You are absolutely 100% correct. As a Prosecutor, this is an easy call. This was no different than hunting them down and killing them.
Please note the pictures of the two teens.
All sweet and nice.
I get a feeling that we are receiving the ‘travyon’ treatment when it comes to pictures of the criminals.
Defending his property is one thing. Murdering those kids was something decidedly different. It wasn’t as if he caught them by accident in the act. He made the decision to wait for them with the intent to kill them, even though they weren’t armed and putting him in immediate fear for his life, and not turn them over to the police.
It is not what I would normally say, but, in this case, I would like him to get the same treatment.
By preparing an ambush,having a stock of food and water at his ambush position,RECORDING the event, and delaying calling the police, this man insured his conviction.
Sad story. It was the proper verdict. Tragic all the way around.
He set up a Man Trap at the end of the day, this illegal in all 50 states. While I empathize with his desire to protect his home, be clearly intended to kill, premeditated and planned.
I agree he is guilty of murder, but premeditated? I'm not sure I would have gone that far but then I haven't heard all the evidence.
Or, we could look at the big picture. Burglars got what they had coming and a dangerously demented guy will rot in prison. Why take sides?
In Texas no self respecting DA would have taken this to a grand jury.
the more i read, the dirtier this gets. if he was so scared, why move his truck to make it seem like nobody was home. that’s like inviting them in. and the recordings indicate premeditation.
he set a trap and shot the burglars when they entered.his remarks “you’re dead”,”you’re dying” “vermin”, etc. indicate his frame of mind, and it sure doesn’t sound scared.
i’m all for home defense and all, but this is very far over the top.
he saw the videos of them trying to break in. he could have fired a warning shot. he chose to lie in wait. those are not the actions of some one who is scared.
he was most likely not scared, but highly P-O’d and frustrated by the lack of the authorities to deal with previous breakins. he was gonna fix it once and for all.. and he did, and since that meant pre-meditation, he has to pay the price.
You left out the parts that got him convicted of premeditated murder.
Today there is an article at “Mail Online” fron the IK. The title is. “What the jury DIDN’T hear about veteran who shot burglars dead: Homeowner had befriended teens he killed in his basement - but they were part of gang that drove him crazy for a year by ‘treating his estate like a candy store’
This will chill your bones about this case. Byron Smith had never caused anyone any problems, and he had befriended four teenagers the summer of 2011. He hired the to do yardwork and other tasks for him. he fed them, and allowed them free access to his house. Then he began to notice things were were missing. At first he thought he had misplaced them, but eventually he realized that someone was stealing from him. This explains his belief that he had been burglarized many times, but only the Oct. 2011 event had been reported to the Morrison County sheriff.
While I do think Byron Smith deserved to be convicted for his actions on Thanksgiving Day 2011, I also believe a more appropriate charge would have been manslaughter.
When a person is living alone in the country, and he realizes that he is being victimized over and over again, and the authorities apparently do nothing, it is reasonable to think he may have been very frightened, especially after guns were stolen.
After reading the story from the UK, one can understand his distress when lots of money went missing and his father’s cherished watch which he was awarded after WWII was stolen (in October 2011) - he flipped his lid, so to speak. I cannot help but think that if Byron Smith had had a wife or another close relative living with him, perhaps the outcome would have been less disastrous. His distress might have been mitigated, and perhaps his plan would have been altered to include a quick call to the sheriff immediately after both kids were injured.
Frustration which built up inside him was no longer contained. Personally I believe there should have been the possibility of temporary insanity or manslaughter in this case.
Why is it allowed for a homeowner to be victimized over and over again, and the judge throws out all evidence against the burglars who were repeat offenders and drug users?
This was a good and correct verdict. Self defense DOES NOT include calmly and deliberately administering a coup de grâce to each of them after they are down.
Not only will this killer rot in prison, he will also rot in hell in the next life.
The two invasive teens are white and not thuggish looking....This also hurt his case.