CG: Thought about putting this in the TM thread, but decided this warrants it own.
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Houston 'stand your ground' defendant found guilty
Jurors Wednesday evening ruled Raul Rodriguez is guilty in the shooting death of Kelly Danaher at a 2010 party in northeast Harris County.
The jury deliberated about five hours in state District Judge David Mendoza's court. They will return Thursday to consider his punishment.
Jurors decided that Rodriguez provoked Danaher and others by going to their party to demand they quiet down just after midnight on May 2, 2010. Defense lawyers said Rodriguez should have been found not guilty of murder because it was self-defense.
Rodriguez and his family lived near Danaher, an elementary school teacher, and his family in rural Huffman.
Rodriguez approached the party, upset by the noise, and videotaped the encounter. During the last seven minutes of the 22-minute video, Rodriguez can be heard telling the partygoers he wants them to turn down the noise, then that he is afraid the drunken group will hurt him.
The video goes to black seconds after several men, including Danaher charge him. There is a cackling laugh, then a gunshot and the camera falls.
Rodriguez's lawyers said he had a split-second to decide if he was going to shoot when he was charged by Danaher and others and "stood his ground."
"Everything has to be seen through Raul's eyes," Neal Davis said in closing arguments Wednesday. "If through his eyes, he believed he was in apparent danger, he was justified."
Prosecutors said Rodriguez, 47, was parroting buzzwords he learned in a concealed handgun licensing class like "I'm standing my ground," and "escalating the situation" to bully his neighbors.
"Raul Rodriguez is a neighborhood bully who had a CHL, an arsenal of weapons and a knowledge of the law," said prosecutor Donna Logan. "He felt he had the ultimate control, the control to decide who lives and who dies."
She told jurors that "self-defense was never meant to protect the one who started the fight."
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CG again: Link above also has the shooter's video. Jury got this one right IMO.
Yeah, I read that earlier and thought about posting it in the GZ thread too.
The dude flat out created the incident and the jury had about zero problems seeing that.
I heard the audio of the incident on the radio. Dude was a nutbag looking for a chance to kill someone. Guy he killed was very drunk and stupid, but definitely didn't deserve to die.
GFY Clambake
Looks like the guy went out of his way to provoke the fight. No sympathy here.
Obvious idiot wannabe robocop.
lol thinking knowing key words and completely misunderstanding concept will keep him safe
I'd also say that his decision to record the whole thing backfired on him BIG TIME. That video makes him look like somebody checking off a to-do list before he could shoot somebody.
Not the brightest new beau in the cell block.
Just wanted to make a snuff film.
prolly a tea partier
Did the idiot put the video on facebook?
prolly a stupid post.
"Dude was a nutbag looking for a chance to kill someone"
was nothing but your garden variety less concealed carry dude
Not really.
jurors said "really"
take that, mofo.
Jurors said he was nothing but your garden variety less concealed carry dude?
Not really.
they coulda said it. i woulda said it. i got ur back, bou!
tmi tbh
But you sympathize with Zimmerman who provoked a person that wasn't making any noise at all?
If you have FACTS that Zimmerman provoked Martin please produce them.
I have seen no witness testimony that Zimmerman initiated the violence, and in fact the prosecuting attorney has admitted that he has no facts showing that.
Were you there?
For the last time you ing idiot, I don't sympathize with Zimmerman.
I continue to say, from the facts THAT HAVE BEEN RELEASED SO FAR that the state won't be able to prove 2nd degree murder.
Zimmerman may be an asshole, but FROM WHAT WE ACTUALLY KNOW NOW he doesn't appear to be guilty of 2nd degree murder.
GFY
he's guilty of profiling the kid, stalking him down and killing him.
u gotta trust me, cowboy!
oh, and he's a liar. so is his wife.
Creepn and Clambake, let's not lose sight of the fact that Trayvon was black. Not only does his life not count, it's probably for the best that another one of *them* has been taken off American sidewalks for good.
I'm deferring to the prosecution/judge on the Murder 2 count. We'll see soon enough what else happens there.
As for the OP:
Shameful. Simply shameful. Yet sadly unsurprising.
I do not believe that Florida has a "profiling" law on the books. He cannot be guilty under the law for something that the law does not recognize as illegal. He did not stalk Martin under the legal definition of stalking in Florida.
He did kill Martin and will stand trial for such action, unless of course the Court determines that the stand your ground affirmative defense applies, and then he will not be tried for murder.
u gotta trust me Bake.
He and his wife might get convicted of perjury. Likely pay a fine and get probation.
In this country, many people would be happy to see another Mexican off the street as well.
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