Shanda Vander Ark's Defense Attorney Speaks to Court TV
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- Опубликовано: 17 дек 2023
- "Worse case I ever handled." #ShandaVanderArk's #defense attorney Fred Johnson spoke to #CourtTV after the #verdict in the #TorturedSonMurderTrial. Johnson says if everyone does their job, "justice gets done."
Vander Ark was found #guilty of torturing her special needs son to death. Johnson talks about why his client says she did nothing wrong.
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“The system worked and justice was done” wow - I never thought I’d hear a defense lawyer say that after a “loss.” I already respected him, but I do even more, now. Well done, sir.
That’s b/c he knows his client was guilty AF and only did what a defense lawyer is supposed to do.
I have great respect for this attorney. Job well done!
I got the impression the attorney was defending against the Felony murder charge that has a requirement of INTENT to kill, result in a death. He was very blunt in that her actions resulted in the death occurring. The actions of directing the older brother and her own abuse when she was home….. he died directly as a result of the abuses toll on his body… and that 8-9 hour final bath last straw…. the monitors caught all of it and both of them had obviously forgotten about those cameras… and they were that far out there in their sick worlds where it was a shock like never seen it coming … Her mental illness is the kind that requires lifetime imprisonment …. She was abused, she abused her kids, they’ll go on to be a risk of abusing their kids…
I can see where he was coming from on the intent defense…. But end result is she needs to never ever be released from prison even if it had been the involuntary charge …. The system failed that boy, his father failed him, the adult siblings… but this defense attorney I applaud his representation of a client like her…
The step-mother came up from Florida … but the coward father was no where to be found…..
@@RebeccaSmith-gj5sc yes, b/c it was clear that their actions killed the teen, the defense attorney’s job became more about the level of culpability.
The worse case he ever had & went above serial killer cases he tried!
A decent man in a difficult situation. He acted with integrity and dignity.
Indeed he did!
truth... This Man is soooo logical, full of common sense, moral, educated beyond books smarts...
unexplainablely
different from the usual, witnessed daily on court tv.
Absolutely......💯
Well said!!!
This was the best attorney for the client. He has great integrity.
yeah i agree. very impressed. this interview seems like he was able to substitute his dignity for her total lack of anything close to it....
Seriously though how do you know he has great integrity? A lot of lawyers do a decent job defending their clients. He really didn't do much at all to be honest. They have evidence against his client was overwhelming. I'm not saying he doesn't have integrity. I'm just curious what makes you think for certainty that he does. Because many lawyers don't
@@sebfettel We come to that conclusion because a tree is known by its fruit.
We are able to assert deductive reasoning by how he handled himself and his client.
His professionalism proved his meritocracy.
Spoke very well did her Attorney. Tough gig. Never quite understand defense attorney logic to represent clients.
Best attorney? He lost! Granted he had nowhere to go so he went with it. He was very likeable and that’s really hard to see in a case like this because usually the defence faces anger for taking on such cases but he came across as a very decent chap.
I actually admire this defense attorney. This is the first time I’ve ever heard the defense say no this is a good day, justice was served. He didnt go on a rant about her being innocent or talk about appeals. I also believed him when he said he was affected by the facts and evidence of the case, I’m sure everyone was, except her 😒
I admire him too and I’ve never heard a defense attorney who’s lost a case say “justice was served”. He has integrity and a heart.
@@catgiles3268 That’s good ole meritocracy 💖.
Same!
i don’t doubt that jurors are going through hell 😥& 1st responders as they did in watts trial many are still in counseling
And Paul wasn't affected too
I have watched so many trials and this lady is E V I L to starve your own child to death, then to put him in an ICE 🧊 bath for over 7 hours, for him to slowly die is just absolutely cruel… Rest in Peace Timothy, may your soul be freed from this evil mother and son who did this to you 🥺🕊️
It was actually 9 hrs 😢
Evil doesn’t touch what she did
@@Nefertiti0403she is the spawn of planned parenthood. A brood of baby killers
Agreed
I appreciate your answer because I had no clue what she had done. I was just looking at the clip of her crying on the stand. I thought she had witnessed something someone made her do under duress.
Thanks again💖👊🏼.
Mr. Johnson handled this horrific case with utmost professionalism. I can’t imagine having to do a closing argument with those facts, but he did it admirably.
Mr. Johnson is an American Hero! ❤
God Bless him!
She was making RUclips videos “advocating” for people with disabilities while her own disabled child was being tortured and starved in a closet just downstairs. It’s shockingly evil.
Yep. Her RUclips description is about advocating for ALL people with ALL disabilities. A true psychopath and sadisf.
I didn’t hear about this.
Wow.i didnt hear either
link please.
Typical duplicitous narcissist. Street angel. House devil
My Johnson’s first statement gave me chills-CTV needs him weekly. Mr Johnson isn’t just defence counsel; he’s a humanitarian.
What an honorable attorney. May God bless him.
I love how the attorney said justice was served!
Justice comes from the LORD, not a man-made court room.
Look what they did to innocent Jesus!
Great admiration for this attorney. He acknowledged the horror of the case and his client, while remaining his humanity and integrity.
In my humble opinion Mr. Johnson did a fanatic job representing this vile/ evil woman. He gave her the best defense that could be provided. Thankfully the prosecution won, and this evil woman will be dealt with according by the prison system.
Bless this attorney and everyone who had to see and know the details of this case. I can’t imagine the nightmares that they will have. Thank God we have people who do this, so we don’t have to.
Yes, God knows I could never do his job. Ever
@@amyyarbrough4797 There was no defence, she did unspeakable evil, yet this attorney still did his best to represent her.
@@Psyche721
She is the personification of pure sadistic evil.
But in a civilised society all are entitled to representation.
I applaud the professionalism of the defense attorney. I thank Mr. Johnson for spending time with us to explain his part of this simply horrid case and helping justice be served.
What a relief for Timothy to be free from all the worst things that could happen to anyone it's beyond words
She’s a narcissistic manipulator deserves to be in the prison until end of her life. That poor child never deserved to be treated with such cruelty by his family
What an absolute professional. He is the epitome of an honorable man.
I admired this gentleman during the trial and that's unusual for me when I believe the defendant is as guilty, monstrous, and evil as Vander Ark is. He safeguarded her rights and gave her zealous representation with integrity. Well done, sir.
I'll pray that God grants him mercy and removes the nightmarish images from his mind.
I thought the same. A likable defense lawyer is rare for me.
He’s a PoS!!!!
Tell that to the group that hates Affirmative Action but are the only ones with an Affirmative Action Protections Bill. Now they are attacking legacy. Only in America the ones that fought every war FOR AMERICA and DENIED THE GI BILL😩with no protections for the folks treated like TREE ornaments. People cried against Reparative Justice but quiet and calm about allowing criminals to be dumped here. Not only that $9,000-$15,000 bonus for international crime.
Michael Jackson👉🏼 “Man in the Mirror” if we wanna make the world a better place take a look in the mirror and make that change 👈🏻..
Timothy looked so sweet in those childhood pictures 🥰💔 to even punish that sweet child is pure evil.
Yes. The details of this case were bad enough and then to see his innocent, little angel face just had me in tears. R.I.P. Timothy🕊
This woman is a total loss. She should be forced to endure the world she made for Timothy. What she did was done with a complete lack of compassion. People that have zero compassion are never going to redeem themselves. What a waste of flesh she is.
chill out Hammurabi
Evil to core
Wrong
Much respect for this gentleman he did his job well and very professionally, admittedly first defence lawyer that is willing to admit this is a judicial decision and not a game.
Justice has been served and may Timothy rest in power ❤
No abuses she has endured will ever be enough excuse to for what she did to a child to her own kid !
We have no idea what abuses she endured or what broke her but something did . It isnt about excusing what she did it's about understanding .
That defense attorney seems like a wonderful human being!
Wow I’m just in shock. What integrity this man has. Truly incredible.
Can I just say I love that he is not sad about loosing! Integrity. He is just doing his job and hoping that justice prevails. ❤️❤️
He said forgiveness is required - nope! Her remorse is required first and she will never have that.
This attorney was simply doing his job! You can tell by the way he is talking that he found her just as much of a monster as the rest of us. When your job is to give customers the impression that your product is the best thing since sliced bread that is what you do, then you go into the breakroom with your co-workers and talk about what shetty product the company is producing. One thing for certain is I guarantee when he gets home in the privacy of his domain with his wife he isn't defending her NOT one bit.
I can’t even imagine sitting by her, she’s heinous.
Such a fascinating interview. This attorney is so frank and honest. Very refreshing. I would love to know more about the psychological status of this woman. So disturbing. Honestly, she should be studied by mental health experts for the learning experience of society to identify people like this in the future. I saw that she has a religious background. She certainly sickly twisted any reasonable view of a belief system.
She has at least two diagnosis. She is a narcissist and a psychopath. In layman terms she is the personification of pure evil. No need to study that evil manipulative brain..
yes i heard it was the church of SATAN & doesn’t she do a great job of showing what they believe in!
She WILL be required to attend sentencing. Can’t wait. The way she got out of appearing at her own trial was despicable (although I understand the law). She does NOT have PTSD from her husband’s stroke. That’s impossible. She’s sick. RIP sweet Timothy.
I mean... it's not literally impossible. I don't understand why people make unfactual statements to attack her when there are plenty of factual statements that can be used instead.
It's absolutely possible to get PTSD from living through a loved one's catastrophic illness. It happened to me. But PTSD doesn't account for, explain, or excuse ANYTHING she did to poor Timothy. She was on a sadistic power trip, plain and simple, convincing herself as she went that she was justified and even victimized by her helpless victim. Evil always sees itself as righteous.
Do you know what catatonic means?
@@gmkbelangerShe is an Aspie. An Aspie is not the real person but a false front. Her behavior is typical Aspie. Also, many Aspies are mean as they are angry at the world and they pick someone to pick on.
Aspies CAN be cured but they usually have to feel their pain in the world and it has to be greater than the pain they felt that caused their Aspieness.
No pain no gain.
She's not evil to the core. She's wounded at the core and behaves evil throughout all the other layers of her false self.
@@MandyAltamirano yes.
She was obsessed with hurting him!! Jailhouse justice will be served cold
I respect this Attorney
the fact that she doesn't feel she did anything wrong is mind blowing. This was just normal punishment in her eyes. Like a parent would ground a teenager for staying out late, she gives 9 hour ice baths for wanting food.
The attorney is saying exactly what I was thinking. Really, there should be exceptional cases where the murderer just has to represent his/herself. I mean, this man may very well suffer from mental health issues after this!
If she truly did not think what she was doing to her son was wrong then prison is exactly where she belongs. Someone who can graduate 2nd in their law class isn’t stupid. She knew what she was doing. She lacks the empathy needed to be a free person.
Wow. Sounds like he did his job but kept his heart grounded in prayer.
He explained himself well that there is a defense attorney, the prosecutor, judge and the jury. He did his job and didn't go over the top. He didn't come up with things that were too way out there. He actually said that she had a lot of stress and responsibility which is true. He came forward to talk of her struggles and doing them alone. Family didn't work too well for her and it was broken. Now onto the other son. What does society do with all the broken families and one person trying to do it alone and they are failing or barely making it?
She is a psychopath period. Don't give a damn about her problems. Just saw a story about a woman without an education living in her car with 7 kids. And she does the best she can by them while she waits for housing.
@@queennanna5595 Mothers with children should not be living in their cars in the richest country in the world. They should also be getting decent child-support payments based on the father's income and the kids shouldn't be kicked out by their father and stepmother for being annoying as Timothy was.
Thank you for showing this attorney 's professional view. Very interesting. My heart & admiration of the professionalism that goes out to him for being a strong man to stomach those horrible people that he deals with.
Is he wearing an airpod upside-down lol
he was doing his job, someone had to represent her and she was so fortunate to have this gentleman
I feel like everyone touched by this case might want to spend some healing time because this was so deeply disturbing
I agree. Thanks to this man for defending someone that most people would not have wanted to defend--
At some point morality has to come into play . He should have passed on the case same as Pontius Pilot passed on judging Jesus , At some point humanity has to say no ,I will not defend someone that has committed such a tragedy.
@@hayatwy if no one will defend her, she can't be convicted. A defense attorney is needed to ensure a conviction.
I’d of said NO!! He’s a POS b
@@hayatwyit’s not really an option to pass the case on to another defender without an overwhelming reason with evidence of supporting justification. He couldn’t just skate past it. He took on an extremely difficult task with integrity
What an exceptional attorney! God bless him.
Im heartened that he didn’t take the ‘the verdict wasn’t fair on my client’ route. I was actually expecting him to do that. Defending the indefensible.
First time I’ve ever seen a defense lawyer, whose client lost, and he still called it a good day! This is an attorney that literally I think is a great attorney. He did represent his client, but he knew this is a lose lose situation, the set effects in this case were astonishing, overwhelming and disgusting and this attorney seems to be a really good attorney. He may have had to represent her because that’s his job but definitely know he probably didn’t want to because of the fact she was guilty and the fact of what she did to her son.
She claimed she didn't know what she was doing to Timothy was bad. HOGWASH! she knew how bad it was, her "brilliant" legal mind would have told her that.
SO much love and RESPECT for this defense atty ❤
God bless him, I hope all the lawyers, jury, judge and detectives get counseling to work out being face to face with evil.
Force her to show up
It’s a Must for sentencing- non negotiable - victims speak
@abbyynormal2874 👍🏽 thank goodness. Though I’ll say judging by what all I’ve seen and heard it didn’t seem like this poor boy had anyone in his corner, apart from prosecution. He has all of us now though and he will have lots of people doling out justice for him in prison 😉
This man should become a judge. Wow. What a great lawyer & even better human being.
“I passed the bar in 1986” That’s a lot of experience!
My jaw fell open and I was so shocked that he said that after passing the bar 1986 that this was “the worst case he ever handled.” Even knowing he’s handled cases with serial murders!!! 😢😮 like oh my… so crazy!!! And to think this was crime was committed by someone who knew the legal system?!?
Her illness was "Humiliated-A-Tosis" The prosecutor whipped the living heck out of her. I wonder about discovery, didn't the defense know that those text messages were going to be read by the prosecutor?
She inflicted horrific abuse on her child no normal person would reasonably believe otherwise. She knew exactly what she was doing, hope they throw the book at her.
I think this is the first time I’ve heard a defense attorney say it was a good day that justice was served when his client was convicted and will likely receive life in prison . What a great moral and ethical guy .
Who cares if she is smart and who cares what job she does. She starved her kid to death and tortured him. The only good thing is that she is locked up in prison forever.
That newscaster is sick to even call her a brilliant mind when she basically filmed her vile abuse&msgs of her torturing him. Seems kinda dumb
@@robotzombie2481 your right.
This is the Defense Attorneys I have known in our Superior Court. There’s no many Defense Attorneys that don’t TAP DANCE like the Show CHICAGO! It’s so wonderful to see such a great faithful honest honorable man. May God richly Bless him.
This man is a saint ! What a wonderful example of a man and also a man who did his best under extremely difficult conditions. Impressed with him from the start ! Rest in peace Timothy.
The way he coddled her was disgusting. She was sick? Please
She CANNOT come & say ineffective council! That a big win!
Yeah, one and done. No appeal for her.
She wasn’t in a catatonic state either, he is ridiculous
@@Gianna646 there is no way she could win any appeal.
What a GREAT attorney and human!!
Bad attorney. Ok human. Jesus said No man is good.
Shanda, the mother from hell will definitely wish she was catatonic once the other demons in prison discover why she's in there & get a hold of her to help her experience "prison justice" every single day she's in there! RIP Timothy!
The Father KNEW better. He needs charged too. The son, altho victimized, Had he sought help, she couldnt have done this without him. He is just as guilty. He KNEW THIS WAS WRONG!
I agree. The father was threatening to put him into foster care
I wish to God he had been placed into foster care 🙏
I don’t believe Paul is “just as” guilty. Watching his testimony as well as the victim impact statements of the other older children, it is clear that Shanda was abusive to all her children in varying degrees. Paul appears to be on the spectrum as well and through her abuse of him, she turned him into an accessory. You can tell he was extremely fearful of her and also wanted to please her. While he still carries some guilt, I think he should be institutionalized and given the help he needs to heal as well.
The way this man wears those AirPods is quite telling. Lmao 🤣 what was the reason 🤦♂️
The father knew Shanda was not suppose to have Timothy, so charges should be on him too for child endangerment that led to the child's demise. All of them need to be in prison for the remainder of their natural life.
You can't defend the undefendable, period.
R.I.P. Timothy
*The indefensible
@@washedinhisblood.3906
Thank you 🙏
exactly
“None of us want to be known by our worst deed”? True enuf I suppose, but when your worst deed is torturing your precious child to death, yes, that is all she deserves to be remembered for. I don’t care what she’s achieved academically, it’s worth nothing.
“We are required to forgive”
This is absolute BS.
God may have the capacity to forgive, but many of us do not and will not forgive the monster Shanda for what she did to Timothy, for how she warped Paul, for what her youngest son must have witnessed in that house.
She is nothing beyond that monster, and we’re neither required to forgive nor in need of seeing her for anything beyond that.
Catatonic but had a conversation 😮 😂😂😂 slipped up
I think this is the very first time I've heard an attorney say it's about justice, not about winning or losing.
Right! And about being able to sleep at the end of the night because you weren't deceptive in the process.
@@rachelrucker5642Exactly! It was refreshing to hear him speak. I've always been bothered by the idea of winning or losing in court. Yes, defendants are allowed representation. But we often see attorneys going to extremes by being sneaky and playing kind of dirty.
I recently heard a defense attorney say that his job is to get his client out of trouble. Wow. I find that disturbing.
This woman is evil .No sympathy for her at all
This attorney is a remarkable man. A true hero.
She lied like a rug on the stand. Why hasn’t she been charged with perjury?
After what she did she deserves ZERO breaks!
Thank you for explaining details.
She will be remembered for only 1 thing. Such a brilliant mind believed she had all the answers and never reached out for any assistance. I don’t believe she meant to kill him. I believe she meant to torture him and be her sadistic outlet for her entire life.
Sadly while she was SLOWLY Killing her son for allegedly being deceitful...IN MY OPINION, SHE LIED ON THAT STAND FOR SURE & FOR CERTAIN , VIRTUALLY EVERY TIME SHE OPENED HER MOUTH
If the Devil was on trial he's crimes wouldn't come near what this woman did.
💯
This man is truly a good soul. He humanized her and gave us a little perspective…. As for forgiveness…. that will require some hard work for me to ever get there
In his last months he lost over 40 lbs. She knew.
She caused it, of course she knew
So good to see people understand that this attorney was doing his job in court. So often I see poeple lash out at defense attorneys and a lot of the time its not warranted. Sure, some defense attorneys do cross a line and put on their defense in bad faith, with questionable ethics. Not so in this case.
I like his explanation or her testimony, that she had nothing to lose. That's exactly what I would have thought, at that point, what did she have to lose? It was a long shot, it always was.
Intent was MORE than proven! Overwhelming evidence of Intent! Well done Atty Johnson-
No intent was not proven. You were left to guess at it.
He failed to properly represent his client. He did a minimal slip shod job. He should have had a professional counselor evaluation of her and had an expert witness. He failed to ask the most important questions to her defense as involuntary manslaughter:
"You said that your didn't know that your behavior could result in Timothy's death. Do you have any medical training? ( No) If you knew that your treatment of Timothy could lead to his death, would you have done anything different? What would you have done?"
Analogy: Your 16 year old daughter takes your car out. She fails to notice the low oil gauge and doesn't know what it means anyway. She keeps driving and the engine blows up. You tell her it happened because she drove the car without oil. So you ask her "Had anyone told you that driving the car without oil could cause the engine to blow up? ( NO) If you had known this, would you have done anything different? ( Yes) What? ( I would have checked the oil and kept an eye on the oil gauge now that I know what it is.)
It slipped by Shanda. She missed it. If she had wanted to kill Timothy, she would have done so when Paul was gone and then disposed of the body and said he ran away.
Paul's suggestion a month prior to death wasn't direct enough. For Shanda to RECOGNIZE the dire situation, someone who have had to have said "Your going to lose that one." or "That boy is going to die. "
She tortured him. She killed him. She intended to torture ( under her mixed up idea of discipline ) him but she didn't intend to kill him. Her attorney is riding the fence of popular opinion.
Although I like this attorney for some things, I don’t like how he excused her.
May she get prison justice now! The female inmates are going to hate her for what she did to Timothy.
He must be so relieved to be rid of this disaster
I admire defense attorneys. They are often public scapegoats for vile defendants they must defend because that is our system and they are committed pros.
Even Shanda gets her constitutional right to a Zealous Defense in a Fair ‘ Balanced society
Atty. Johnson had nothing to work with-He seems like a great experienced atty-I would consider hiring him hypothetically!
I found this case to be 10:51 so bazaar. The state barely called any witnesses. They never submitted any photos of the victim before he went to live with his mother and never called the father or stepmother to testify about his eating habits and his behavioral issues before he was sent to his birth mother. The state didn’t even call the paramedics who were the first responders. I’m glad she was convicted but I just find those things to be odd.
All of that is unnecessary.
Who cares. None of that mattered.
I think all of that is bizarre too.
I agree. Maybe they knew ahead of time that she would testify?
It's the only thing that makes sense.
How did he have a discussion with his client if she was in a catatonic state?
I’ll also say This “She’s Right Up There With John Wayne Gacy” the Devil would consider her a perfect wife. If there is such a thing as
excellent interview. objective questions about the experience, not about opinions.
It is a great day. Why would he say, "it's not a great day!". She is a MONSTER. Im glad the attorney corrected that.
This man handled this case well. He knew how guilty she was and isn’t still making excuses for his client. She took the stand, because she thought she was more intelligent than the prosecutor.
Wow! What an admirable man Mr. Johnson is, "it's not win or lose, it's justice being served". If only 25 more percent of prosecutors and defense attorneys would have his attitude in a court of law justice would be served in a lot more cases. I'm very impressed with him.
He didn't represent his client well. He should have had a professional counselor examine her and testify. He failed to ask the most important questions.
@@MandyAltamirano he was defending the indefensible. There were numerous videos and text messages recording and documenting the torture and Timothy’s death
How can someone so capable not know how to use an AirPod??
This Case was difficult to watch. Vander Ark is an actual Demon Beast...the torture of that boy was direct from the worst horror movie
Much repsect to you, Mr Johnson.
She didn’t mean to kill him but didn’t feed him! Every parent who loves they child will feed them! She’s a monster 👹
She does not deserve any mercy to plead 'not well'. She NEVER considered her son!!!
If what this monster did to her son was discipline then she needs to be disciplined every day for the rest of her life.
to call it discipline is gaslighting. it was pure torture until he died
Mr Johnson you are a star 🌟 You did amazing. So interesting that this is the worst case he’s ever had to deal with. WOW. The woman takes the cake even when compared to serial murderers. Just wow. Excellent work Mr Johnson.
When she asked the prosecutor if he ever had a McDonald's frappes omg.
What a good decent man. It must have made him feel sick defending that creature. But he had to do a good job to ensure that it was a secure conviction.
The way he wore his AirPod says everything lol