The fake war hero issue is a red herring, and has nothing to do with the case at hand. The case is about whether or not Ersland committed murder in the first degree—and it’s about whether or not someone has a right (or even a duty) to defend oneself and others.
The facts of the case are these:
1. Two armed teenaged thugs entered a drugstore located in a high-crime area (note the burglar bars on the door in the video, for instance) that had been robbed many times before—employees were pistol-whipped in one of the robberies.
2. One employee (Ersland) pulls out his own gun and shoots one, chases the other.
3. He returns to the store and is seen shooting...something. From the video, it’s impossible to tell who or what he’s shooting, whether who or what he’s shooting is moving, or is reaching for another weapon (or even seems to be reaching for another weapon), or is lying there deader than a doornail. The video does NOT show this information. The prosecutors’ scenario was the only one presented. Other scenarios were possible, and even likely.
4. The other employees were huddled in the back (by their own stories) still fearing for their lives.
5. Ersland is arrested, and the left-wing, gun-hating, anti-self-defense media went into a frenzy.
6. The family of the posthumously sainted teenaged thug (”he was turning his life around!”) is now suing the pharmacy because their little rotter went in with a gun to threaten and rob the store and the employees, then got himself killed in the process. Some justice.
And finally, I’m reiterating the FACT that the video does not “show” what the media and the prosecutors (and some Freepers) say it does. The ONLY things it shows are Ersland’s actions. NOTHING is shown about what is happening on the floor. Anyone who says otherwise is just a common liar, or else is a complete idiot.
Take your red herring and put it....well, on a thread about fake war heroes. This thread is about something else entirely.
In this country, you should have the absolute right to gun down anyone who threatens your life with their own gun.