The manslaughter trial of Lamb of God vocalist Randy Blythe is set to resume in the Czech Republic on March 4.
The charge relates to an incident during a Lamb of God concert at Prague's Abaton club on May 24, 2010, during which 19-yr old Daniel Nosek suffered injuries which led to his death. Czech authorities arrested Blythe on June 27, 2012 as the band flew into the country to play a concert the day after.
Blythe spent 38 days in Pankrac Prison before being released on bail and maintains his innocence in the incident in which the young man attempted to get on to the stage and was allegedly pushed off by the singer and fell back onto his head, suffering brain trauma.
In an interview with WTVR, Blythe stated that "[The victim's] family right now is in a lot of pain, and they deserve some answers. To lose a child is the worst possible thing a human can go through. I want my name cleared. I have to go around the world and tour, you know? That's what I do. I'm not going to hide here. I'm an innocent man. I'm going to go to court and see what happens."
Lamb of God's manager, Larry Mazer, issued a statement on the initial indictment, which reads:
"After a three month investigation, the prosecutor in the Czech Republic has decided to move forward with an indictment of Randy Blythe on the charge of manslaughter with intent to cause bodily harm. Obviously, we intend to fight vigorously against these charges as we feel that in no way did Randy intend to cause bodily harm on the young fan who subsequently died from injuries sustained at the show. As he has stated previously, Randy intends to go to Prague to defend himself at trial.
While it is a tragedy that a Lamb of God fan died following a performance by the group, in no way do I feel that Randy did anything improper that led to the young man's injuries and subsequent death. The price of a ticket to a show does not entitle audience members access to a band's stage. In the years since the murder on stage of Dimebag Darrell Abbott, performers of all genres have had to become more guarded while performing in response to the dangers presented by fans trying to become part of the performance. We believe that Randy responded professionally to the numerous amount of fans rushing the stage that day, a number of them captured on videos that have been posted on the internet. We have testimony from the venue operator that acknowledges lax security and an improper barricade being used that evening. Numerous testimonies from fans also were contradictory as to the actions of the multiple fans that tried to access the stage.
At this point, all that the band, myself, and our lawyers can do is to present a defense and try to convince the panel of judges who will hear the case that Randy is innocent of all charges and that his name and reputation need to be cleared and that he be permitted to carry on with his life and career always mindful that a fan passed away after a Lamb of God performance."
Blythe faces 5-10 years in prison if found guilty.
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