One of the bedrock principles of our criminal justice system is the defendant does not have to testify in his defense. Corey Batey had to testify for two reasons
- Batey had to say the two magic words. I’m sorry.
- Batey had to advance the defense theory of his intoxication.
One of the elements of aggravated rape in Tennessee is that the government has to prove that the defendant knows or has reason to know that the victim is mentally defective ,mentally incapacitated or physically helpless. Batey testified that he was" drunk out of his mind ".
The rest of the closing arguments will start in minutes. We will soon see if the jury believes him.