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.
Root causes are irrelevant.
we excuse criminality...and even celebrate it to a degree in some quarters
Now what about a verdict for Vang's lawyer who made up those preposterous lies?
I believe in an eye for an eye!
BTTT
and a big howdy!
Poaching is a crime in itself!
That is exactly what Vang was doing so he was wrong from the get-go. No different than someone setting up a tent and sleeping in your carport!
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