Not all violence in gang neighbourhoods is gang violence, he argues, but it often gets reported that way to justify a more heavy-handed approach.

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Today in particular the defense lawyers have gotten sharp with him, but not only does he hold the line, he often gets in effective jabs himself that help the government and hurt the defense.

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He taught himself to speak again with the help of Rosetta Stone English and his six-year-old granddaughter, but he still gets words mixed up once in a while, and apologizes often for speaking slowly.

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