Posted on 12/08/2014 9:27:36 AM PST by marktwain
A judge in Alabama shows an example of both the deadly danger of a punch, disparity of force, and the changes that ubiquitous cameras are bringing to the justice system. It is also interesting how misleading the early reporting was. From video evidence later on, it was clear that there was no fight. One man was attacked, and responded to the attack. It is clear that some people tried to fit this into the "progressive elite" model of murder. From the Original article:
Detectives learned the victim got into a fight with another male. During the fight, Murray was shot.Oliver, the real victim, who defended himself, was surrounded by three young men, one of whom punched him and knocked him down. The attackers were very close, two feet away. Oliver drew his defensive weapon and shot Murray. That stopped the attack. The prosecutor insisted on filing charges:
William Leigh Oliver, 28, is charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of Cornigel Lafayette Murray Saturday night at the Kangaroo Express in the 300 block of Robert Jemison Road, according to Birmingham police Lt. Julie Quigley.Oliver's attorney made the clear case that Oliver was defending himself against an unwarranted attack. The attack was recorded on video, but the prosecutor brought up the inappropriate "fist fight" theme, even though Oliver never consented to a fight, was attacked without justification, and was outnumbered three to one. From al.com, fist fight comment:
An attorney defending William Leigh Oliver said that Oliver was fearful for his life and fired in self-defense after being punched by one of three men. A prosecutor, however, said Oliver didn't respond appropriately and had "brought a gun to a fist fight."Then the case goes to a judge, who sees that it does not even pass the most preliminary of examinations, and the charges are dismissed:
"While it is rare for a case to be dismissed at the preliminary hearing, the Court in this case, with the entire unfortunate event captured on video, did exactly what the law required and found that there was no probable cause to on a charge of manslaughter."The comments about the articles show a clear split. The proponents of self defense support Oliver, say there is no case against him, and say his race does not matter. Opponents claim that he had no reason to shoot, could have somehow avoided it, or will not be able to use justification for self defense because he is black. They also claim that "gun nuts" will not support Oliver because he is black, in spite of comments to the contrary. From the comments:
"My client was in the process of filling up his car when a person he did not know violently assaulted him, knocking him to the ground for no apparent reason. As soon as he got up, the attacker and 2 of his friends were within 2 feet of him. Stunned and in fear of even greater harm, he shot once in self defense, as the law allows. He immediately called 911. His recorded statement to the police matched the video with precision. My client and his family deeply regret this tragic and painful loss."
Bo Alawine:
"Bo Alawine" and "Acid Burn" insist that "July 2007" is wrong, even when he states the facts. It shows the power of the old media. Deputy District Attorney Michael Streety shows a similar disconnect with reality, or maybe his boss ordered him to prosecute. Streety is quoted. From al.com:What country are YOU in? SYG is inherently for "non-black" people, just ask Marissa Alexander. She, an African American woman, tried to use the SYG laws to her defense after firing a WARNING shot (never hit anyone) at her abusive ex husband (whom she had a restraining order on) and was STILL sentenced to 20 years. She was in FLA.
"He (Oliver) took a gun to a fist fight. He shot and unarmed man," Streety said. "He had no right to respond in the way he did."
I lived on Robert Jemison Road when in college at UAB in the 1970’s. Although relatively safe back then, this could have been me. Self-defense is self-defense, I don’t care if you are green with pink polka dots. The judge did right.
Good judging by the judge there. The prosecutors should hang their heads in shame.
Unfortunately for him he was shot in the face with a .22 by the attacker but fortunately he was able to repel the attack by returning fire with his own handgun......
You carry a gun to protect yourself. When you are assaulted by three individuals and do nothing, the next thing you know they have your gun you are screwed.
Episode MCXLMCXXIV blacks behaving badly.
Thank God for one sane judge; I hope there are many more across the land.
Any assault can turn deadly for the intended victim(s). Shaking one's fist at another person is assault. A group of thugs approaching a single person or smaller number of persons in a threatening manner is assault. Entering someone else's personal space (within arm's reach) to yell in their face is assault. If a person acts like an uncivilized rabid dog toward other people, they should expect to get dispatched accordingly.
This stuff used to be common knowledge; even grade-school kids understood it.
Under the laws of nature, and those of civilized states, a targeted person does not have to wait until an approaching threat proves itself deadly.
I do believe my long time tag line says it all.
Facts don’t lie and the truth hurts.
I came up with a statement years past similar to yours - don’t fight old people. They don’t have the stamina they use to have so they will end it quickly. Yours is better.
The judge should have publicly reprimanded the prosecutor for wasting the courts time. The prosecutor should be thrown out at the next election - or the elected guy who appointed him should get thrown out for poor judgement. Otherwise this idiot will make the same mistake later on.
always remember disparity of force. it could save your life.
And the state should be made to compensate the victim for the persecution he suffered at the hands of the prosecutor.
And sued for prosecutorial abuse and disbarred.
Good judging by the judge there. The prosecutors should hang their heads in shame.
-—==0==-—
From a gallows.
The liberal analogy, the victim should have continued in his role as victim and allowed the attacker/s to beat him bloody, this is only fair because white privilege has left black thugs and criminals powerless.
We are seeing our rights eroded continually right in front of our eyes, criminals are in charge of our politics, our schools, our courts, it is rare and worthy of reporting that this one judge does right, that the victim will not suffer many years of prison boiled down to luck of the draw.
By far, this is the silliest statement I have heard all week, so far. Only the U.S. military fights this way, and by order of the CINC.
I approve of this shooting, and I would have approved if he had felt threatened by the other two surrounding him and shot them as well. Surrounding a stranger is a threat. If anyone surrounding him throws a punch, all people engaging in the threatening behavior can reasonably be considered an immediate danger. I don’t care about the race of the thugs or of the victim; self-defense is a natural right.
Not if you’re a white cop in Ferguson, MO.
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July2007 to Bo Alawine: