Posted on 01/11/2023 10:17:36 AM PST by absalom01
I won’t argue the first set of shots....I won’t even argue the second set of shots...
But, putting a bullet in the back of his head.....
In the so-called wild west shooting anyone in the back, even a criminal, got you a rope necktie.
As I’ve said multiple times, I am in favor of the initial shooting and also side with whatever a jury finds. But that 9th shot looks really bad and texas states “each round” must be scrutinized.
Problems with that:
1) he probably would not have to worry about what the grand jury was going to do if that last round had stayed in the pistol;
2) he’ll need to convince the jury that the guy was already dead (yeah, we all know that the state has the burden of proof, but I’ve seen my fair share of juries, and they are going to need to be convinced);
3) Mutilating a corpse is still a felony in Texas, and if Kim Ogg can get the grand jury to indict, you can bet she’ll have that as a lesser included charge.
The shots in the back are not a problem, for the reasons that Branca goes in to in the linked piece.
Shooting someone in the back IS ALWAYS PROBLEMATIC. It was a cowardly thing to do IMO.
Let me put it as simply as I can:
I would not, and I mean I would hold out the bitter end, hang a conviction on this man for taking out the trash.
KABONG! "I thought I saw him move just a little bit" KABONG!.... KABONG!
And a jury sitting in an air conditioned courtroom will see the same evidence (in addition to whatever else the defense and prosecution can come up with).
The learning opportunity here is to evaluate the defender’s tactics, and try to learn from what is both legally and tactically “safe”, and distinguish that from what appears to be great legal peril.
Your point about the effect of time pressure is spot on, and one hopes that his counsel will remind the jury of that as well.
Shooting an armed robber, who is in the act of armed robbery, in the back is the smart thing to do. If you find yourself in a fair fight, you screwed up.
You make him freeze. If he moves a muscle then shoot. Back shooters are cowards.
Very well, you are certainly entitled to your own opinions and your own ROE’s. We all have to live (or die) with the consequences of our actions.
But this is a legal question, and your assessment is incorrect from the standpoint of Texas law. Mr. Branca does a better job of explaining that than I ever could though.
Have you seen some of these police shootouts. Either one or multiple Police Officers, mag dumping, several times, on a suspect, until, the one decides to cease fire or one of the multiple, finally, decides, to yell cease fire. I saw one, from the dash cam, where the Officer, standing, next to the suspect vehicle, shot at a suspect, that was running away. Unless, the suspect was running backwards, the officer was shooting at his back.
Put me on the jury and he walks. One, for taking out the trash, and two, saving taxpayers, years of paying for this thugs incarceration.
Watching him shoot the guy in the back made me ill.
Bullshit.
You are wrong and you should familiarize yourself on Branca’s use of force writings.
It’s long and it’s complicated, just like the law these days.
The big question here is why Washington, who is only 30 years old, is out on the street after being convicted of killing a 62 year old shop keeper in a previous armed robbery.
I look at it this way: if the robber had come into the restaurant and not robbed people, would he have been shot and killed by the customer? Since the answer is no, all actions prompted by the robbery are the responsibility of the robber. First, second, and ninth shot. None would have occurred except for the robber’s actions.
If the perp still had gun in hand, that last shot was not perfect police work, but probably ok for a layperson who will claim to have been scared shitless that the guy would jump up and start shooting. Making sure the threat was over. A police officer would have stepped on his gun hand and cuffed him even dead, but the layperson just put in another round to be sure. At least that would be my argument.
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