Former death row inmate Isaiah McCoy delivers courtroom tirade
JAMM AQUINO/JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Hawaii Deputy Sheriff Richard Stevenson, right, listens to examination from the witness stand by defendant Isaiah McCoy, middle, as prosecuting attorney David Van Acker listens at left in the state circuit courtroom of Judge Todd Eddins today.
JAMM AQUINO/JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Hawaii Deputy Sheriff Richard Stevenson, right, listens to examination from the witness stand by defendant Isaiah McCoy, left, in the state circuit courtroom of Judge Todd Eddins today.
JAMM AQUINO/JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Isaiah McCoy is sworn in prior to taking the witness stand in the state circuit courtroom of Judge Todd Eddins today.
JAMM AQUINO/JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Isaiah McCoy gestures while speaking in the state circuit courtroom of Judge Todd Eddins today. At left is prosecuting attorney David Van Acker. The prosecution requested that McCoy’s bail be revoked after he was apprehended October 7 at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, trying to leave on a flight to Los Angeles.
JAMM AQUINO/JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Isaiah McCoy, right, listens to advice from appointed counsel Barry Sualu in the state circuit courtroom of Judge Todd Eddins today. The prosecution requested that McCoy’s bail be revoked after he was apprehended October 7 at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, trying to leave on a flight to Los Angeles.
A state judge had former death row inmate Isaiah McCoy removed from the courtroom this afternoon as McCoy was delivering a verbal tirade, then denied McCoy the opportunity for release on bail while awaiting trial for robbery.
McCoy, 32, was free on $100,000 bail for the robbery case when he was arrested Monday at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport attempting to board a commercial flight for Los Angeles. He had a one-way ticket.
One of the standard conditions of bail is a prohibition on leaving the jurisdiction without permission from the court. McCoy did not have court permission to leave the state.
It was during a hearing this afternoon on the state’s request to deny him bail when McCoy had an outburst, yelling at Circuit Judge Todd Eddins, “You’re a loser, just like everybody else.” After he was taken out of the courtroom, McCoy could be heard from the back hallway yelling, “You’re a racist.”
McCoy’s tirade came as Eddins was saying that he was going to allow McCoy time to gather more evidence to oppose the state’s request, but in the meantime will have to remain in custody with no opportunity for release.
The robbery charge for which McCoy is scheduled to stand trial next month accuse him and a co-defendant of beating a man in Waikiki and stealing the man’s $20,000 watch.
McCoy came to Hawaii in 2017 after he was released from custody in Delaware where he just gotten acquitted of a drug-related murder. He was originally convicted of the crime and sentenced to death. Volunteer lawyers with the Innocence Project got the conviction overturned and got McCoy acquitted in the retrial.
