Posted on 09/16/2005 3:42:58 PM PDT by Jean S
Chai Soua Vang was found guilty this afternoon of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of six hunters in Wisconsin's north woods last fall.
A jury of eight women and four men deliberated about four hours before coming to their verdict.
Vang was also found guilty of two counts of attempted homicide in the shootings of two other hunters who survived.
Killed in the confrontation last Nov. 21 were Dennis Drew, 55; Mark Roidt, 28; Robert Crotteau, 42; his son, Joey, 20; Allan Laski, 43, and Jessica Willers, 27. Wounded in the shootings were Terry Willers, 48, and Lauren Hesebeck, 49.
Four of the victims were shot in the back, and all but Willers were unarmed.
The jury was faced with deciding whether to accept Vang's defense that he feared for his own life against a group of hunters who confronted him with hostility when they saw him in a tree stand on their property.
Jurors could have acquitted Vang, or convicted him on lesser charges of second-degree intentional homicide if they had determined he actually believed he was in danger but that his actions were unreasonable.
-More to come -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FRIDAY, Sept. 16, 2005, 5:16 p.m. Jury reaches verdict in Vang trial
A jury has reached a verdict in the trial of Chai Soua Vang, a Minnesota man accused of killing six hunters and wounding two others during a confrontation in Wisconsin's north woods last November. The verdict is to be read in a Sawyer County courthouse soon.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FRIDAY, Sept. 16, 2005, 1:39 p.m. Attorneys give closing arguments in Vang trial
An immigrant truck driver cannot reasonably claim he was defending himself when he opened fire on a group of hunters, killing six, the prosecutor told jurors today. But the defense said the confrontation was all about racial prejudice.
Chai Soua Vang ambushed some of the victims and chased down one of them, Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager said in her closing argument during the sixth day of Vang's trial.
In his closing, Vang's attorney, Steven Kohn, told jurors the prosecution cannot prove who fired the first shot. Vang had testified he started firing only after one of the hunters shot at him first.
"In the courtroom, the tie goes to the defendant," Kohn said.
Once again, I don't give a hang about "Hmongs." Why do you?
I care about innocent Americans being murdered in cold blood. Why don't you?
And don't jump to conclusions -- you are just about as wrong as you could possibly be about my viewpoint. I care more than you know about murder victims . . . and I would wager I have done considerably more than you have to put their assailants away. Unless you've been a prosecutor for, oh, 20 years or so.
Even today there was a freeper trying to excuse the murders.
I wonder what percentage of the Madison jury pool would have been willing to convict him for murder for killing a deer.
I watched a little (about 15 minutes) of the trial on Court TV today. I wonder how many of the Blue State, Wisconsin liberals are happy today that their state does NOT have the death penalty and this guy, who shot in the back and killed 6 unarmed people, will watch TV, be clothed, fed and given medical treatment in prison, at the expense of us taxpayers, for the rest of his life.
Well, I haven't paid close attention, but if the DP is on the table and is the sentence, there'll be a loooooooong wait for that.
Hey, even tree huggers don't want to get shot when they go for a walk in the woods.
Yeah, well that's what they said about Dahmer, too, and look how that turned out. This guy's gonna have NO friends in prison.
I doubt that. I don't feel "ashamed" when some white guy goes on a killing spree, because it has nothing to do with me. Most of them probably just don't give a rip about him, nor should they.
I've been watching this case for almost a year now and EVERY time I hear his name I think Chai Vang Latte (like Chai Tea Latte). . . .Glad I won't be hearing his name much longer in our local news.
It's best to lay off that sort of extreme behavior in general. Demanding cash in exchange for not calling the cops could get you stuck in some legal problems.
Bump to that.
Not sure about etiquette, but it is wise not to confront armed individuals in a woodland setting. If you do not know the person that you have come across, it is best to leave the scene and notify the authorities.
Wildlife officers carry handguns for a reason. Let them do their job.
I saw! And, I'm VERY happy with the verdict.
Thanks for pinging me..!!
Your "viewpoint" speaks for itself.
True. That thought did cross my mind.
You haven't been hunting South Dakota where every damn farmer is using his Federally funded CRP land for a fee paid hunting preserve.
Yeah, well if they had found him not guilty it would have been very revolting indeed. Too bad Wisconsin doesn't have a death sentence. This guy is the poster child for it.
This is a sad case. If they jury had found him not guilty, the Anglo population would revolt. Now, we wait to see the reaction of the Hmong community. I know quite a few and they have been curiously quiet about this case.""
Is there any possibility that they are sorely embarrassed over his actions?
Mid-Wisconsin brought many Hmong over years ago to give them a new start and it hasn't proven to have been the best idea since bratwurst cooked in beer and beerbattered deep fired onion rings, believe me.
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