Virginia Lawyer Invokes ‘Will Smith Defense’ During Murder Trial, Subsequently Loses Case

According to reports, Virginia attorney Dirk Padgett pulled out the “Will Smith defense” during his client’s murder trial on Tuesday.

During the closing arguments, Padgett told the jurors his client, William Reno Ray, who was on trial on two counts of first-degree murder, simply “snapped.” As a result, Ray, did “[t]hings you wouldn’t ordinarily do you do — like Will Smith,” adding, “I bet he wishes he could take back,” he said of Smith. “But he can’t. You can’t unbreak a stick.”

He used that to draw parallels to Ray’s case where the 25-year-old was convicted of stabbing Eric Surface, 44, more than 20 times and killed him, then drowned 42-year-old April Barnicoat in her own bathtub.

Despite his efforts, Padgett’s defense strategy failed and Ray was convicted on all counts after just two hours of deliberation.

Source: nypost.com