Sheesh, I hate to see that this came out of Spokane.
Not if there is one sane person on it.
On the other hand, this is Washington state, so sane people are kind of rare, and are probably kicked out of jury pools...
Hope not.They should give him at least TWO awards.One for ridding society of vermin,and another for being a damn good shot!
Not if I'm on the jury.
Lessons:
(1) Know your state laws about firearms and use of force.
(2) Lock your car when warming it up.
“Will a jury convict him? “
Hopefully not, Spokane is in the “rational part” of Washington just a few minutes from Idaho.
Cars kill a lot more people than guns each year.
Gail Herbert Gerlach had a right to fear for his life and responded appropriately.
Just good old common sense.
The law is even more confusing in Texas. You may only use deadly force to stop a theft after dark (again, this is Texas law only ... check your local laws). When is it actually “after dark”? Another bit of confusion.
Short version ... it’s usually not OK to use deadly force unless you reasonably believe your life is in danger, and that does not seem to be the case here.
But I’m just talking about Texas here. I have no knowledge about other parts of the nation.
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2014/apr/04/gerlachs-single-bullet-paralyzed-killed-kaluza/
Update to April, 2014 on the Gail Gerlach trial, Spokane, WA
Jury selected, 911 call heard, medical report.
All they talk about is the self defense issue. But the law is clear that in the State of Washington you can shoot someone to prevent a felony. That includes shooting someone that is fleeing.
Newspaper predicts the trial to last a week.
Don’t pick a fight with a boy named Gail.
Don’t forget that this is Washington State ... I’m sure their jury pool is as crazy as the prosecutors!
Police kill people for much less and get away with it.
Kaluza last saw her grandson Sunday night – the night before he was killed – when he came over for dinner and raked her pine needles. She says it was his dream to own a landscaping business, and was trying to get his life back on track.
“Just Sunday I gave him two leads on landscaping jobs,” she said, adding that she was going to take Kaluza-Graham and his little brother to get their drivers licenses – but never got the chance.
His license was revoked when he spent a year in jail on charges of vehicle theft, possessing drugs and assaulting a police officer. He was just released in January, and was applying for jobs. Before that, he’d been convicted four times for taking a vehicle without permission.
Kaluza admits her grandson made a few mistakes the last few years, but says he didn’t deserve to die.
Police say Kaluza-Graham had just jumped into a running SUV and was driving away when the owner of the SUV fired one shot. The medical examiner reported the shot hit him in the head, and ruled his death a homicide.
“To me, it was an execution, he was driving away and he was shot in the back of the head,” she said. “It’s one thing to have someone you love taken from you accidentally, but to be shot needlessly? Our thought is, if he just wanted his car back, why didn’t he shoot for the tire?”
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Spokane is in Eastern Washington which may be more conservative than Seattle. If my statement is true then his odds of acquittal would be better than if tried in Seattle. As a general rule the law has been for as long as I can remember that one cannot shoot a person stealing ones car-absent the use of force and violence by the perp.
I guess my definition of a car jacking is a lot different than this guys.
I had a gun put in my face...he left his car idling unattended...a pretty big difference in my opinion.
Did they find a cell phone or cigarette lighter? That is good enough for the Kings men generally.