[null and void]

Digging just a little, looks like he moved to Phoenix after living in California and racking up a criminal record there (9 months before he was in custody for extradition to California for a $10,000 felony fugitive from justice warrant.)

A court proceeding is done in a vacuum. Prior behavior unrelated to the case at hand is customarily forbidden, as it may prejudice the jury.

Not saying it's right, but that's what the legal system has devolved into. A rap sheet ten miles long has no relevance to this case.

[kingu]

I understand what you’re saying, that any sensible lawyer would keep previous convictions from coming into play here. The rap sheet plays a huge part in the punishment phase.

I don’t see anything here which would be self defense, he purposefully confronted and attacked the man after he left, then fled the scene. I don’t think a jury would nullify under those circumstances.

And finally found some of his California cases; he probably would have been looking at a guideline range of 12 to 25 if the jury went light and found him guilty of manslaughter.