First trial at SCI-Fayette held
The trial for an inmate at the State Correctional Institution at Fayette was held at the prison, a first for the Fayette County court system. Judge Steve P. Leskinen conducted the trial for Melvin Lindsay, 40, at the state prison in Luzerne Township on Wednesday because Lindsay intended to call several other state inmates as witnesses, District Attorney Nancy D. Vernon said.
Lindsay is charged with aggravated and simple assault for allegedly punching a guard on March 24.
Calling the inmates “would burden both the time and safety of the commonwealth in transporting the people to the courthouse,” said Vernon.
Because Lindsay has the constitutional right to present witnesses in his defense, Vernon said county court officials decided it would simplest to hold his trial at the prison.
Jurors called to hear the case were taken to the prison by bus. Carol Scire, assistant to SCI-Fayette Superintendent Harry E. Wilson, said the trial was being conducted in the visitor’s room of the prison.
While Scire was unsure how many people the visiting room held, she said that the proceedings were open to the media because Leskinen said media could attend. She said that Wilson determined that if future trials are held at the prison, it would be up to the presiding judge to determine if the trial was open to the public.
“No matter where the case is held, (the judge) is still in charge,” Scire said.
Anyone who attends a trial at the state prison would be subject to a search, Scire said, and has to dress appropriately for admission. She also indicated that anyone who attends the trial would have to clear a metal detector and an ion scanner that checks the hands and body for drugs. Lindsay is in prison for offenses committed in Philadelphia, though unclear what he did.