One of Dalia Dippolito's attorneys says his client has been handcuffed most of the day and her phone time is being limited since state prosecutors made a transcript of one of her jailhouse calls public.
The state included the transcript in a motion it filed to ask a judge to deny her bond pending an appellate hearing. Dippolito filed for appeal Friday and her bond hearing is set for August 10.
Her attorney, Brian Claypool, says a portion of the call the state highlighted in its motion takes a conversation Dippolito had about an inmate's jailbreak in South Carolina out of context.
With a soft tone, Dalia Dippolito makes a call from jail to a man state prosecutors have identified as 'James.'
Listen to the full call below.
Def: I miss you guys so much
James: Yeah, we miss you too.
We don't know who the man is on the other end of the call, but Dippolito appears comfortable talking to him, expressing her affection for him several times.
Def: I'll keep all of you guys in prayer.
James: Thank you.
Def: I love you.
Dippolito talks about her son, about her mom, and then four minutes into the conversation, there's silence.
Def: Totally random. I was reading in the paper, there is this guy who was in prison in Texas, and
James: Huh?
Def: There's a guy who was in prison in Texas
James: Uh huh.
Def: he had somebody fly a drone over and drop off wire cutters. And he cut wires and escaped from prison. And he put a dummy
James: Wow, that's awesome!
Def: He put a
James: What a genius.
Def: He put a dummy in his bed and had an 18-hour head start. And it turns out they caught him in a motel in Texas with $46,000 cash and fake
James: Wait, how much?
Def: $46,000 cash.
James: Oh.
Def: and fake IDs. And it turns out somebody tipped them off. And someone ratted him out somehow. And they were saying how, urn, prison like experts and stuff were saying, in the article, how they can't prevent drones from coming in. There's nothing you can do to prevent that.
James: No, of course not. It's in the air.
Def: So that was the story. This is like the second time he has tried to escape.
James: Wow, that's awesome! A drone. Somebody sent a drone with a knife?
Def: With wire cutters.
James: So he cut the fence?
Def: Yeah. Everyone here was like pumped up when they read that.
James: The problem, the problem, like it will never happen at Gun Club. tell you that.
Def: God, settle down.
James: Yeah. Actually, you're on the second floor, so...
Def:Crazy.
James: Yeah. Only time you'll see a fence is in the rec yard.
Def: That's insane.
The state provided transcripts of this part of the conversation in its argument to the court to deny Dippolito's appellate bond, claiming she was enthusiastically talking about an inmate's jailbreak. State prosecutors say Dippolito is a flight risk.
"The way in which the state prosecutor has portrayed this jailhouse phone call, it is fiction. It's a great novel for everybody to read, but it's not the truth," said Brian Claypool, Dippolito's attorney.
Claypool claims the state took the two minutes of a 10 minute conversation about other things out of context.
"It almost appeared to me as if Dalia Dippolito was straining to keep the conversation going and then she says randomly, I read this article about this South Carolina inmate escaping using a drone," said Claypool. "Dalia Dippolito never asked this guy to find a drone for her to try to help her escape from jail."
The state said in its motion that Dippolito 'entices and encourages others to commit serious felonies with her assistance.'
Claypool said she is being penalized in jail since the transcripts of this phone call were made public.
"The deputies at Gun Club are now treating Dalia Dippolito in a more confrontational manner, for example keeping her handcuffed most of the day," said Claypool.
Claypool said Dippolito was in a better mood recently as she was getting ready to file an appeal for her conviction. That notice of appeal has now been officially filed.
"Her spirits were uplifting, she was ready to go battle, to fight these appellate issues to try to get a new trial," said Claypool.
During the call, she hears encouraging words from James.
James: Try to keep busy there
She ends the conversation asking him whether she should read a certain book with another inmate.
Def: The story of Esther
James: What about the book of Esther?
Def: I'm thinking about reading that with one of the girls tonight.
