The New 'Evidence' Against Randy Blythe

It has now been two weeks since the arrest and detainment of Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe. Since stepping off the plane in Prague on June 27, Randy's life was changed forever. He hasn't been allowed contact with his wife, his family, his friends, or band. Other than his attorneys who speak very little english, Randy has been cut off from the outside world. For all Randy knows, the metal world might not even care about his incarceration, and that has to be the most lonely and isolated feeling in the world. For two weeks he has sat in that cell being detained for something he didn't do.

The prosecution in the case is playing a game, only Randy is the pawn and the stakes are very real. To this date, Randy has not been charged with a crime. One would think that in the 24 months since Daniel Nosek's death, the prosecutor could have figured out if a crime had been committed. Even Daniel’s uncle has admitted that the prosecution has botched the case from day 1. Sadly, Randy still hasn't been charged, and the game goes on.

Blythe was allowed to go free after three days in custody. In Czech Republic, everyone is allowed bail unless they are charged with terrorism, rape, or murder (not manslaughter). Blythe was granted bail per the law. He even paid the $200,000USD in bail only to have it later denied by the prosecutor. Now with no bail hearing currently scheduled, and no charges filed against him, Randy Blythe sits in legal limbo in a foreign jail. According to Czech law, people in jail awaiting trial come up for bail every 90 days. The prosecutor can accept bail or deny it. The only reasons for which bail can be revoked are: the defendant might commit the crime again, might taint witnesses, or might flee the country. We assume that it is the latter that is keeping Blythe locked up.

Randy's U.S. lawyer is now in Prague and will be asking for a new expedited bail hearing. After having his bail rejected the first time following payment, things don’t look so good. A lawyer in Trutnov, Czech Republic informed The Gauntlet that he has "never heard of bail being issued, paid, and the accused still remaining in jail without a charge from the prosecutor." His belief is that Czech law "doesn't allow for this and the prosecutor is making new law." He also informed us that the European Court on Human Rights has found that the length of pretrial custody in Czech Republic to be excessive several times in the past.

The video footage that has come out has been very telling and eye-opening. When we originally began reporting on this case, we were under the assumption that Randy most likely pushed a kid off the stage and due to a bad fall, ended up in a coma. Fans in attendance have always stated that Daniel was on stage three times. We found three instances of Daniel on stage and Randy barely lays a finger on him. We also showed that a security guard hired by the venue threw Daniel head first into the ground with a lot of force the third time he got on the stage. The video shows Daniel stagger a bit, get up and pass by the camera with a large gash in his head.

Following the release of the footage, friends of Daniel began shouting that there was a 4th time he was on the stage and that was when it happened. We went back and watched the footage we have of the Lamb of God three song encore and found nothing. That doesn’t mean Daniel never was on stage a fourth time, it just means the footage we have didn't capture it as there are a few moments where the crowd gets in the way, the cameraman is shooting Willie or Mark, etc. For the sake of argument, let's assume Daniel did get on the stage a fourth time. This fourth time would be following when he stage dove, following when the security guard shoved him off the stage face first, and following when the security guard body slammed his head into the guardrail. This fourth time would also be following a verbal warning from the security guard to "not go up there anymore." Daniel was told to stay off the stage. The barricades are there for a reason. They are not part of the band's set. They are made out of steel to keep people from bypassing them.

We have been told on many occasions that Randy "called audience members up on stage and Randy punched Daniel several times in the face, slammed him down on the ground and Randy proceeded to choke Daniel as he proceeded to sing." Holy shit! Randy is the biggest asshole for that. Only one thing, the fourth time Daniel was on stage he was enjoying himself. Take a look at this picture:



These are still photos taken by Martin Kroa of 'Daniel, following a supposed body-slam and beating from Randy, who is now choking him out.' Only one problem. There is no sign of Daniel being punched in the face. Security surely would have stepped in, if not them, the bands own road crew would have if their singer was involved in any sort of altercation. The part about the vicious body-slam? Daniel is on his back, but he is also clearly enjoying himself, as evident by him throwing up the horns. The part about the choking, that is not how you choke a person. Look at the position of Randy's hands. Who uses a closed fist to choke someone out? Also Randy's hand is further down on his chest and not on Daniel’s throat. The thing to realize is this is a split second of events. Most likely 1/250 of a second.




In the second shot(directly above), we see Randy Blythe in a closer position to Daniel. This one looks bad for Randy on first glance. Randy is still singing and has the mic in his right hand. We can see Daniel is on his side as we see his ear in all the hair. This means he is facing away from the camera as we see the back of his head. This is the image that people are going to claim condemns Randy as it shows him choking Daniel. The problem is, Randy's left hand is nowhere near Daniel's throat. Randy is also angled down, right to left. If you were to choke someone, you'd put your hand or forearm against their windpipe from directly above. Randy has his hand on the back of Daniel's head and is applying no pressure at all on Daniel's windpipe. You can see Daniel's ear is below the plane of Randy's hand. Basic human anatomy tells us that he is not choking Daniel as the arm is on the back of Daniel's head. (thanks Scott Lewis for pointing that out).

If you were at the show and have anything concrete like pictures or video, let us know. So far everything that has come forward has actually proven Randy's innocence. We will post any and all evidence as long as it is legit. In case you are curious, I went to college to be a forensic scientist. I mainly wanted to deal with ballistics and weapons.

So what now? That is purely up to you. There isn't going to be much news coming out of the Czech Republic unless something happens. With the prosecutor's unwillingness to make a move, it is up to you to keep the pressure on. Call the U.S. embassy in Prague and let them know that you are concerned with an American detained in a foreign land with no charges and they should be too. Their number is 011 (420) 257 022 000 hours: 2:30am - 11:30am. You can also tweet them at @USEmbassyPrague . Contact local radio and TV stations. They don't need to be metal stations. This is not a metal or rock story, this is the story about an American detained in a Czech prison with no bail and no charges. As things stand right now, you are the voice of Randy Blythe.

There is also a Whitehouse petition to free Randy.
click here. It needs 25,000 signatures and will then be seen by President Obama. Takes less than a minute.

Previous coverage on Randy Blythe can be found here

Read More News

Tags:  Randy Blythe, Lamb of God   

Jason Fisher    July 11, 2012