Posted on 05/27/2011 6:21:20 PM PDT by MizSterious
POSTED: 5:51 pm CDT May 27, 2011
UPDATED: 6:07 pm CDT May 27, 2011
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Some Oklahomans are outraged over the conviction of pharmacist Jerome Ersland, and they are turning to social media to voice their opinions.
A jury found Ersland guilty of murder in connection with the fatal shooting of 16-year-old Antwun Parker, sparking a backlash of citizens outraged with the verdict.
Dozens of calls have been made to Gov. Mary Fallin's office along with messages posted on the governor's Facebook wall, asking her to pardon Ersland.
"For us to punish someone who was protecting his employees and his business was really unlawful," said resident Brandy Crawford. "I feel bad for all the families involved. I really feel bad for the mother losing her child the way she did. But when people commit crimes, they have to understand there are consequences to that crime."
(Excerpt) Read more at koco.com ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHshsgpsxFg
Scorecard:
14 yr old with the gun - imprisoned until he turns adult. The maximum he could get as a juvenile.
16 yr old without any weapon - dead.
The two adults who sent the kids into the pharmacy to pull the robbery while they waited in the car - both convicted of felony murder, given life sentences.
See #20.
The law is quite right to punish cold blooded executions of unarmed individuals. Had Ersland been satisfied with a headshot, he’d be a free man. But he decided to do an evil thing, and he got caught.
At least you tacitly admit that your previous statement that "it's all on tape" was false.
I wasn't aware that the law in any state in the U.S. was based on the Eightfold Path.
Too damn bad. Anyone who participates in a crime with a gun is taking the chance they will be killed. Yes, he was on the ground when he was killed. But there are too many other crimes committed the exact same way but with the unarmed innocents killed. Anyone who puts themselves in a violent situation is at risk and both those criminals knew the risk but did it anyway. Would you feel better if the pharmacist and his staff had been the ones executed? Would you be as horrified? Methinks not.
That was my question. Overkill, yes. And probably should be punished. Premeditated first degree murder? I doubt that the pharmacist was “plotting” to kill the SOB who tried to rob him.
The law in such cases differs from state to state, from country to country, and "cold blooded" is certainly defined in a variety of ways. "Cold blooded" is certainly not the mental state of someone who has just been assaulted or robbed, so that's where your argument fails. What happened, what reaction has been provoked in the aftermath of the robbery attempt, is in my opinion, entirely the responsibility of the robber. That is where we differ. No robbery, no "cold bloded execution", simple.
No wurries. I sometimes do the same thing. I wonder how long it’ll take those people in OK to realize that as well. I’m thinking they’ve not read the whole story.
its not a great thing that he did....but it is what it is...he was being attacked and he lost control.....lost balance...
insane prosecuter discretion....I'll bet it was done to not provoke the poor Amish.....not for any other reason...
That video is disturbing. I’m surprised that the M.E. determined that the perp would have “survived” the head shot. I wonder why the defense didn’t challenge that. If he was already dead (I’m sure you could find an expert witness to attest to that), then the bullets to the abdomen would have made no difference in the outcome.
its not a great thing that he did....but it is what it is...he was being attacked and he lost control.....lost balance...
insane prosecuter discretion....I'll bet it was done to not provoke the poor Amish.....not for any other reason...
I respectively disagree. He did not wake up that morning with murder on his mind. He was put in a situation that hopefully you and I will never be put in. I don’t know how I would react. Do you?
Ersland is a scumbag and a coward who executed an unarmed UNCONVICTED WOULD BE MURDERER in cold blood
Context is everything.
People keep talking about this “unconscious” kid on the floor but I’ve yet to see any video proof of this. How did they prove it at the trial?
I would like to see someone start a thread on this that would be more real, and more fun.
Something related to my take on this robbers, meet murderer event.
What is so difficult about looking at an entire event and seeing the actions of all parties, why treat it as if we have to take a side of one of the bad guys, why not just accept that it was a freak case of robbers trying to rob a Walter Mitty psychopath.
I find the coincidence of these characters all meeting up as the amusing aspect of this.
Can you imagine the two adults that got a life sentence for murder having to explain their conviction for the rest of their lives to the other cons? “Well, we was robbin the place and got away, but the white druggist murdered one of my boys in cold blood while he was unconscious, and because the white man got convicted, they convicted me too”.
You keep repeating that the robber was Unconscious. The video does not show that. And even if the robber APPEARED to be unconscious, the victim did not have the medical training to know whether or not the robber was faking — because no mortal man has that ability, especially not during a stressful event like an armed robbery.
Also the victim could not know that this particular participant in an armed robbery was not himself carrying a weapon. Weapons can be concealed — it happens all the time.
I admire your admission of your error. If I ever commit one, I may do the same.
Overkill is the correct response when you are outnumbered AT LEAST 4 to 1 by armed robbers. And unless you are Wyatt Earp, you do not know which outlaws are carrying which weapons or where they are concealed.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.