GUILTY MI - Renisha McBride, 19, shot while trying to get help, Detroit, Nov 2013

[tlcya]

Since this event, several black home owners n Detroit have shot at and killed people possible home intruders around their homes. and trying to enter. I don't know if any of them have been charged with 2nd degree murder or only Wafer. Will be very interesting to see where this trial goes and if the others will be standing trial for 2nd degree murder too.
Can be goggled under "Detroit homeowners shoot or fatally kill possible home intruders". Is it justice for all?

thank you. I did just that (BBM)

"Police officers have numerous hours of training to determine when to shoot and when not to shoot. We need to find out how to organize our communities not necessarily just react," says Ron Scott of the Coalition Against Police Brutality. "Certainly I'm not foolish enough to say don't defend yourself, but you have a lot of ground to cover before you get to lethal force."

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/25073467/homeowners-shooting-intruders-are-the-killings-justified

She yelled for him to go away but he continued to come towards the home. She went and got her handgun and, again, told him to go away. The man with the brick then went to the side of the front door and started to break through the window.

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/2...-dead-despite-several-warnings-from-homeowner

The woman repeatedly warned the suspect that she had a gun. Police say the 24-year-old man used a crowbar to break a rear window at the home. After he made his way into the home, she opened fire.
She was still on the phone with the 911 operator.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/...s-intruder-who-broke-in-with-crowbar/25714906

Police were called to the home just before 6:00 a.m. after the two suspects, one male and one female, broke into the home, local media reported.

http://www.guns.com/2014/04/12/anot...-intruders-justice-control-vigilantism-video/

Police say the homeowner heard glass break around 12:30 p.m., ran to the back of his house and saw a person climbing in the window, so he grabbed his gun and fired.

Read more at http://libertyunyielding.com/2014/0...oots-kills-1-2-intruders/#zW1fICaZKq31w3zK.99

MOO banging on closed - locked doors and attempting unsuccessfully to enter is not the same as entry. For me the iminent threat level is very different in this case and many of those being covered recently where as pointed out the homeowners were "not" Wafer.

 

[SwampMama]

I would think it would be relevant. It is alleged that she was looking for help but we know that she actively walked away from help. We know that she was legally drunk and than many people are aggressive when drunk. I feel that she probably mistakenly believed that his house was her house and was upset that she could not get in and thus began pounding or yelling, which alarmed him.

I also believe it would be relevant if it were shown that Mr Wafer was a gun nut who had a temper, a quick temper or other aggressive behaviors.

 

[Tawny]

This is true. Definitely want to see what evolves from this.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.grandhaventribune.com/article/policefire/1045726

Attorney Cheryl Carpenter said slang references to marijuana were critical for the defense because they suggest Renisha McBride was selling drugs and may have had an aggressive side.

"I don't want to use this to drag her through the mud. You won't hear me argue at trial she's a bad person. ... If you strip this from me, you're going to hamstring the defense," Carpenter said.

But Wayne County Judge Dana Hathaway said using the messages as evidence would be unfair because "none of these" show the 19-year-old was an aggressor before she was shot in the face last November on Theodore Wafer's Dearborn Heights porch.

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2014/06/29/judge-bars-cellphone-texts-crime-map-from-evidence-in-renisha-mcbride-case/

“None of these show that she would have been aggressive,” Hathaway said firmly. “They are unfairly prejudicial.” She said that they were not even proof of unrelated criminal activity. She also barred the use of police reports from two incidents that did not result in charges, and the use of a “crime map” of Wafer’s neighborhood composed by the police.

Hathaway postponed a final determination on the use of photos on the cell phone until Monday, June 30, although she said she believed the photos were not conclusive proof of anything...

The Detroit Free Press vividly described the alleged contents of the barred evidence, using only defense attorney Cheryl Carpenter’s verbal depictions. Carpenter contended McBride was the aggressor in the case and was generally involved in criminal activity. The texts and photos were not shown during the pre-trial hearing.

 

[Jewels53]

Jury selection is set to begin Monday in the murder trial of a white Detroit man who shot an unarmed 19-year-old black woman on his porch in November.

Theodore Wafer, 54, is charged with second degree murder, manslaughter and committing a felony with a firearm for the fatal shooting of Renisha McBride, who showed up on his porch hours after being involved in a car accident, according to Wayne County prosecutor, Kym Worthy.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...murdering-19-year-old-renisha-mcbride-n160676

 

[Queen Bee]

With jury selection set to begin, self-defense key issue in Dearborn Heights porch shooting trial

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140720/METRO/307200010#ixzz387IP5zPV

About 35 witnesses on both sides are expected to testify during the trial, which is expected to last three weeks.

 

[Jewels53]

Cathy ‏@courtchatter 12m
#TheodoreWafer jury selection is expected to take several days. High profile coverage on this case. #RenishaMcBride

Cathy ‏@courtchatter 2m
Potential jurors are now being questioned about what they know about the #TheodoreWafer #RenishaMcBride case

Cathy ‏@courtchatter 52s
Potential jurors are told that selection could last 2-4 days. Trial approx 10 days.#Theodorewafer #RenishaMcBride

 

[Jewels53]

Cathy ‏@courtchatter 55s
First 14 jurors questioned, 9 dismissed for cause. #TheodoreWafer #RenishaMcBride

 

[Queen Bee]

thank you so much jewelsbuddy!~!~!

:tyou:

and there was another trial starting today but i'm having a crs moment............what was it?:thinking:

 

[Jewels53]

Cathy ‏@courtchatter 18m
#TheodoreWafer atty wanted juror dismissed because they go to #RenishaMcBride dad's church. Judge says no.

Cathy ‏@courtchatter 17m
#TheodoreWafer atty complains to judge that jury selection is being rushed. #RenishaMcBride

 

[Jewels53]

Cathy ‏@courtchatter 44s
#TheodoreWafer jury selection finished for the day. Back at it tomorrow morning 9 am ET. #RenishaMcBride

 

[Sonya610]

I doubt the state would have charged him if there wasn't evidence pointing to the second degree murder charges. They don't want another repeat of the George Zimmerman trial, or to come away with egg on their face. I think it's likely there is more information that we're not privy to which points to those charges being sensible.

Or it is likely that the jury pool based on demographics will be different and they WILL convict all things considered. District Attorneys are after wins, just like defense attorneys.

Honestly I can't wrap my mind around the fact this man is being prosecuted. He was minding his own business, she was out there committing crimes.

I also think we need to look at character and past history, was he known to engage in criminal behavior? Assaults, drunk driving, etc.... If he wasn't that means a LOT in my mind.

 

[daisy7]

Or it is likely that the jury pool based on demographics will be different and they WILL convict all things considered. District Attorneys are after wins, just like defense attorneys.

Honestly I can't wrap my mind around the fact this man is being prosecuted. He was minding his own business, she was out there committing crimes.

I also think we need to look at character and past history, was he known to engage in criminal behavior? Assaults, drunk driving, etc.... If he wasn't that means a LOT in my mind.

Respectfully, BBM. Seriously? Wow. So, just because Renisha was DWI, Wafer is justified to become her judge, jury and executioner even though he never felt threatened? I can't wrap my mind around that anyone feels that way. IMO and MOO.

 

[AzPistonsGirl]

another case that reinforces this country's need for professional juries. Too much emotion in this one. IMO.

 

[lonetraveler]

With jury selection set to begin, self-defense key issue in Dearborn Heights porch shooting trial

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140720/METRO/307200010#ixzz387IP5zPV

About 35 witnesses on both sides are expected to testify during the trial, which is expected to last three weeks.

A bit confused as to why the self-defense is even an issue in this trial since he claimed the shotgun fired accidentally. It's either an accidental shooting or it's self defense, it can't be both.

 

[lonetraveler]

Respectfully, I don't agree with the two assumptions I bolded. We don't know whether he could see her. It was dark, there was a screen door between him and Renisha. At the most there would have been a blurry shape in his vision. We also don't know who opened the front door. It might have been Renisha. I don't think assuming anything is fair to either parties involved.

I'm having a bit of a problem trying to understand your statement bolded above about "We don't know who opened the front door". At 4 am in the morning I can reasonably assume that the front door was closed. And, siince the screen door was locked, I can reasonably assume that she did not open the front door. That said, if he felt the least bit threatened by a woman standing outside of a locked screen door, why didn't he just close the front door, lock it and then call 911? Why shoot someone just because they banged on your door to wake you at pre-dawn hours? His story just doesn't make sense to me.

 

[lonetraveler]

Respectfully, BBM. Seriously? Wow. So, just because Renisha was DWI, Wafer is justified to become her judge, jury and executioner even though he never felt threatened? I can't wrap my mind around that anyone feels that way. IMO and MOO.

I tend to agree with you. How the heck did he know that she was DWI? She was banging on his door at 4 am in the morning, hoping to get someone to wake up and answer the door. Screen door was locked, why would he feel threatened if all he had to do was close the front door?

 

[Sonya610]

Respectfully, BBM. Seriously? Wow. So, just because Renisha was DWI, Wafer is justified to become her judge, jury and executioner even though he never felt threatened? I can't wrap my mind around that anyone feels that way. IMO and MOO.

Obviously he felt threatened! He was sound asleep at 4 am when some crazy loud screaming drunk showed up and started banging on his front door demanding to be let in! The fact he grabbed his shotgun SHOWS he felt threatened!

I do believe it was accidental. He almost certainly had his finger on the trigger of that shotgun, one theory is that when she was kept banging on the screen door the door actually came loose (because the hole in the door does not match the correct angle, it looks like it had fallen).

If she was carrying on like a maniac and he was freaking out aiming a shotgun trying to figure out what was going on and the door DID suddenly come loose and fall that could easily have caused enough of an adrenaline rush to squeeze the trigger accidentally.

And as far as it being "just a lone little female" I would have been wondering if she had male accomplices at that moment, I would have been thinking at any second a bunch of guys could jump out and rush the house, then again I never would have opened the door to begin with, much safer to stand back and start shooting the moment the door starts to open, bullets easily go through doors and walls unless he was using bird shot.

(ETA actually if a woman was screaming and begging for help I "might" open the door while being armed, however if she suddenly seemed aggressive/threatening and not like a helpless victim pleading for help that would change things big time.)

I also suspect he was somewhat inexperienced with firearms. He probably thought if he opened the door and the person merely saw the shotgun they would stop and go away OR calmly explain what they wanted. Big mistake assuming that.

 

[Irisha]

Respectfully, BBM. Seriously? Wow. So, just because Renisha was DWI, Wafer is justified to become her judge, jury and executioner even though he never felt threatened? I can't wrap my mind around that anyone feels that way. IMO and MOO.

Proof that Mr. Wafer never felt threatened. Renisha, although a victim also, was alot more than DWI.IMO

 

[Jewels53]

Cathy ‏@courtchatter 3m
Getting very close to seating #TheodoreWafer jury. There will be 14 (2 alts)