Judge throws out charge against gay man who stabbed attacker

[PageOneQ]

http://pageoneq.com/rssfeedstuff/index.php?id=3988

PHILADELPHIA - A judge threw out a manslaughter charge against a man who fatally stabbed a teenager who allegedly attacked him because he is gay.

Lucas Dawson, 21, was walking from his home in the city's East Mount Airy neighborhood on Oct. 29 to catch a bus downtown, where he planned to meet with friends to discuss his audition for "American Idol" the day before.

The 21-year-old was cleared yesterday of charges in the fatal stabbing of a 17-year-old boy who was among a group that attacked him near his East Mount Airy home on Oct. 29.

http://pageoneq.com/rssfeedstuff/index.php?id=3988

[xchrom]

1. fine with me!

[CatWoman]

3. Ich, auch

:D

[OldLeftieLawyer]

2. The compassion of the law,

and a really good judge.

Excellent.

And in PA, too, where Casey, the Democrat, currently leads Santorum, the moran, by twenty points!

[wallwriter]

4. Funny how in Florida, you can apparently

shoot someone if they look at you wrong. BUt for fighting off a pack of gay-bashing thugs with a pen-knife, this guy still had to face charges before they got thrown out.

[RaleighNCDUer]

An interesting thought.

Would a Florida gay who shoots preemptively be charged?

[rkc3]

6. Makes you wonder huh?

[slackmaster]

7. Probably not an accurate assessment of what would really happen

If you shoot someone in Florida for any reason you are likely to be arrested and at least have criminal charges dangled in front of you during the investigation.

The fact that the charges were thrown out in this case is a good indication that the system is working properly.

[donco6]

8. And evidently, one of the reasons for the charge . . .

. . . was that he wasn't injured enough. So, how beat up do you have to be before you can defend yourself? Is it just me, or is there something really wrong with that logic?

[slackmaster]

10. IMO any time deadly force is used there should be charges filed

So, how beat up do you have to be before you can defend yourself?

In case you haven't heard yet, the charges were DROPPED. The system worked.

I wouldn't want police or district attorneys to make the final determination, in every single case, that someone who used deadly force did so in a legitimate act of self-defense.

Would you?

[sonicx]

12. "IMO any time deadly force is used there should be charges filed"

So if a woman is being attacked by an abusive spouse and she kills him while trying to defend herself, there should be a charge against the woman?

[slackmaster]

13. Sure, why not?

All police know is someone is dead and someone else is a suspect. The suspect has a story, which they may or may not believe. It's not their job to determine whether or not her actions were justified.

The fact that her spouse was abusive and that she acted in self-defense will come out in an investigation, usually very quickly.

If you have never taken a self-defense course I recommend it, particularly one involving use of a weapon. A good instructor will make it clear that even if your actions are justified you need to be prepared to cooperate with the police and possibly be arrested. You may even get sued. That's part of the price of defending yourself.

[sonicx]

14. Yes, but if there's an investigation and they find that the events...

happended as she said, why would they charge her?

[stlsaxman]

15. Can't go to trial if charges aren't brought. Innocent or guilty,

the trial goes forward to determine just that.

[geek tragedy]

22. Trials are only appropriate if there's reason to believe the party

is guilty.

[slackmaster]

23. That would be fine as well

Any use of deadly force merits at least an investigation.

[kestrel91316]

17. So you want charges filed PRIOR TO AN INVESTIGATION of the facts?

Funny, but I don't think that's how things should work. Whatever happened to looking into the facts before jumping to conclusions and initiating prosecution????

[slackmaster]

24. It's normal for a person who has used deadly force to be arrested

That's just how things are.

Due to the right of habeas corpus, charges must be filed within a finite amount of time, or the suspect must be released. If the investigation clears the suspect, that's great. If not, it's normal for charges to be filed while the investigation is ongoing.

[BronxBoy]

32. Well

If the facts aren't known why bring charges before an investigation is completed?

[donco6]

18. You really think that?

That whenever deadly force is used, there should be charges actually filed? Regardless of the circumstances? Someone gets thrown in jail, loses his/her job, reputation, family, whatever - with no investigation or concern as to what the circumstances of the incident really were? Wow. Kinda bass-ackwards, . . . IMO.

[lumpy]

34. The police role is not to be

judge or jury. They simply do not know the facts of the case. Their only reponsibility is to hold anyone who commits an act of violence.

[geek tragedy]

19. You're advocating a gross abuse of prosecutorial discretion.

If a prosecutor believes that no crime has been committed, they have an ethical obligation to not bring charges.

[slackmaster]

25. I want the prosecutor to be confident before releasing a suspect

We don't want people who use deadly force without justification running around loose. Prosecutors have an obligation to charge if they have any doubt as to a person's innocence. If a judge disagrees and throws out the charges, no harm has been done.

[sonicx]

27. You said ANY time deadly force was used there should be charges

If the prosecutor investigates BEFORE charging anyone and finds it was justified, why should there be charges? I'm still trying to figure that out.

I'm not so sure about "no harm done." A person being arrested and charged with a crime will cost that person alot of money and may hurt their reputation and job status, even if they are cleared.

[slackmaster]

If the investigation can be done within the habeas corpus window, fine

Very often that is not the case.

People who are justified in using deadly force have to be prepared to face charges and lawsuits.

[slackmaster]

28. If the investigation can be done within the habeas corpus window, fine

Very often that is not the case.

People who are justified in using deadly force have to be prepared to face charges and lawsuits.

[400Years]

5. Good, and another scumbag is gone from this planet

Sometimes you really do get what you ask for.

[anotherdrew]

16. yes well, what about the group of friends he was with?

They'll be looking to even the score likely as not.

[geek tragedy]

20. I think his friends will probably lay off the gay-bashing. eom

[lumpy]

35. The guy plans to leave

the area. I don't blame him. Hopefully they will determine that the rest of the thugs will be charged with being accomplices in the attack.

[jody]

9. Self-defense is a personal problem as well as the choice of arms.

In 2003, 68.8% of the 4.9 million victims of violent crime took self-protective measures.

3.5 million of those victims taking self-protective measures said their action helped the situation. See DU thread http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=118x115764

I'm glad the victim defended himself.

[madmark]

11. For a gay basher it is particularly ignominious that he was killed by

someone rushing to tell a friend about their "American Idol" audition.

[geek tragedy]

21. Ironic that a homophobe be killed by a homosexual.

Makes me laugh.

[slackmaster]

26. The death of any person is tragic, except for clowns

I laugh when a clown is killed, but not for anyone else.

[Occulus]

29. Laugh all you want

it's still one less gaybashing sonofabitch gone from the world, and I applaud it.

Note: SEVEN to ONE. Those were this guy's odds. Chances are, if he hadn't killed that little punk, it would have been him who lost his life.

Here's a hint: most gay people see this very differently than you do. They, muself among them, believe this needs to happen more often. We have to start defending ourselves, and we have to make it absolutely clear both to those who would support us getting bashed and those who would say "shame on you" for killing off the bashers- and being PROUD of that fact- that we will not take it sitting down any more.

From now on, as far as I'm concerned, any bashing or hint of bashing is an attempt on my life by default and I will respond with deadly force regardless of the degree of danger I am actually in from the basher. To do anything less is to say to the world, "It's okay for you to bash us, as long as you don't go too far."

(simple words without actual threat do not count, but will put me on alert.)

No. Fuck that. Bashers are putting their lives in danger from now on- not mine.

[Freddie Stubbs]

30. That is why some gays are stongly opposed to gun control

www.pinkpistols.org

[slackmaster]

31. I agree it should happen more often, but it's still tragic to me

The fact that someone ends up being a gay basher in the first place is the root problem.

[Swede]

33. A 17 year old boy should not hate anyone.

He should be smoking dope and chasing girls.