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Fulton Co. Judge shot and killed in courthouse shooting (BREAKING Fri 9A)
WAGA-TV/WSB-TV Atlanta | 3.11.05

Posted on 03/11/2005 6:39:06 AM PST by mhking

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To: DGray

Oh and I forgot to add: I live and work in Atlanta/Fulton Co., and my boss had jury duty at the beginning of this week. She was in the pool for this very trial. Fortunately she got dismissed, but I'd have really hated it if it had worked out that she'd been on that jury.


3,361 posted on 03/11/2005 9:34:26 PM PST by DGray (http://nicanfhilidh.blogspot.com)
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To: DGray
HAZEN: That's correct. Two weeks ago we tried the case. And it went about six days. And the jury split eight-four for acquittal, and they locked in. After about a day and a half of deliberations, none of the jurors was changing their vote. And so Judge [Rowland] Barnes declared a mistrial. But the state and Judge Barnes wanted to [re]try the case immediately. And so we began to try the case again this past Monday.

Isn't that double jeopardy? If the Fulton County DA couldn't prove the case the first time, why did the judge (God rest his soul) give them another go at it? You don't just try someone over and over until you get a conviction. What if the guy never raped his ex-girlfriend? What if she made up the rape charge trying to get revenge on him for getting another woman pregnant (which he did)?

Of course, murdering people at the courthouse was despicable and evil. And I hope they catch the perp soon, very soon. He should pay for those crimes. But you can't help but wonder if a computer systems administrator was being falsely accused and on his way to being convicted of rape, which could have caused him to snap.
3,362 posted on 03/11/2005 9:35:20 PM PST by advance_copy (Stand for life, or nothing at all)
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To: DGray

Agree.


3,363 posted on 03/11/2005 9:35:46 PM PST by oceanperch (2005 is going to be an Awesome Year, which way that will go only God knows)
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To: CalRepublican

I sat on a jury at the Fulton Co. courthouse a year ago. As I recall, there were 3-4 deputies at the entrance, but the exit was less guarded. Just my recollection.


3,364 posted on 03/11/2005 9:37:06 PM PST by DGray (http://nicanfhilidh.blogspot.com)
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To: radiohead
"was this crime solved by looking at the perp's teeth/bite marks on the victim?"

Yes. And you may be thinking of the HBO Autopsy programs with Dr. Badden. They covered the forensic findings in that case. The officer's name was Donna Payant.

When I started in '80, there were only 3-4 of us females working at Auburn, which is an all-male maximum security prison in central New York. At the time there were only two females prisons in the state...Bedford HIlls and Albion. Because there were only so many officer positions at each facility, you had to go where the openings were. Back then you had to have a year on the job in order to be able to transfer to a facility closer to your home. The regular academy program was six weeks, but because of staffing demands, the group of officers Donna Payant was in only had 3 weeks of academy training. When I was hired, I didn't even go to the academy until 9 months after the fact. By then Payant had already been killed. Right after she was murdered, they went back to the six week program, which was what I finally ended up going through. I never worked at a female facility, only with males. I actually preferred working with male inmates. I have two sisters, and before becoming a prison guard I worked in office situations with other women. I've heard that female inmates are worse than the men and I'm rather glad that I never had to deal with them. I can't really recall ever feeling threatened by an inmate. You just always had to be aware of your surroundings, who was around you and keep your wits about you. I never allowed them to intimidate me, never backed down from any of them, and got in their faces when I needed to. I'm sure many of them wanted to punch me out, but none of them did. I did get sucker punched in the jaw once during a yard riot. It was dark though and I never saw which inmate in the crowd popped me. That was the only real assault I ever experienced in over 23 years, so I consider myself pretty lucky.

3,365 posted on 03/11/2005 9:40:58 PM PST by mass55th (Courage is being scared to death - but saddling up anyway~~John Wayne)
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To: DGray

Boy that's just poorly designed. Out here at least downtown and in hollywood, the entrance and exit is the same door.

At a minimum, you'd think the guards at the door would have been close enough, heard the screaming and wondered what was going on.


3,366 posted on 03/11/2005 9:41:31 PM PST by CalRepublican
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To: CalRepublican
Does the Fulton County courthouse not have this?

They do. He was on the inside, as was the weapon.

3,367 posted on 03/11/2005 9:44:21 PM PST by ArmstedFragg
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To: PAR35
How many times have you heard of someone actually winning a case in traffic court?

Once. The guy in front of me. Same cop, same judge. She (the cop) had absolutely no idea where he had parked, the judge had to let him go. He didn't like cutting the revenue stream even that little bit.

Naturally she was certain she remembered exactly where I parked. The fact that she was wrong had no impact what so ever on the judge...

3,368 posted on 03/11/2005 9:46:08 PM PST by null and void ( That you apparently understood that little rant leaves me in awe, and yet filled with consternation)
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To: ArmstedFragg

I get that, but how do armed guards assigned to keep people with weapons out of the courthouse not manage to keep a man that has just killed three people inside the courthouse?


3,369 posted on 03/11/2005 9:46:34 PM PST by CalRepublican
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To: mickie
criminal grabbing an officer's gun.......it turns out that the cop was a female. Every time!

Just so we break your streak of "every time" here's a link to a male officer who had his gun taken and was later killed wiht his own firearm.

Maybe it's just something here in King County here's another male officer killed by his own gun.

Maybe it happens more frequently with female officers, I dont' know, but you couldn't prove it by the numbers in this neck of the woods.

3,370 posted on 03/11/2005 9:47:53 PM PST by not_apathetic_anymore
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To: advance_copy
Isn't that double jeopardy

Nope. Jeopardy attaches when you're charged originally, and isn't resolved until there's a verdict. In this case, there was no verdict.

3,371 posted on 03/11/2005 9:48:38 PM PST by ArmstedFragg
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To: advance_copy
Isn't that double jeopardy

Nope. Jeopardy attaches when you're charged originally, and isn't resolved until there's a verdict. In this case, there was no verdict.

3,372 posted on 03/11/2005 9:50:07 PM PST by ArmstedFragg
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To: mhking

Please pardon the interruption, but do you know the time line for the different vehicles has has hijacked today?


3,373 posted on 03/11/2005 9:50:46 PM PST by Krodg
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To: mhking

Please pardon the interruption, but do you know the timeline for the different vehicles he has hijacked today?


3,374 posted on 03/11/2005 9:50:50 PM PST by Krodg
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To: Krodg

I'll start:


1. SUV

2. Tow Truck

3. (Was there a third?)

4. Honda

5. Whatever he has now.

That's as near as I can figure it.....


3,375 posted on 03/11/2005 9:56:54 PM PST by ArmstedFragg
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To: CalRepublican
I just tried to do a text diagram to explain my memory of the entrance/exit, but it didn't look very good in the preview. So here's how I remember it: the entrance and exit are basically side by side and separated by a low wall or other barrier. On the entrance side there is a security station with x-ray equipment and all that, manned by several deputies who as I recall were very alert and on-the-ball. The exit side was manned by a station which I never saw manned by more than one deputy and I never was stopped going on out nor did I see anyone stopped. There were however numerous deputies patroling in the general vicinity. I never noted any deputy being lax.

Someone may have more recent and/or detailed knowledge, but that's what I remember about it. I think the perp was a) very clever and b) had a bit of luck on his side.

3,376 posted on 03/11/2005 9:57:21 PM PST by DGray (http://nicanfhilidh.blogspot.com)
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To: ArmstedFragg
Jeopardy attaches when you're charged originally, and isn't resolved until there's a verdict

I'm no lawyer. But I think you are right in terms of how the legal system interprets the 5th amendment. Still, I think the point behind the jeopardy clause was to keep people from being tried over and over until they get convicted.
3,377 posted on 03/11/2005 9:58:03 PM PST by advance_copy (Stand for life, or nothing at all)
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To: CalRepublican
I get that, but how do armed guards assigned to keep people with weapons out of the courthouse not manage to keep a man that has just killed three people inside the courthouse?

He used the stairs, down to what was likely a fire exit.

3,378 posted on 03/11/2005 10:00:25 PM PST by Ramius (Hmmm... yeah, that'd be great...)
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To: mountaineer; from occupied ga
Utter tripe. You should be ashamed of yourself.

Was what fog said untrue?

Hint:

How many murders happened in Atlanta in the past year? How many got this much enforcement attention?

Hint 2:

Were there this many cops out looking for the Atlanta serial child murderer a few years back?

3,379 posted on 03/11/2005 10:01:28 PM PST by null and void ( That you apparently understood that little rant leaves me in awe, and yet filled with consternation)
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To: oceanperch
What he did today has no empathy from me. However we don't know the whole rape charge story. Like I said could be a case of a vindictive woman, we will just wait and see if the truth comes out.

You've got it about right. A similar case ... I have absolutely no sympathy for O.J. Simpson, who brutally murdered two people. He was paying a court-ordered $24,000 in alimony per month, as well as giving up his Brentwood home to his ex-wife. Nothing excuses multiple murder, but the same messed-up legal system that let him off had originally imposed an absurdly unjust divorce settlement.

3,380 posted on 03/11/2005 10:01:44 PM PST by TheMole
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