Screwed-up jury verdicts in Everett cop killing case
On trial for second-degree murder and manslaughter and pleading self-defense, an Everett police officer was acquitted of a crime in the shooting death of a civilian. But when he asked the jury to have the state pay his attorney's fees, the jury decided that he wasn't acting in self-defense.
Lawyers will explain that this contradiction is possible because a crime has to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, whereas on the attorney's fees question, only a preponderance of the evidence was needed to show that the officer was not justifiably defending himself. Be that as it may, these kinds of contradictory results (shades of the O.J. Simpson murder case) don't leave one with the best feelings about the criminal justice system.
| Posted at 10:21 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (5)
Lawyers will explain that this contradiction is possible because a crime has to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, whereas on the attorney's fees question, only a preponderance of the evidence was needed to show that the officer was not justifiably defending himself.
Lawyers may explain it that way, but wise lay people know that the real issue is the DA doesn't like to indict cops, even if they shoot non-threatening victims in the back.
Posted by none | April 29, 2010 3:16 PM
Oops, my bad. He WAS indicted, then acquitted.
I've got to read these things more closely before jumping on my soapbox.
Posted by none | April 29, 2010 3:19 PM
Maybe the prosecution of the trial wasn't zealous, but the defense against paying the fees was. Oh well, we tried [smirk. wink.]. At least we minimized the cost to the taxpayers. Ya win some, ya lose some.
It's money that matters...
http://www.spike.com/video/randy-newman-s-money/2790850
Posted by Mojo | April 29, 2010 4:49 PM
The 12-year-old veteran claimed he was just trying to protect himself…
Well, maybe next time the city will think twice before giving such a young child a gun and such a stressful job.
Posted by ep | April 29, 2010 5:27 PM
Heh, seeing as how L.A. was my hometown at the time, I thought the two OJ verdicts were about perfect. No having to spend lots of money to lock him up, but he was shown to be a wrongful killer.
Posted by Tung Yin | April 30, 2010 4:10 PM