James Osnes was the victim of the series of bad coincidences according to David Jassy's attorneys.Attorneys for David Jassy, the Swedish rapper who beat and ran over jazz pianist James Osnes for touching his SUV which was waiting in the crosswalk that Osnes was trying to cross, came up with a strategy designed to sway someone who a) believes that crashes where cars hit and kill pedestrians are unavoidable and b) is incredibly gullible.
The defense? These two people are just the victims of circumstance. They should have been friends!
After a long description of the brutality of Jassy's attack, the Times outlines the thrust of the defense.
In court papers, the lawyer wrote that Osnes' death fit the thesis ofthe film "Crash" -- "that random interactions of diverse people in acity as frenetic as Los Angeles can lead to disastrous consequences."He said the case begged a series of "what ifs," starting with, "Whatwould have happened if Mr. Jassy and Mr. Osnes had not arrived on thesame corner at the same time?"
Earlier, in the article, Jassy's attorney objects to the classification of Osnes, who again was punched to the ground and kicked in the head before being repeatedly run over for touching Jassy's SUV, as a victim. Why, these two musicians were equal participants in the skirmish where only one person attacked the other and ran over him with a two-ton vehicle while a police officer tried in vain to stop him.
In a clear attempt to just throw everything at the wall and see what sticks, Jassy's attorney claimed the thin Osnes and the police officer were intimidating the "Swedish Rapper" who was surrounded by two tons of steel. Oddly, the LAPD itself seemed to believe the same thing about some gang-bangers in a hummer earlier that morning.
