MI- Judge blocks parents of slain son, media from 'thrill kill' hearing

Earlier story

2-27-2009 Michigan:

DETROIT -- The parents of a murdered River Rouge man are upset that a judge today blocked them and others from a hearing for a Plymouth Township teen who killed their son.

To the surprise of prosecutors, relatives and the media, Wayne County Circuit Judge Bruce U. Morrow closed his court to hear a request for a new trial by Jean Pierre Orlewicz, 18, who was convicted last year of masterminding the stabbing, beheading and mutilation of Daniel Sorensen, 26, of River Rouge.

Jim Sorensen, Daniel Sorensen's father, said Morrow explained closing the courtroom by saying "constitutionality is not absolute."

"This young man murdered my son. I feel we should have been able to attend the hearing," Jim Sorensen said from the hallway outside of Morrow's courtroom.

"We don't get to be there to be a witness for our son."

Orlewicz wants a new trial, claiming he had inadequate lawyers and wasn't allowed to present testimony about his mental health. The case drew national attention when Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy described the slaying as a "thrill killing."

"The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office is at a loss to understand why the Sorenson family, the public and the press were banned from the courtroom in the Orlewicz case today," Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a statement. "The court did not state a reason for taking this action. It is my firm belief that the court proceedings should be ... open and transparent."

Orlewicz's new attorney, Elizabeth Jacobs, said she sought the closure to discuss subjects that wouldn't be admitted if the judge granted a new trial.

"There is no sense tainting a jury," Jacobs said.

Jacobs praised Morrow for closing the hearing, which will be continued April 24. It was unclear if the hearing will be open to the public. Morrow did not return calls to explain his decision.

Orlewicz was sent to prison for life after a jury didn't buy his testimony that he killed Sorensen in self-defense. Another teen testified Orlewicz asked him to help prepare a garage in Livonia for the killing, and then helped dump Sorensen's torso in Northville Township and his head in the Rouge River. Alexander Letkemann, 19, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and is serving 20 to 30 years in prison.

Jacobs said the sentencing judge, Annette Berry, should not hear today's request because of her comments at Orlewicz's sentencing in May.

"I have to say I am grateful the jury convicted you, sir... I am grateful that you are going away for the rest of your life because in my view, I believe you would have killed again," Berry said.

Jacobs claims Berry also improperly prevented the defense from presenting three expert witnesses who were expected to testify about Orlewicz's mental condition and prior psychiatric treatment.

The request for a new trial also claims Orlewicz received inadequate counsel from his previous legal team headed by James C. Thomas, who later defended former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Sorensen also said that prosecutors led him to believe that Orlewicz will claim self-defense as a reason to receive a new trial.

Sorensen said the self-defense claim is a bogus one, but he wants Orlewicz to exhaust every legal avenue available so that there are no excuses for him not to remain in prison.

"He would've had every chance he deserved," Sorensen said in hushed tones while flanked by his wife, Kim, and a Wayne County sheriff's deputy. "That is the way the system works." ..News Source.. by Santiago Esparza and Doug Guthrie / The Detroit News