentially life-ending long prison sentence he was faced with, which would've been by far the easy way out. But instead he faced it head on and with great sincerity, and he deserves to be applauded for that.

I even remember watching a news broadcast from the Czech Republic that was posted on YouTube after the first day of the trial last month and I remember the reporter commenting on the fact that all of the journalists at the court were very surprised that he'd actually shown up, expecting him to avoid the hearing all together. It all had a bit of an old fashioned outlook towards a Metal musician on it but that's nothing to get bothered about.

At the beginning of this whole thing I remember reserving my thoughts on the matter for a long time, because I wasn't sure what to make of it, I thought that maybe the Czech authorities had a very good reason to arrest him, sure why wouldn't they given the evidence that they may have had on hand and all that... But as soon as I'd read about the witnesses who were siding with prosecution had vastly different interpretations of what had went on at the concert (even some of them changing their stories) I knew that Randy wasn't in any way guilty of the supposed manslaughter charges.


Fair play to him for taking it head on and not going for the cowards way out. I hope he has a good one celebrating his freedom. Hope to see him back with Lamb Of God myself one of these days, hadn't had the opportunity yet.
Never the less, my thoughts are still with the family (and friends) of the young man who lost his life, it must be terrible for them to lose him tragically at such a young age.

old gregg

Hoping this turns into a load of bullcrap: http://www.metalhammer.co.uk/news/randy-blythe-prosecutors-to-appeal-decision/

cournioni

Nailz wrote: »

Just heard the news, very happy for him! Strangly enough I was listening to Ashes Of The Wake this morning completely forgetting that this hearing was on today. What he had done made me respect him more, he could well have hid in the US for the rest of his days and avoid this potentially life-ending long prison sentence he was faced with, which would've been by far the easy way out. But instead he faced it head on and with great sincerity, and he deserves to be applauded for that.

I even remember watching a news broadcast from the Czech Republic that was posted on YouTube after the first day of the trial last month and I remember the reporter commenting on the fact that all of the journalists at the court were very surprised that he'd actually shown up, expecting him to avoid the hearing all together. It all had a bit of an old fashioned outlook towards a Metal musician on it but that's nothing to get bothered about.

At the beginning of this whole thing I remember reserving my thoughts on the matter for a long time, because I wasn't sure what to make of it, I thought that maybe the Czech authorities had a very good reason to arrest him, sure why wouldn't they given the evidence that they may have had on hand and all that... But as soon as I'd read about the witnesses who were siding with prosecution had vastly different interpretations of what had went on at the concert (even some of them changing their stories) I knew that Randy wasn't in any way guilty of the supposed manslaughter charges.


Fair play to him for taking it head on and not going for the cowards way out. I hope he has a good one celebrating his freedom. Hope to see him back with Lamb Of God myself one of these days, hadn't had the opportunity yet.
Never the less, my thoughts are still with the family (and friends) of the young man who lost his life, it must be terrible for them to lose him tragically at such a young age.

Spot on. I have a lot of respect for him for facing up to what he was accused of. Glad it worked out for him because there are few out there these days who would take accountability for their actions.

Motley Crue

Great news for him and personally I can't imagine I'd of been that brave in the same situation

Lithium93_

Glad that Randy was cleared of all charges, though i can't imagine what the family of the fan that was killed are going through