Great Moments in Decision Making

A florida judge has ordered a makeup artist to cover up the neo-nazi tattoos of a man accused of murdering his neighbor with a knife because he didn’t like blacks visiting their home. Why the makeup? Judge fears that the swastika tattoo will prejudice the jury. The kicker? The skinhead got the tattoos after he was arrested. I don’t know who makes the worst decisions- the judge or the accused.

From NYDailyNews here:

A court is paying for a Neo-Nazi accused of murder to get an extreme makeover.

A judge has agreed the Florida court will spend up to $150 per day for the duration of 23-year-old John Ditullio’s trial for a makeup artist to conceal the accused killer’s face and neck tattoos.

Ditullio sports barbed wire across his face, an expletive on one side of his neck, and a Neo-Nazi symbol on the other side.

His attorney said covering the tattoos is necessary to see justice is served.

“When you have offensive tattoos people are going to judge you. It wouldn’t be fair to judge him because the trial should be about the facts, not about tattoos,” Bjorn Brunvand said. Ditullio’s attorney also admits Ditullio is a member of a Neo-Nazi compound that is next door to the victim’s home, but maintains Ditullio’s innocence and claims he is a victim of mistaken identity.

Prosecutors say letting Ditullio cover up the hate inked on his neck lets him hide the Neo-Nazi affiliations they claim motivated him to commit murder.

Can you get a whiter name that “Bjorn Brunvand?” And a lawyer says that being in court is not about “judging people?” Sheesh, if you can’t judge someone in court, then where can you do it?

I think the tattoos should remain uncovered as a testimony to Ditullio’s decision-making skills. And no matter how bad you think your neighborhood is, at least you don’t have a neo-nazi compound next door. Only in Florida.