Prosecutors claim defendant's wheelchair is unnecessary and shouldn't be allowed at trial
An Illinois man accused of shooting and wounding two sheriff’s deputies should not be allowed to use a wheelchair during his trial, prosecutors told a McHenry County judge on Wednesday.
Prosecutors objected after the defendant, Scott Peters, entered the courtroom in a wheelchair for a pretrial hearing on Wednesday, report the Chicago Tribune and the Northwest Herald. Prosecutor Michael Combs said Peters has the ability to walk and the wheelchair could elicit sympathy from the jurors.
Peters is accused of shooting at sheriff’s deputies coming to his home for a wellness check, injuring one deputy in the leg and the other in the leg and lower back.
Combs said Peters was walking without a limp near the roadside when he was arrested, and he refused to see a doctor. Peters did fall in jail, Combs said, but the treating doctor said Peters did not need a wheelchair.
Judge Sharon Prather indicated she would decide whether Peters could use the chair on April 22, less than a week before the trial is scheduled to begin. Peters said if she does allow the wheelchair, jurors will be asked to enter and leave the courtroom while Peters is seated.
Hat tip to Illinois State Bar Association Daily Legal News.
