Small Texas community stands by man who killed daughter's alleged abuser

[Forster]

If the DA wanted the guy to be indicted, he would have been indicted. That's how grand jurys work and grand jurys are not courts as evidence is presented from only one side. The DA, being an elected official, knew that to indict the guy would cost her her job. Her actions were political.

What if the rapist were not a 47 year old male but a 13 year old male? What is the rapist were a woman? Would the instant death sentence still have been appropriate?

No prosecuting the guy when his actions were clearly justified by Texas statue would have been political.

Deadly Force in Defense of Person
"A person is justified in using deadly force against another if he would be justified in using force under Section 9.31 of the statute when and to the degree he reasonable believes that deadly force is immediately necessary to protect himself against the other's use or attempted use of unlawful deadly force, if a reasonable person in the same situation would have not retreated. The use of deadly force is also justified to prevent the other's imminent commission of aggravated kidnapping, murder, rape or robbery."http://www.self-defender.net/law3.htm

Other than 47 yo males are less loveable than youngsters or women I'm not sure what that has to do with the price of tea in China. If they were attacking/raping a 5 yo child and the father or whoever uses deadly force to stop them, too bad so sad, what the hell did they think could happen.

 

[GhostLikeSwayze]

If the DA wanted the guy to be indicted, he would have been indicted. That's how grand jurys work and grand jurys are not courts as evidence is presented from only one side. The DA, being an elected official, knew that to indict the guy would cost her her job. Her actions were political.

The statement I bolded is correct, and I suggest you chew on it a bit. The DA presented the evidence available to the GJ so they could determine if there was enough to pursue a criminal conviction. According to the GJ there was not. Now think that over. Really, roll that around in your mind and you should see why you are wrong.

What if the rapist were not a 47 year old male but a 13 year old male? What is the rapist were a woman? Would the instant death sentence still have been appropriate?

Depends.

 

[Thirteen Days]

No prosecuting the guy when his actions were clearly justified by Texas statue would have been political.

There's no statute that addresses this particular circumstance.

Other than 47 yo males are less loveable than youngsters or women I'm not sure what that has to do with the price of tea in China. If they were attacking/raping a 5 yo child and the father or whoever uses deadly force to stop them, too bad so sad, what the hell did they think could happen.

I agree with the so sad part.

 

[Thirteen Days]

The statement I bolded is correct, and I suggest you chew on it a bit. The DA presented the evidence available to the GJ so they could determine if there was enough to pursue a criminal conviction. According to the GJ there was not. Now think that over. Really, roll that around in your mind and you should see why you are wrong.

I understand Grand Juries. That's why I posited that she was derelict in her duties. She didn't attempt to indict the man. Either she bowed to political pressure or she's unfit to serve in the court system. Most likely both.

Depends.

On what?

 

[Forster]

There's no statute that addresses this particular circumstance.

Yes there is, I quoted it and linked it above.

 

[GhostLikeSwayze]

I understand Grand Juries. That's why I posited that she was derelict in her duties. She didn't attempt to indict the man. Either she bowed to political pressure or she's unfit to serve in the court system. Most likely both.

What evidence is there that a crime was committed under Texas law? The evidence provided at the GJ, which included the 911 call, what the police saw when they arrived on the scene, witness statements, and forensic evidence did not demonstrate that a crime had been committed by the father. Do you believe the DA should have lied? Held back evidence? Please provide an actual argument indicating exactly what the DA did NOT do that she should have done to secure an indictment.

On what?

On what the circumstances of the attack are. I see no reason to dig into hypotheticals. We KNOW what happened in this case, and I see no reason to play pretend about what might have been.

 

[GhostLikeSwayze]

There's no statute that addresses this particular circumstance.

The self defense statute in Texas specifically addresses when deadly force is justified, and preventing the sexual assault of another qualifies.

 

[uno]

The father shouldn't have killed the man who was raping his daughter and if the reports of his demeanor immediately afterwards are accurate, I think he would agree with me. He probably wouldn't agree with me that he shouldn't have been no billed and the evidence should have been heard in a courtroom. I think the DA was derelict in her duties.

I don't want to live in a society where people who are harmed are able to offer that harm as an excuse to kill.

It's easy to forget we live in an imperfect world. the justice system is not always just, and people are people and react through emotions and biological functions.

In this situation, the DA was not derelict. there are laws, and they were followed, whether you agree or not.

I don't recall anyone stating his harm was an excuse to kill.

 

[Digger]

That's why I posited that she was derelict in her duties. She didn't attempt to indict the man.

She would be derelict in her duties if she attempted to indict a man who committed no crime.

 

[GhostLikeSwayze]

She would be derelict in her duties if she attempted to indict a man who committed no crime.

Ex-actly.

 

[das_nut]

On what the circumstances of the attack are. I see no reason to dig into hypotheticals. We KNOW what happened in this case, and I see no reason to play pretend about what might have been.

How do we know what happened in this case? We have the words of the father, but no testimony by the man who was killed. The only possible collaborating witness is 4, and I can't even tell if she was interviewed.

It seems to me that when someone ends up dead, there should be a thorough investigation, regardless of what the survivors claims. Yet the result of that thorough investigation (if it happened) does not seem to have been reported.

 

[GhostLikeSwayze]

How do we know what happened in this case? We have the words of the father, but no testimony by the man who was killed. The only possible collaborating witness is 4, and I can't even tell if she was interviewed.

It seems to me that when someone ends up dead, there should be a thorough investigation, regardless of what the survivors claims. Yet the result of that thorough investigation (if it happened) does not seem to have been reported.

There was an investigation, and there were additional witnesses. Her brother saw her being taken away by the attacker. Additional witnesses showed up at the end of the father breaking up the attack. The 911 call from the father matches what officers saw when they arrived on the scene, and the evidence at the crime scene corroborated the father's version of events. There was evidence of a sexual assault collected at the hospital. If you look around, there are articles that detail the facts much better than the major news sites.
Taken all together, we know what happened as well as we can in any event for which we were not eyewitnesses.

 

[Wolfie]

What if the rapist were not a 47 year old male but a 13 year old male? What is the rapist were a woman? Would the instant death sentence still have been appropriate?

Yep and yep.

 

[das_nut]

I googled for more information. I could not find the story that said that evidence of a sexual assault happened at the hospital. Some news reports are inconsistent about what happened, but that is probably sloppy reporting.

If I had to bet, I'd have to side with the father's story. But all I'm saying is that if someone ends up dead, a thorough investigation should follow.

 

[mlp]

I googled for more information. I could not find the story that said that evidence of a sexual assault happened at the hospital. Some news reports are inconsistent about what happened, but that is probably sloppy reporting.

If I had to bet, I'd have to side with the father's story. But all I'm saying is that if someone ends up dead, a thorough investigation should follow.

http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/06/19/4044890/texas-dad-wont-be-charge-in-slaying.html

"Forensic evidence" would refer to what was found in the examination of the child at the hospital.

 

[das_nut]

http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/06/19/4044890/texas-dad-wont-be-charge-in-slaying.html

"Forensic evidence" would refer to what was found in the examination of the child at the hospital.

That isn't clear from the article.

 

[mlp]

That isn't clear from the article.

What else could "forensic evidence" of sexual molestation refer to?

 

[das_nut]

What else could "forensic evidence" of sexual molestation refer to?

You forget, it's also the forensic evidence of a homicide.

 

[mlp]

You forget, it's also the forensic evidence of a homicide.

I think that you're being argumentative for the sake of being argumentative. This is the quote from the article (and the "forensic evidence" of sexual molestation language has been used in other articles I've read):

The girl was examined at a hospital, and authorities say forensic evidence and witness accounts corroborated the father's story that his daughter was being sexually molested.

As you may or may not know, grand jury testimony is not public. Rather than releasing the details of what a medical examination reveals when an adult male rapes a five year old, the authorities apparently used the term "forensic evidence" that she was sexually molested. Now, you may need to hear the gory details, but most of the rest of us don't.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/0...-wont-be-charge-in-slaying.html#storylink=cpy​

 

[Pickle Juice]

Yeah I don't see what's not clear about obtaining forensic evidence of a sexual assault from examining the little girl at the hospital. Forensic evidence of homicide would be obtained from examining her attacker's body, not her.