Beard-cutting Amish Zombies

In a story perfect for this ZombieLaw blog, The Plain Dealer reports “Amish victim of hair-cutting attack portrays her brother, Sam Mullet, as a “dictator,” his followers as “`zombies”” By James F. McCarty:

Barbara Miller testified on the first day of testimony in the federal hate-crime trial of Mullet and 15 of his followers, charged with a series of beard- and hair-cutting attacks on nine Amish folk …

“Everybody was like, I don’t know, I can’t say it: Zombies,” Miller said. “There was no emotion”

This is the Federal Court hate crime trial of Sam Mullet Sr. regarding his group’s attack, cutting beards, based on Amish sectarian issues in Ohio (although prosecutor’s can’t call it a “sect”). For more information about this case see also CNN: Hate Crime Trial Begins or ABC: Amish Beard Cutting Trial or AP: Sixteen Amish fave Ohio trial in beard-cutting attacks.

It’s rare that we get to read Federal Court testimony the day of trial, it’s nice; how awesome if court reporters live tweeted to Reddit like Obama did today, that would be a truly public trial. Usually I only get to write about Federal Court opinions written by judges (or their clerks). I sure how there is a written opinion in this Amish beard-cutting case and that U.S. District Judge Dan Polster (or his clerks) see fit to include this bit of testimony, there’s a zombie portrait waiting for you and this sure would be a good case to add to the ZombieLaw federal record.

UPDATE – 9/20/2012
Jury finds defendants guilty – See Jury Convicts Amish Group of Hate Crimes By Erik Eckholm in NYtimes

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