Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 31, 1993 TAG: 9308310132
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A2 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
Len Register declined to comment as he left the Palm Beach County Courthouse. He walked out during a recess after his questioning frequently was interrupted by whispered suggestions from his boss and co-counsel, State Attorney Harry Lee Coe.
The final instance came when Coe rose and openly objected to a question Register had asked.
The departure of Register, who had handled most of the preparation for the case, left the trial in the hands of Coe, a former judge who has not personally prosecuted a case in 22 years.
"This hasn't changed anything one iota," Coe told reporters outside court. "All the evidence we were going to put on is still the evidence we're going to put on. We're going to let the jury decide this case."
Register, 39, had aided in the cases of mass murderer Ted Bundy and the Gainesville student slayings when he was a prosecutor for six northeast Florida counties.
Tensions between Register and Coe had been building for months. Then last week, the defense brought out that Coe had given the key prosecution witness a plea agreement in the case one day after he offered the witness's attorney a job - Register's job.
Coe denied any impropriety for the offer, which was declined.
Coe, 61, elected state attorney in Hillsborough County in November, was known on the bench as "Hanging Harry" for his tough sentences. But he was overturned on appeal more often than any other Hillsborough judge during that period. Register had said earlier he would resign at the end of the case.
Circuit Judge Donald C. Evans did not mention Register's departure in open court or explain Register's absence to the jury, which was hearing a third day of testimony in the racially charged trial that had been moved to West Palm Beach.
Lakeland day laborers Mark Kohut and Charles Rourk are accused in the New Year's Day torching of Christopher Wilson of New York City. Kohut, 27, and Rourk, 33, face life behind bars if convicted on charges of attempted murder, kidnapping and robbery.
Prosecutors allege the men abducted Wilson, drenched him with gasoline and set him ablaze. The 32-year-old stock-brokerage clerk, who has yet to testify, was burned over nearly 40 percent of his body.
After Coe took over questioning, one witness told how the burn victim's skin appeared to be falling off.
by CNB