HankT
State Researcher
imported post
Well, once again, ole HankT's Postulate of Civilian Self-Defense:
It is a bad strategy to shoot an unarmed person.[suP]©[/suP]
isconclusively affirmed, even with a 20 minute delay involved.
November 21, 2007
Driver guilty in road rage killing
By Jon Murray
A Marion Superior Court jury found an Indianapolis man guilty of murder today for killing another driver after a road rage incident.
Willie E. Clark's attorneys had said he was acting in self-defense that day in March when he shot Pierre C. Brown, 23, outside a pawn shop on Indianapolis' Northside. The two had argued after their cars nearly collided on East 38th Street, and Clark drove home to retrieve a gun before returning about 20 minutes later.
Prosecutors dismissed the claim Clark had acted in the heat of the moment, citing that time gap. After the verdict was read, Brown's mother, Robin Riggs, said she was glad the jury went for the stronger charge instead of voluntary manslaughter. They deliberated about two hours.
"I'm very pleased that they were able to come to the determination that it was murder, and it wasn't something that my son had aggravated," Riggs said.
Earlier, defense attorney Marie Kern told jurors that Clark, 25, felt that Brown had threatened his life and that of his pregnant girlfriend. She asked the jurors to put themselves in her client's shoes, even though Clark left to get the gun.
"You would not have chosen to do that," she said. "But you're not Willie Clark. ... He believed he had to protect his family."
Clark told police that Brown had talked of shooting and made gestures with his hands. But no weapon was found on Brown, prosecutors said.
"We're talking about sudden heat, not 30-minute heat," said deputy prosecutor T.K. Morris, urging a murder conviction. "There's no sudden heat here."
Clark's sentencing is scheduled Nov. 30 in front of Judge Mark Stoner. He faces up to 65 years in prison on the murder charge; a felony handgun charge could add up to eight more.
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071121/LOCAL/711210514/-1/LOCAL17
Well, once again, ole HankT's Postulate of Civilian Self-Defense:
It is a bad strategy to shoot an unarmed person.[suP]©[/suP]
isconclusively affirmed, even with a 20 minute delay involved.
November 21, 2007
Driver guilty in road rage killing
By Jon Murray
A Marion Superior Court jury found an Indianapolis man guilty of murder today for killing another driver after a road rage incident.
Willie E. Clark's attorneys had said he was acting in self-defense that day in March when he shot Pierre C. Brown, 23, outside a pawn shop on Indianapolis' Northside. The two had argued after their cars nearly collided on East 38th Street, and Clark drove home to retrieve a gun before returning about 20 minutes later.
Prosecutors dismissed the claim Clark had acted in the heat of the moment, citing that time gap. After the verdict was read, Brown's mother, Robin Riggs, said she was glad the jury went for the stronger charge instead of voluntary manslaughter. They deliberated about two hours.
"I'm very pleased that they were able to come to the determination that it was murder, and it wasn't something that my son had aggravated," Riggs said.
Earlier, defense attorney Marie Kern told jurors that Clark, 25, felt that Brown had threatened his life and that of his pregnant girlfriend. She asked the jurors to put themselves in her client's shoes, even though Clark left to get the gun.
"You would not have chosen to do that," she said. "But you're not Willie Clark. ... He believed he had to protect his family."
Clark told police that Brown had talked of shooting and made gestures with his hands. But no weapon was found on Brown, prosecutors said.
"We're talking about sudden heat, not 30-minute heat," said deputy prosecutor T.K. Morris, urging a murder conviction. "There's no sudden heat here."
Clark's sentencing is scheduled Nov. 30 in front of Judge Mark Stoner. He faces up to 65 years in prison on the murder charge; a felony handgun charge could add up to eight more.
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071121/LOCAL/711210514/-1/LOCAL17