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SPRINGFIELD - The prosecution has dropped plans to call Haleigh Poutre as a witness in the child abuse case against her stepfather.
Assistant Hampden County District Attorney Laurel H. Brandt filed a motion in the case of Jason D. Strickland Tuesday in which she said her office "has concluded that it would not be in the best interests of the child to testify in a public forum and has decided to forego the information she would have supplied rather than further traumatize the child."
The filing came on the eve of a hearing today to see if the 14-year-old girl, who suffered a serious brain injury in September 2005, is competent to testify. A hearing was also set for a judge to act on a request from the state Department of Children & Families to bar the media from hearings at which Haleigh might be called to testify.
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Also Tuesday, The Boston Globe joined The Republican in opposing the effort to bar the media from the proceedings and filed a brief in support of the newspaper's move.
Joseph P. Pessolano, on behalf of the Republican, wrote, "Just as the press was instrumental in supporting and fostering the reform of (the state Department of Children and Families), so the press' critical role continues as it covers the legal proceedings in this most newsworthy and important case."
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