Flori-duh, the place where due process goes to die, is paying for John Allen Ditullio’s makeup artist so that the jury doesn’t think ill of the boy.
On March 23, 2006, Pasco authorities say, he put on a gas mask and broke into a neighbor’s home, where he stabbed a woman in the face and neck, then attacked a teenager. Patricia Wells was slashed in the face and hands but recovered from her injuries. Kristofer King, who was 17, died. (source)
It is alleged that Mr. Ditullio was motivated by his rage at Ms. Wells for having a black boyfriend and a gay son. Not a good combination when you also live in a Flori-duh trailer park next door to a trailer full of nazi skinheads, I guess.
Now, Mr. Ditullio is on trial for murder, and the state is paying $150 per day for a professional makeup artist to cover up his tattoos. There was some concern that the jury might look at him funny, what with the big swastika on his neck and all.
I’m all for a defendant’s right to a fair trial. But, it would seem to me that unless the state put the tattoos on his neck, then he ought to cover them up himself or live with the consequences.