IMO it could be self defense or manslaughter. It is a maximum of 45 years for manslaughter in Wisconsin. When I grew up in Virginia, it was 5 years. The prosecutor said he could get 97 years if it runs consecutively. The way the prosecutor handled it is totally wrong. He might be guilty of something, but not murder and it shouldn't be some huge sentence for manslaughter etc. Apparently he has been in jail for 2 years, held without bond for first degree murder. He probably lost so much weight from the jail food, etc.
Looking at the video, I see him punched and knocked down. I don't see him surrounded like the defense implied. The girl was pointing for him to leave as was someone else. They were yelling stuff at him, but that was for less than a minute. According to the video and Miu's testimony, it seems like he pulled the knife before they started hitting him, and they apparently didn't notice.
I think it was self defense, but a verdict of manslaughter seems plausible. The kids were bad, but he didn't handle it well either.
The jury asked to see the video again. Looking at the video, the girl and others were pointing for him to leave. By Miu’s testimony, he pushed the girl away with one hand and had a knife in his other hand. It was a small Swiss army knife, so they probably didn’t see it. The girl didn’t seem that close to him in the video. Then they went to the defense of the girl hitting Miu etc. The jury convicted him of battery for pushing or hitting the girl, implying that escalated the confrontation. So it could be viewed as manslaughter in that both sides had some role in starting the fight and he escalated it with the knife.
Or it could be self defense in that it was reasonable he felt threatened for his life or severe injury. He clearly was in a dangerous situation being attacked by multiple people in the water and his having a heart condition.
I don’t know what the prosecutions problem getting him held without bond for murder 1 and talking about 97 years for what he was convicted of.
No one responded, but if you look at the video it is way different from the way either side presented it at trial.
It sure looks like the man could have avoided this by just walking away. The kids were obnoxious, infuriatingly so, but if he had just walked away nothing would have happened.
I confess that *after watching this video* I too probably would have found him guilty.