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Post by T-Rex91 on May 31, 2011 9:56:05 GMT -5
Cliff notes...2 Black teens burst into a pharmacy, guns raised, to rob the place. The White pharmacist shoots one in the heads and chases the other out of the store. He comes back in the store, grabs a second weapon, and fires multiple shots into the teen laying on the floor, claiming he thought he moved (it was self defense). Coroners determine that the second set of shots killed him. Pharmacist is convicted of 1st degree murder.
I would have acquitted 
Oklahoma City pharmacist Jerome Ersland found guilty of murder in killing of suspect(CBS/KWTV/AP) - OKLAHOMA CITY - Oklahoma City pharmacist now faces life in prison with the possibility of parole after being found guilty of murder for the death of a 16-year-old who tried to rob his store. Confronted by two holdup men in May 2009, Ersland pulled out a gun, shot one of them in the head and chased the other away. The drugstore's security camera then filmed Ersland as he went behind the counter, got another gun, and pumped five more bullets into the wounded Antwun Parker as he lay on the floor. The 59-year-old had been hailed as a hero for protecting two fellow employees. The Ersland jury began deliberations around 1:00 p.m. Thursday and returned with a the guilty verdict around 4:30 p.m. The verdict stunned the courtroom. Ersland, who many hailed as a hero, sat emotionless as the guilty verdict was read. People sitting behind him were noticeably upset. Parker's mother and her sisters were inside the courtroom most of the trial, and burst out of the room when the verdict was read. They clung to each other and cried in the hallway in an outpouring of emotion. Erlsand was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs with deputies surrounding him. The wife of the Reliable Pharmacy owner was seen crying as she left. She was visibly stunned that the jury chose to find Ersland guilty of murder instead of the lesser charge of manslaughter. Judge Ray Elliott refused to lift the gag order so the prosecution, the defense, and the jury are not allowed to comment on the verdict. But we do know the jury had asked to see the surveillance video of the robbery and shooting one more time before they went up to deliberate. Ersland will be sentenced July 11, the same day Anthony Morrison and Emanuel Mitchell will be sentenced. Morrison and Mitchell were convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy for planning the robbery at Reliable Pharmacy. If you're interested in the actual footage of the robbery, go to the website below. www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20066839-504083.html
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Post by Rare_Commodity on May 31, 2011 13:52:26 GMT -5
Yea me too. Sadly I say it was self defense. If the individual had not tried to rob him he would not have feared for his life and used extreme measures. With a name like Jerome I thought he would have been black. Truly a sad situation either way for all involved. I hope through appeals he gets acquitted.
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Post by Southie on May 31, 2011 14:26:47 GMT -5
During the robbery, the teen was shot should have been sufficient, know he goes back gets another gun and does more shooting? Hmmmm
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Post by QUIET As Kept on May 31, 2011 14:55:05 GMT -5
So of course, being the nosy Nancy that I am, I had to watch the video. The first shot was definitely self-defense. But at the point where he calmly strode back into the store, by the boy lying on the floor, to the other side of the store to pick up the 2nd gun, and back over to the boy to shoot him repeatedly....with absolutely no sense of urgency...that definitely didn't look like self-defense anymore.
I don't necessarily see 1st degree murder either. OOA legal eagles...isn't premeditation required for 1st degree murder? Where is the premeditation?
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Post by Chal™ on May 31, 2011 15:34:38 GMT -5
the premeditation came in as he calmly walked back to the store and grabbed that other gun. he wanted to kill that guy. if the guy had moved, the owner could have kicked the gun away and held his (owner) piece on the dude til the cops arrived
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Post by T-Rex91 on Jun 1, 2011 7:13:42 GMT -5
I guess what's throwing me off about this is after you shoot someone in the head and they're laying on the floor not moving, there's a high likelihood you killed them. Had that been the assumption and he pumped more bullets into a "corpse" out of frustration and anger, would the verdict be the same?
The only way I could see this conviction making sense was if he clearly knew that the kid was still alive. Dude's eyes are open and focused, he's dragging himself across the floor, something.
*shrugs*
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Post by Julie Art on Jun 1, 2011 14:30:52 GMT -5
I think the sentence is sound. You shot him, in the HEAD! Once he's down, you go after the other, i.e. you feel safe enough to turn your back on him and go after the other. Coming in, still seeing said body on floor, you WALK past him effortless and riddle the body with bullets, that's not self defense, that's some Soprano type ish. There was no need to continue to shoot when dude was down.
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Post by Kyng of JDs on Jun 1, 2011 15:05:46 GMT -5
I think the sentence is sound. You shot him, in the HEAD! Once he's down, you go after the other, i.e. you feel safe enough to turn your back on him and go after the other. Coming in, still seeing said body on floor, you WALK past him effortless and riddle the body with bullets, that's not self defense, that's some Soprano type ish. There was no need to continue to shoot when dude was down. Hmm, I am conflicted here. I think giving him the same sentence as someone plotting to kill someone and then executing the plan and the person is NOT justice. I do, on the other hand, think that I would have found that his perception of fear was not reasonable. I do not know OK criminal law but imperfect self defense in most states is manslaughter instead of murder. |
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Post by Chal™ on Jun 1, 2011 15:35:36 GMT -5
I'm no lawyer (rolls eyes @ Kyng lol) but how in any way possible was that still self defense. He defended himself when he shot the guy the first time. After that, I'm not seeing where this dude was still a threat. Am I missing something here?
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Post by Kyng of JDs on Jun 1, 2011 15:44:53 GMT -5
I'm no lawyer (rolls eyes @ Kyng lol) but how in any way possible was that still self defense. He defended himself when he shot the guy the first time. After that, I'm not seeing where this dude was still a threat. Am I missing something here? guy on ground moving hand toward body = threat |
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Post by Chal™ on Jun 1, 2011 15:52:56 GMT -5
guy calmly walks to grab other gun. nonchalant. unhurried = unthreatened
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Post by T-Rex91 on Jun 1, 2011 16:00:59 GMT -5
but if dude died from the headshot (or it appeared that he did) but you saw vid of him pumping bullets into a "corpse", would you still have convicted? 1st degree to me speaks to whether he knew that dude was still alive. if he did, convict. If he didn't, acquit or lesser charges.
Let somebody break in my house. You will find a full clip in his body though one or two bullets would have done the job.
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Post by Kyng of JDs on Jun 1, 2011 16:05:08 GMT -5
but if dude died from the headshot (or it appeared that he did) but you saw vid of him pumping bullets into a "corpse", would you still have convicted? 1st degree to me speaks to whether he knew that dude was still alive. if he did, convict. If he didn't, acquit or lesser charges. Let somebody break in my house. You will find a full clip in his body though one or two bullets would have done the job. more like was his perception that said guy was a threat reasonable. if he said that he intended to pump a corpse full of lead, then he likely would have been tried for manslaughter. he said he thought the guy was still a threat. OK doesn't have THE presumption as Texas, Florida and Washington (state) have. THE presumption is that if you shoot, you are deemed as a matter of law to be in fear for your life. The prosecution then has to prove that you were not. |
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Post by Kyng of JDs on Jun 1, 2011 16:06:27 GMT -5
Let somebody break in my house. You will find a full clip in his body though one or two bullets would have done the job. +1 |
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Post by Rare_Commodity on Jun 1, 2011 16:23:30 GMT -5
+2 now that I have my CHL and Passport!
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Post by Julie Art on Jun 1, 2011 23:05:52 GMT -5
it's one thing to shoot in self defense, it's another to riddle a body with bullets that's already on the ground from a head wound. Like I said earlier, if he felt the first thief was a threat after he hit the ground, he wouldn't have chased after the other guy. He wouldn't have left him out his sight. That and the fact that he calmly walked around the body to get the other gun speaks volumes.
Self defense is legal, but he took it beyond that with the extra shots.
I must say though that I don't think he should get life, but he should get jail time that isn't less than 5yrs. What he did with that 2nd round he has to be held accountable.
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Post by Julie Art on Jun 1, 2011 23:15:57 GMT -5
with that said, I don't know if the sentence should be manslaughter, 1st degree, etc because I don't know the legality that each carries, but I believe he should at least get 5 yrs min.
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Post by Sapphire on Jun 2, 2011 0:12:33 GMT -5
I think the sentence is sound. You shot him, in the HEAD! Once he's down, you go after the other, i.e. you feel safe enough to turn your back on him and go after the other. Coming in, still seeing said body on floor, you WALK past him effortless and riddle the body with bullets, that's not self defense, that's some Soprano type ish. There was no need to continue to shoot when dude was down. Hmm, I am conflicted here. I think giving him the same sentence as someone plotting to kill someone and then executing the plan and the person is NOT justice. I do, on the other hand, think that I would have found that his perception of fear was not reasonable. I do not know OK criminal law but imperfect self defense in most states is manslaughter instead of murder. Yeah, I agree. I think the going back and killing the guy on the floor was overkill and clearly his life wasn't in danger. So that really bothers me. That being said, nobody would have gotten shot if they weren't robbing the store. While I don't think anyone deserved to die, once you take steps in a certain direction it's hard to switch up and call victim. |
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Bigs
OOA pledge
Posts: 236
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Post by Bigs on Jun 2, 2011 9:01:23 GMT -5
*whistling*... that mufugga is guilty. He knew he was wrong hence all the lies, stories, and stuff that was proven to be false once the security tape was confiscated.
Simple as this... first shot justified... 5 more after chasing other robber out of store, coming back in, walking away from "threat", and second gun... premeditated murder.
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Post by Julie Art on Jun 2, 2011 11:35:02 GMT -5
*whistling*... that mufugga is guilty. He knew he was wrong hence all the lies, stories, and stuff that was proven to be false once the security tape was confiscated. Simple as this... first shot justified... 5 more after chasing other robber out of store, coming back in, walking away from "threat", and second gun... premeditated murder. I thought too him taking the time to go get the 2nd gun and shoot would be cause for pre-meditated murder. |
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Post by T-Rex91 on Jun 2, 2011 14:01:09 GMT -5
He should have tried this in TX instead of OK. He could have most certainly gotten off.
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BLAC-A-MUS PRYME
OOA Interest
Grow in the knowledge of self[C01:0000FF]
Posts: 33
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Post by BLAC-A-MUS PRYME on Jun 3, 2011 10:24:48 GMT -5
The first shot was clearly in self defense. After scaring of the other robbers, the pharmacist had a chance to get out of the store and call emergency services. Upon re-entering the store and picking up the second weapon, that is where I can see the first degree murder charge coming into play.
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Post by All Pledging Is Legal on Jun 6, 2011 19:33:45 GMT -5
Idiot should have killed him with the first shot.
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Post by Kyng of JDs on Jun 10, 2011 22:43:49 GMT -5
Idiot should have killed him with the first shot. ^ has never been in a firefight. Probably has never fired a weapon. |
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I will honor and defend.. 