Court records: Husband shot wife during intruder game

Omaha.com ^ | 2/6/2009 | LESLIE REED

[Red in Blue PA]

LINCOLN — Twenty-one-year-old Josh Beasley was pretending to clear his home of intruders on Saturday when he fired the shot that killed his 20-year-old wife, Alaina, according to court documents filed today.

The affidavit, based on Beasley’s interview with a Lincoln police detective on the day of the shooting, was released by Lancaster County Attorney Gary Lacey.

Josh Beasley appeared in court this afternoon on a charge of manslaughter for unintentionally causing his wife’s death.

With about10 friends and family members in the courtroom, Lancaster County Judge James Foster released Beasley without bail. Beasley had turned himself into police this morning.

In an interview with the World-Herald, Beasley earlier said he accidentally shot his wife while cleaning his shotgun.

[GingisK]

It behooves every man who values liberty of conscience for himself, to resist invasions of it in the case of others: or their case may, by change of circumstances, become his own.

-Thomas Jefferson-

[stevestras]

What a nasty and uninformed post.

http://journalstar.com/articles/2009/02/07/news/local/doc498c7ea021863747322634.txt

[TheConservativeParty]

Folsum Prison Blues: When I was just a baby, my Momma told me son, always be a good boy, don’t ever play with guns.

What a beautiful girl. Very sad that a dumbass killed her. What an idiot. He violated every rule in the book. He will never ever get over what he did. Her poor parents.

[Shooter 2.5]

Every organization feels the need to improve on the four Cooper Rules so I don’t think the NRA is any different.

As I mentioned before, the only difference that I can see in the NRA rules is they omit the fourth rule on targets and the backstop.

Can you give me a link to that NRA study?

[wastedyears]

Lock him up and melt the key.

[festus]

Even if his story is true, which I doubt, he would be guilty of manslaughter if I was on the jury.

[IGOTMINE]

I belive that Colonel Cooper was the author of the “4 Rules”.

Also, please point out the evidence that the NRA rules have reduced negligent discharges.

Bottom line is that the ultimate safety is the brain, and if the brain is not engaged no mechanical device will prevent someone from doing something stupid and irreversible.

[Uri’el-2012]

Every organization feels the need to improve on the four Cooper Rules so I don’t think the NRA is any different.

As I mentioned before, the only difference that I can see in the NRA rules is they omit the fourth rule on targets and the backstop.

Can you give me a link to that NRA study?

104 posted on February 8, 2009 6:32:19 PM MST by Shooter 2.5

The only organization that I am aware of which has firearms safety
in their mission statement is the NRA.

Cooper Rules

RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED

RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY

RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET

RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET

Sorry but from a learning and retention point of view,
there are a great many differences between Cooper Rules and the NRA rules.

NRA rules are all positive and start with the same positive word.
which facilitates learning and retention.

Cooper rules are random and confusing,
thus difficult to learn and retain.

NRA rules use words that can be understand by all.

Cooper rules use words which are not easily understood by all.

Each NRA rule is one topic.

Cooper rules 2 & 3 each contain two topics.
Sometimes Cooper rule three has two topics

The NRA rules are in a sequence of safety
If rule one is observed rule two and three if violated will cause no harm.
If rule two is observed rule three if violated, will cause no harm

The most violated Cooper rule is rule number one.(I thought it was unloaded)

Some wag stated ""All guns are always loaded!" is a ridiculous thing to say.
What kind of safety rule is a declarative statement which is patently false?

That is why NRA Certified Instructors teaching NRA basic courses teach
"Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction" as Rule One.
Many thinking shooters, who can move beyond fawning over Colonel Cooper,
understand that teaching a rule which is obviously false doubtless will result
in less than strict adherence to the rule.

I'm sure if you were to call the NRA Training Department,
they would gladly assist you in your quest.

NRA Gun Safety Rules :

Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction

Always keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot

Always keep the gun unloaded until ready to use

[Shooter 2.5]

I get the impression the NRA rules are for the Fudds who are supposed to unload and clean their guns and then wait for the next hunting season.

Not that there is anything wrong with that.

In order for a complete study to be performed, the following criteria would have to happen:

None of the subjects would have to had any training prior to either training.

Both groups would have had to be trained at the same time in separate controlled atmospheres.

The number of negligible discharges and their effects would have to be compared.

Impossible.

[Shooter 2.5]

I’m not sure but it sounds like it’s more of a memorization test than a results safety concern.

You would have to show me a direct results study before I can ever believe one set of rules keeps someone safer than another.

Since you have stated there is such a study, please post a link and I’ll be happy to read it.

[Uri’el-2012]

The phone number for the NRA Training Department is
703-267-1500.

The NRA rules are based on Learning theory.

Cooper's rules were based on his ego and pride.

If you worship at Jeff Cooper's shrine you will never understand
and hopefully never attempt to train others in the safe use of firearms.

[Shooter 2.5]

I thought as much. I waited for you to start the tired mine’s better than your’s game.

I’m not going to call the NRA since I am convinced no such study in cause and effect exists. That’s your claim and you should have the ability to back it up. The study would have to show the amount per capita of the negligent discharges between the two groups of trainees.

I don’t worship at Cooper’s shrine or the NRA’s. Both have their purpose and have helped in their own way.

My class with Cooper was at the Whittington Center if you can recognized the photo. Go figure.

[xsrdx]

Good grief - how can anyone possibly be so ignorant of basic firearms safety as to knowingly violate every rule of same INTENTIONALLY??

Forgot it was loaded? Wouldn't you think to check?

To neglect to clear the weapon, and ensure no ammunition was present or available in the vicinity; using a real gun in the first place, and finally intentionally pointing it at someone and PULLING THE TRIGGER?

Absolutely tragic, and stupid. So sorry for the wife, and if he didn't kill her on purpose, the husband will be a basket case forever.

[xsrdx]

The essence of the difference is in the "unloaded until ready to use." That's a fine sentiment, but the fact is an unloaded gun is a paperweight.

If there are some "statistics" out there that demonstrate objectively that the NRA rules are somehow superior at reducting unintentional shootings / ND's it's likely because of the last directive to unload the gun when you're not "using" it.

For people that use guns for protection, keeping it unloaded is impractical and in fact counterproductive. Cooper's rules are superior for people that live and work around guns that are always loaded; but you have to adhere to them.

Having said that, the NRA rules are well done and easy to remember, as long as you remember that a defensive firearm should "always" be ready to use. ;->

[Uri’el-2012]

I’m not going to call the NRA since I am convinced no such study in cause and effect exists.

There is an old story about a horse and a trough of water.

Have a wonderful life.

[Uri’el-2012]

The essence of the difference is in the "unloaded until ready to use." That's a fine sentiment, but the fact is an unloaded gun is a paperweight.

If someone owns fifty guns, do they load all fifty ?

No; they only load the three or four that they intend to use.

Such as the one in the sock drawer, glove box, pocket or day-timer.

And yes, I have given you way too much information.

[xsrdx]

No; they only load the three or four that they intend to use.

No question guns that are not intended for personal protection should absolutely be verified unloaded after use.

This is the value of NRA rule three, and has probably prevented a fair number of unpleasant surprises.

[GovernmentShrinker]

Don’t confuse personal disapproval, and advocacy of disapproval, with advocacy of government imposing laws and penalties for things I disapprove of. I disapprove of letting children play with toy guns, but would certainly not support laws prohibiting it. And I disapprove of people posting photos of themselves pointing guns at a camera (i.e. at the viewer), but their right to do so is clearly protected by the First Amendment.

In the case of the school teacher, as I’ve said before, I disapprove of the very existence of public schools, but as long as they exist, I support terms of employment that allow schools to suspend or fire teachers who display poor judgement and immaturity, in settings that can readily be observed by their dtudents.

The whole scheme of bringing government funding into spheres where it shouldn’t be, and then disallowing reasonable regulation of what goes on there, is part of the grand socialist scheme of forcing all of us to submit to a government-prescribed lifestyle, at our own expense. 100% of the taxpayers in a given school district may want prayer in the schools, but the government takes their money and uses it to run schools where prayer is prohibited. I have a problem with that.

The same thing is happening with “private” colleges and universities. The government takes taxpayers money, uses it to fund student loan subsidies and outright grants, making this scheme so huge that almost no college/university can afford to make itself ineligible for this form of funding for its students (simply can’t compete in the marketplace, when all their competitors for students are offering this option), and through this “government funding” link, the government then prohibits the schools from imposing the standards that the administration and board and major alumnae donors want. Instead, a bizarre and constitutionally indefensible mountain of government standards become the norm at virtually every post-secondary institution in the US (e.g requiring the name number of sports scholarships and varsity sports team slots for women as men, even when a much smaller percentage of women have any interest in varsity sports; prohibiting the outright firing of idiots like Ward Churchill, even though they spout bizarre rantings instead of teaching actual information).

Allowing this government-funding link to trump common sense is submission to socialism. In the increasingly rare cases when a public school district manages to get away with imposing common sense, we shouldn’t be objecting to it. If any private school teacher was posting that sort of photo on the Internet, s/he’d be faced with a choice between his/her Internet postings or job (and would never have gotten hired in the first place, if the photos had already been posted at the time of the job application). In all likelihood, the postings are just a particularly tangible piece of evidence of her immaturity and poor judgement that manifest themselves in many other ways, both in and out of the classroom.

[GingisK]

In all likelihood, the postings are just a particularly tangible piece of evidence of her immaturity and poor judgement that manifest themselves in many other ways, both in and out of the classroom.

I totally disagree. The nature of that picture says nothing about her qualifications to teach or her practice of safety in any endeavor. You are hypersensitive and judgemental, and not gifted with the spirit of freedom.

I will always judge people by their ACTS, not their art. If I judged people by art, I'd put all Picasso lovers in mental institutions.

[Shooter 2.5]

You don’t get off that easy. I said I would be happy to read the study which proves the NRA has less ND’s among their trainees than the Cooper trainees. If you can produce it, I’ll read it.