man found not guilty in shooting of pastor in church

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M-Quigley
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man found not guilty in shooting of pastor in church

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http://www.wlox.com/story/37932332/wood ... ald-harris" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.kplctv.com/story/37922713/ka ... wn-defense" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Although I have sympathy for the defendant, I wouldn't have voted not guilty based on the limited facts provided.
Karey admitted he killed Harris, saying the pastor had raped his wife and she couldn't get away from him.

The jurors went out at 2:33 p.m. and reached a verdict around 5:30 p.m.

To many it's a stunning verdict considering Karey admits he killed the local pastor in front of his congregation in 2013.

Karey took the stand in his own defense and it paid off.

After three hours the jury found him not guilty even though 40 or 50 people saw him kill Harris with a shotgun. Karey did not appear on camera, but his defense lawyers are jubilant:

"We're just thrilled for Woodrow Karey, he's a very good man, he got justice and we're pleased for him. HE got put in a position to do what he had to do to defend his household, to defend his wife, to defend himself and justice was served. Ronald Harris was a threat to him. He was in imminent danger of receiving bodily harm based on the threats that Ronald Harris made to his wife," said Todd Clemons, defense attorney.
Killingsworth and family attorney Ron Richard find it interesting jurors sent a question asking the court to define "imminent danger" which would be a reason to justify killing.

"They apparently did not know what the word imminent meant.How can this be justifiable. It's not. And apparently the jury didn't understand that. And they let him go," said Killingsworth.

"It's befuddling is I suppose the word I would use. I think everyone understands what an imminent danger is. If you're at an intersection and someone's running a red light coming at you, that's an imminent danger. IF you're walking across and intersection and someone is three blocks away, that's an eventual danger. The pastor was no imminent threat to anyone in that family and that's the word's of Woodrow Karey," said Richard.
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Re: man found not guilty in shooting of pastor in church

Post by WY_Not »

I don't know all the details either but from the sounds of it they jury acted as a jury is supposed to act. Pity that more juries don't exercise their rights.

The D.A. just comes across and sounds like a petulant little child who didn't get his way.
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Re: man found not guilty in shooting of pastor in church

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I guess it depends on the meaning of the word imminent...anybody got a definition on that?
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Re: man found not guilty in shooting of pastor in church

Post by MyWifeSaidYes »

I would have done the same...being either the defendant OR a member of the jury.
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Re: man found not guilty in shooting of pastor in church

Post by M-Quigley »

MyWifeSaidYes wrote:I would have done the same...being either the defendant OR a member of the jury.
I wouldn't count on on the same results in this state if I were you.

I suppose if one merely felt the bullet recipient deserved it and found the defendant not guilty based on jury nullification, that's one thing, but basing it on imminence is not any definition of imminence I've ever heard of in the past. Heck, I could've gotten away with killing at least a couple of people back in the day after suspects threatened to do something to me in the future if this had been the definition of imminent danger.
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Re: man found not guilty in shooting of pastor in church

Post by schmieg »

M-Quigley wrote:
MyWifeSaidYes wrote:I would have done the same...being either the defendant OR a member of the jury.
I wouldn't count on on the same results in this state if I were you.

I suppose if one merely felt the bullet recipient deserved it and found the defendant not guilty based on jury nullification, that's one thing, but basing it on imminence is not any definition of imminence I've ever heard of in the past. Heck, I could've gotten away with killing at least a couple of people back in the day after suspects threatened to do something to me in the future if this had been the definition of imminent danger.
I think it was the "He needed killin'" defense.
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Re: man found not guilty in shooting of pastor in church

Post by M-Quigley »

WY_Not wrote:I don't know all the details either but from the sounds of it they jury acted as a jury is supposed to act. Pity that more juries don't exercise their rights.
I guess to exercise your rights most people would have to know they even have them in the first place. I remember a juror who was on a jury where the defendent was convicted and one of the jurors afterwards told me that she thought what the defendent did was morally the right thing, and that she and other jurors didn't want to convict him, that it was wrong that he was even charged, but felt they had to because technically he did what the prosecutor said he did, and
"the law is the law," and "we had no choice but to say guilty." I asked her if she knew what jury nullification was, and she didn't know. When she found out she was frustrated and asked why didn't the defense attorney or the judge tell the jurors they had a right to vote their conscience. I told her that the defense probably wasn't allowed to mention it. Jury nullification is one of those things that although it's possible, most jurors in most places don't get informed about it in advance.
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Re: man found not guilty in shooting of pastor in church

Post by M-Quigley »

catfish86 wrote:I guess it depends on the meaning of the word imminent...anybody got a definition on that?
I saw a Youtube video once where a lawyer is describing various aspects of elements of a self defense claim, and after he explained imminent danger, he said that if anyone was ever in the middle of a situation and wasn't sure, they could call him anytime and explain the situation they were in, and he could help answer if that situation was imminent danger or not, and if they could go ahead and pull the trigger. He then said something to the effect of, "By the way, here's a clue, if you've got time to call and ask me in the middle of something, it's probably not imminent danger." :)
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Re: man found not guilty in shooting of pastor in church

Post by carmen fovozzo »

Happy ending.
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Re: man found not guilty in shooting of pastor in church

Post by WY_Not »

Yep. Jury nullification needs to be preached far and wide.

For those that have never heard of it. This is a great start... http://fija.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
M-Quigley wrote:
WY_Not wrote:I don't know all the details either but from the sounds of it they jury acted as a jury is supposed to act. Pity that more juries don't exercise their rights.
I guess to exercise your rights most people would have to know they even have them in the first place. I remember a juror who was on a jury where the defendent was convicted and one of the jurors afterwards told me that she thought what the defendent did was morally the right thing, and that she and other jurors didn't want to convict him, that it was wrong that he was even charged, but felt they had to because technically he did what the prosecutor said he did, and
"the law is the law," and "we had no choice but to say guilty." I asked her if she knew what jury nullification was, and she didn't know. When she found out she was frustrated and asked why didn't the defense attorney or the judge tell the jurors they had a right to vote their conscience. I told her that the defense probably wasn't allowed to mention it. Jury nullification is one of those things that although it's possible, most jurors in most places don't get informed about it in advance.
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Re: man found not guilty in shooting of pastor in church

Post by catfish86 »

Jury nullification is why we have a constitutional right to a trial by a jury of our peers.
God,
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can
and the Wisdom to know the difference.

Carrying a gun is a right, not a crime.

Gun control is racist.
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