zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Jul 19, 2013 13:03:54 GMT -5
A lawyer. Do you practice law?
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Jul 19, 2013 13:54:06 GMT -5
Jury: Wis. man sane when he killed teen neighborBy Dinesh Ramde, Associated Press A Milwaukee man knew exactly what he was doing when he accused his teenage neighbor of burglary and fired a bullet into the boy's chest, a jury decided Friday, in a verdict that essentially guarantees 76-year-old John Henry Spooner will die behind bars. The same jury concluded Wednesday that Spooner was guilty of first-degree intentional homicide. That verdict advanced the trial to a second phase in which the jurors were asked to determine whether he was mentally ill at the moment he pulled the trigger. Two doctors testified Friday that Spooner has anger issues and aggressive impulses, but that he was neither delusional nor detached from reality when he killed 13-year-old Darius Simmons last year. Spooner never denied killing his next-door neighbor. He testified that he believed Darius was the one of the burglars who had broken into his home two days earlier and stolen four shotguns that had deep sentimental value. He also testified that he wanted to kill Darius' brother after the older boy ran into the street to help his dying brother. But Spooner didn't fire because he might endanger other people around them.
The strongest piece of evidence against Spooner was footage from his own surveillance cameras, which showed him confronting Darius on the sidewalk and pointing a handgun at him. The boy backpedaled a few steps with his hands up. Spooner then exchanged words with Darius' mother on her porch off screen, and then turned and fired one shot at Darius' chest. Jury: Wis. man sane when he killed teen neighbor
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Peace Of Mind
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[font color="#8f2520"]~ Drinks Well With Others ~[/font]
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Post by Peace Of Mind on Jul 19, 2013 14:09:34 GMT -5
What I find frightening is that people think you should die just because you took their stuff or may possibly take their stuff.
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djAdvocate
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only posting when the mood strikes me.
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Post by djAdvocate on Jul 19, 2013 14:14:22 GMT -5
i don't believe that is a just action, even under sharia law. Well, if they were dead we could be assured of at least one thing: they would not re-offend. that is not for you to decide. we have a judicial process for that.We could be reasonably sure of something else: the next crew would think twice. bullpuckey. criminals don't think. that is why they are criminals. YOU would think twice. but you would never do those things.
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workpublic
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Catch and release please
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Post by workpublic on Jul 19, 2013 14:15:46 GMT -5
He was charged with murder, felony murder – causing a death during the commission of a felony – several counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, armed robbery, carjacking and gun offenses.
i don't see hate crime in there. was he charged with one?
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Sum Dum Gai
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Post by Sum Dum Gai on Jul 19, 2013 14:18:44 GMT -5
What's the point? He's older than dirt and will already get a sentence far longer than he'll possibly live with just the current charges. Why waste a prosecutors time trying to prove beyond a reasonable doubt he did it because the kid was black, instead of doing it because he's old and crazy? He's going to die in prison either way.
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swamp
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THEY’RE EATING THE DOGS!!!!!!!
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Post by swamp on Jul 19, 2013 15:12:54 GMT -5
Where can you go to law school for 3 years for 50k? I'm sure those with huge SLs from law school would like to know? SUNY buffalo
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Jul 19, 2013 15:25:04 GMT -5
Dang. Is that tuition only?
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Jul 19, 2013 15:29:54 GMT -5
Looked it up. 66k for three years just tuition of course. Books,eating, and living cost extra. Unless you live in your car like the one student did.
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AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP
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Post by AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP on Jul 20, 2013 20:07:04 GMT -5
What I find frightening is that people think you should die just because you took their stuff or may possibly take their stuff. The right to property is sacred and inviolate, because we trade the substance of life itself for property- our time- not merely precious, but irreplaceable; our talents, our intellect, and other property that took all this to acquire. People that assume a portion of my life can expect me to defend it. In fact, I have long held that theft is kidnapping / enslavement because what is taken is the time, talent, energy, and intellect it took to acquire the property. What is the stuff of life, if not our time- at the very least? Would it not be justifiable to use deadly force to escape one's captor?
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AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP
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Post by AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP on Jul 20, 2013 20:09:21 GMT -5
Btw- did the boys do what they were accused of doing?
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billisonboard
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Post by billisonboard on Jul 20, 2013 21:23:10 GMT -5
... The right to property is sacred and inviolate, because we trade the substance of life itself for property- our time- not merely precious, but irreplaceable; ... What is the stuff of life, if not our time- at the very least? Would it not be justifiable to use deadly force to escape one's captor? If a driver does not stop and allow me to cross the road as is my legal right, they have taken from me the extra time I had to wait. Am I justified in blowing their ass away? If someone adds additional spaces beyond that necessary to post their message, it is also stealing my time.
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AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP
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Post by AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP on Jul 21, 2013 8:20:49 GMT -5
... The right to property is sacred and inviolate, because we trade the substance of life itself for property- our time- not merely precious, but irreplaceable; ... What is the stuff of life, if not our time- at the very least? Would it not be justifiable to use deadly force to escape one's captor? If a driver does not stop and allow me to cross the road as is my legal right, they have taken from me the extra time I had to wait. Am I justified in blowing their ass away? If someone adds additional spaces beyond that necessary to post their message, it is also stealing my time. No, but you can run them down. Only if you read it. By the way, those self defense classes do pay off- and criminals should never underestimate the ability of a victim to respond. www.policymic.com/articles/55507/phone-robbery-takes-an-amazing-turn-after-thief-messes-with-the-wrong-woman
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Jul 21, 2013 9:39:45 GMT -5
I think it's interesting that there's been no answer about whether the young men actually committed the crimes or not.
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billisonboard
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Post by billisonboard on Jul 21, 2013 9:49:26 GMT -5
If a driver does not stop and allow me to cross the road as is my legal right, they have taken from me the extra time I had to wait. Am I justified in blowing their ass away? ... No, ... Why not? Isn't that your principle in action?
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mmhmm
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Post by mmhmm on Jul 21, 2013 10:01:20 GMT -5
I think it's interesting that there's been no answer about whether the young men actually committed the crimes or not. It's not interesting, at all. I've been able to find nothing about the boys having committed crimes. All I've seen is Mr. Spooner thought these boys committed crimes. That's not enough to excuse shooting to death a 13-year-old boy who's in the process of backing away from a gun pointed at him ... a gun that, according to video, was pointed at his mother at one point. Did she commit some crime, too? Sorry, but just because I think the kid down the street stole my lilac bush, it doesn't make it okay to shoot him to death while he's backing away from me.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Jul 21, 2013 10:16:17 GMT -5
I think it's interesting that there's been no answer about whether the young men actually committed the crimes or not. It's not interesting, at all. I've been able to find nothing about the boys having committed crimes. All I've seen is Mr. Spooner thought these boys committed crimes. That's not enough to excuse shooting to death a 13-year-old boy who's in the process of backing away from a gun pointed at him ... a gun that, according to video, was pointed at his mother at one point. Did she commit some crime, too? Sorry, but just because I think the kid down the street stole my lilac bush, it doesn't make it okay to shoot him to death while he's backing away from me. Please tell me we aren't putting the dead boy and his brother on trial here with a few of these posts. But it looks like a few are. Focus should be on the convicted murderer only.
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mmhmm
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Post by mmhmm on Jul 21, 2013 10:20:29 GMT -5
That's how I see it, Tennesseer. There's no indication, anywhere, Mr. Spooner's suspicions had any merit, at all. He fatally shot a kid who was backing away from him at the time. I think that's all that needs to be said.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Jul 21, 2013 10:28:01 GMT -5
That's how I see it, Tennesseer. There's no indication, anywhere, Mr. Spooner's suspicions had any merit, at all. He fatally shot a kid who was backing away from him at the time. I think that's all that needs to be said. But...but...the boys were black, and therefore, budding hood rats in the making. If the boys were looking to sell the weapons for quick cash, why not take the handgun too which was used to murder the boy?
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mmhmm
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Post by mmhmm on Jul 21, 2013 10:32:21 GMT -5
It's a shame some people see things the way they do. Rather than mourn the loss of a young life, they look for reasons why that young life SHOULD have been taken. Whether it's because of the color of the child's skin, or because they believe everyone should have the right to shoot someone because they think that person might be guilty of something, or for some reason unknown to me, I have no clue. I just feel we see way too much of it. As I see it, the title of this thread would have been just as indicative of what happened if the words "black" and "white" had been left out. People are people, regardless of their skin color.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Jul 21, 2013 10:39:21 GMT -5
It's a question that needs answering. If these kids didn't commit any crimes other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time, this is bad.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Jul 21, 2013 10:44:14 GMT -5
It's a question that needs answering. If these kids didn't commit any crimes other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time, this is bad. Are you suggesting it was possibly justified murder?
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Jul 21, 2013 10:45:34 GMT -5
I'm not suggesting anything of the sort.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Jul 21, 2013 10:47:45 GMT -5
I'm not suggesting anything of the sort. So even if one or even both of the boys burgled his home, it was still a correct jury decision.
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mmhmm
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Post by mmhmm on Jul 21, 2013 10:51:28 GMT -5
It's a question that needs answering. If these kids didn't commit any crimes other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time, this is bad. Whaaat? Wrong place at the wrong time? The kid had gone out to retrieve the garbage can from the curb, as I understand it. It was his family's freaking garbage can! There has been absolutely no indication he did anything wrong, zib. None. Because the next door neighbor thinks something doesn't make that something an issue. If the kid was guilty of some sort of crime, that's the business of the police. Hell, even if the kid had been guilty of a crime, you don't shoot a 13-year-old child who's backing away from you. You don't. Period. It's wrong!
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Jul 21, 2013 10:55:53 GMT -5
I think we've all seen what the business of the police really is. I wouldn't count on them for anything.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Jul 21, 2013 10:56:20 GMT -5
Police business. What a joke.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Jul 21, 2013 10:58:10 GMT -5
I see a crazy old man who'd had enough of being robbed and felt powerless. The kids may or may not be guilty but regardless, it shouldn't have happened. Sorry for all concerned.
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mmhmm
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Post by mmhmm on Jul 21, 2013 11:13:47 GMT -5
Maybe that's true of the police in your area (or, in your eyes), zib. It's not true of the police in my area.
Crazy old man? Not according to the decision of the courts. The man was ruled sane, zib. You aren't qualified to rule him otherwise.
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Sum Dum Gai
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Post by Sum Dum Gai on Jul 21, 2013 15:10:26 GMT -5
No they didn't. When the police arrived they did search the teens house looking for the missing shot guns, and arrest his younger brother on a year old truancy violation, while his mom sat in the back of a police car, all because some deranged old bastard was convinced the kid he'd just shot for no reason was a thief.
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