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Texas Father To Be Charged For Killing Drunk Driver Who Killed His Kids

5K views 48 replies 24 participants last post by  TheDesertFox 
#1 ·
#2 ·
So sad but I think he might be able to plea crime of passion or temporary insanity. Both of which are valid arguments in Texas if I remember right
 
#6 ·
It happened here in CA too, Ellie Nessler killed the guy right inside the courtroom who molested her 6 year old son. As I recall she used a Beretta .25 ACP and smuggled it in (this was before metal detectors were installed).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellie_Nesler
 
#7 ·
I cant imagine what that must be like. I have 2 daughters and a son and I dont know if I could control my urges if something similar happened to me.

I am not sympathetic to any ill that befalls a drunk driver. They kill more innocent people than they do themselves, that being said I hope the guy gets off easy as possible.
 
#10 ·
He will get off with a temporary insanity plea. Who can convict a man who just lost his family? So many times throughout the US people have been found not guilty in such cases. In New Orleans a man killed the murderer of his children on national TV and was found not guilty.
 
#11 ·
if he beat him on the spot i would say we would get off but he went and got his gun that shows per meadation and planning he will be luckey to get away with 2nd manslauater. 10 years min . the prousaction will make the drunk boy look like a choir boy and him like a gun totting hell bent murdering thug
 
#13 ·
A prosecuter prosecuting is one thing. A jury convicting is something else all together. I would vote not guilty for sure.
 
#14 ·
As I recall there was a case in Bakersfield some 30 or so years back where a drug dealer was pushing drugs on the school children as they walked home from school every day. One kid told his dad, dad went down to tell the guy that if he ever pushed drugs on his kid again he would kill him. Some time later the kid gives his dad some drugs that the pusher gave the kid. Dad went down to the guy's house and killed him. At the trial the dad said "I gave him fair warning."

He was acquitted.
 
#16 ·
I can certainly sympathize with the father, but it doesn't feel right that he would get off scott free. I don't know what the law is where this took place, but I hope the jury has the option to convict on a lesser charge rather than murder 2.
I disagree. Sometimes acts in the heat of the moment are not criminal acts. Its like when a guy attacks another guy in a bar fight, but the attacker underestimates the abilities of the victim and gets himself killed. I see it as the same thing.

The fact is that drunk drivers never get what they got coming when they kill people. This guy did. Case closed.
 
#17 ·
I disagree. Sometimes acts in the heat of the moment are not criminal acts. Its like when a guy attacks another guy in a bar fight, but the attacker underestimates the abilities of the victim and gets himself killed. I see it as the same thing.

The fact is that drunk drivers never get what they got coming when they kill people. This guy did. Case closed.
I dont know if I could live with myself if I killed someone drunk, or not. I do agree that we should have harsher punishments in the us to cut down crime. I also think that we should have an easier time defending ourselves.
 
#18 ·
I dont know if I could live with myself if I killed someone drunk, or not. I do agree that we should have harsher punishments in the us to cut down crime. I also think that we should have an easier time defending ourselves.
I pray that I am never put into that sort of situation, but I would not want to look back and know I did nothing either. Hope I never have to find out.
 
#19 ·
This was a very tragic accident. Nothing will bring back those two young boys. NO WAY should he have let his two boys ages 11 and 12 get out and push a pickup truck down a long dark, narrow, rural road. Drunk drivers are everywhere now days. Also drivers that are impaired by drugs and or prescription medication. The world is more dangerous now than it has ever been. You need to watch out for yourself and the people you love at all times.

Drunk drivers are a plague on society, never let your guard down.
 
#20 ·
Sounds like he is guilty of murder and should be sent to jail. He's not the judge jury executioner, if we just allow a disregard for the system then why have one at all? "Suspected drunk driver", maybe the man was not drunk but having a medical issue or something else was going on, this is why we have due process and don't just issue street justice.

He should not be allowed to own guns in the future, he has demonstrated he is not capable of controlling himself with them. They might just be the tool but this guy shouldn't have access to that tool.
 
#21 ·
Sounds like he is guilty of murder and should be sent to jail. He's not the judge jury executioner, if we just allow a disregard for the system then why have one at all? "Suspected drunk driver", maybe the man was not drunk but having a medical issue or something else was going on, this is why we have due process and don't just issue street justice.

He should not be allowed to own guns in the future, he has demonstrated he is not capable of controlling himself with them. They might just be the tool but this guy shouldn't have access to that tool.
This is true. How did the father know the guy was drunk? Did he try to care for his injured son's before he ran off to get a gun?

Would he have shot him anyway if he wasn't drunk?
 
#22 ·
How many times do drunks get away with driving before they get caught? They care for no one but themselves. I see this as no different that watching someone shoot your kid and then you returning fire after he has dropped the weapon. I hope he serves no time. I hope he loses none of his rights. I am not saying I would have shot him. But, I have children. And the are very dear to me. Who really knows what they would do faced with that situation? And that is all they need to make a jury think about.
 
#23 ·
Jury nullification

That was the first thing I thought of when I read the headline...If I was on the jury, I'd nullify the verdict. as in, I would ignore the letter of the law, and render my verdict based on what I feel is right and just. I'm tired of hearing about drunks killing people and getting just a few years in jail.

Every one of us knows someone who was close to us, who was killed by a drunk driver. Many of us know more than 1. Me? I know of 3 close friends who were killed by drunks, all different crashes. In each case, the drunk had prior convictions, did not have a license, was driving illegally... and yet they get 10 years or less for their crime. "he didn't MEAN to kill anyone, he was drunk, it's not his fault." Effing Bull Caca.

Most recent, this fool of PA was driving up US23 in Columbus/Delaware area of Ohio. had like 7 prior DUI convictions, and no license. He was driving at an extremely high rate of speed. so high that someone called 911 to report him for it...and then became the first person to report the crash when she rolled up on scene a few miles down the road. The driver killed a girl my age, a mother of a baby, who will now grow up without ever knowing her mom. At least in this case, the driver got 30 years.

This is true. How did the father know the guy was drunk? Did he try to care for his injured son's before he ran off to get a gun?

Would he have shot him anyway if he wasn't drunk?

And this was the second thought I had when I read the story. first son dead on scene. second son died in the hospital. Could the 2nd Son have survived if the father had stuck around to give first aid instead of going home for a gun? If he went to get a gun, I'll assume that means he did not call 911 right away? more precious time lost that could have saved his second son. At the time of the crash, how did the father know the other driver was drunk? sometimes it's obvious...empty beer cans in the vehicle, smell of booze, beer spilled in the crash, etc. other times, it's not so easy to tell...functioning alcoholic who was on his way home from the bar.


So...after reading the story, if I was on the Jury, here's how I would vote on the verdict: If the father can prove that he knew his second son was beyond recovery and that his wounds were fatal (difficult to do this...We have soldiers in god forsaken countries coming home with no arms and no legs, half their skull missing...and they survive) and if he can prove that he knew the other driver was drunk, then I would vote not guilty.

but, if he can't prove BOTH of those things, then I'd say he's guilty of something...manslaughter at the minimum.




Now....as a father of 2 young boys, If someone took them from me because they were selfish and dumb, such as a drunk driver...I would have no problem spending time in jail for whatever I may do after the fact.
 
#24 ·
One of the "tests" of so-called "heat of passion" killing is whether or not sufficient time had passed for "the blood to cool."

In the court cases that I have seen, if a wronged person draws a weapon at the scene and kills, "Hot Blood" is a reasonable defense and premeditation cannot be proved.

OTOH, if a person leaves the scene, goes home and retrieves a weapon, then comes back and kills his adversary, the proof of premeditation is satisfied.

From the limited evidence we have, in my opinion, the man is guilty of premeditated, first degree murder. There can be no doubt of that in the eye of the law.

Jury nullification is available to the jury if they feel that best serves the cause of justice.

My fear would be that if we make a habit of allowing vigilante justice, what's next? Do we hang people in the town square for being queer?? For spitting on the sidewalk??

Our criminal justice system is far from being perfect, but IMHO, it beats the hell out of individual revenge.
 
#25 ·
How many times do drunks get away with driving before they get caught? They care for no one but themselves. I see this as no different that watching someone shoot your kid and then you returning fire after he has dropped the weapon. I hope he serves no time. I hope he loses none of his rights. I am not saying I would have shot him. But, I have children. And the are very dear to me. Who really knows what they would do faced with that situation? And that is all they need to make a jury think about.
I completely agree, drunk drivers do not get punished enough. They should be charged with murder.
 
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