WOOT!!! NOT GUILTY!!!

[MrColin]

Last may, my brother was attacked by some drunken thugs. The ...um "victim" (having 4'' and 40# on my brother) beat him up unprovoked with a BAC of 2% got on top of him and was beating his head into the street before my brother shot the guy in self defense. Given that my brother suffers from some form of schizoaffective disorder and the "victim" was the only son of a state politician, my family and I thought his life was pretty much over. We were just hoping for a light sentence. Seriously, I was researching some invisible inks to use in my ink jet because the jailers were confiscating my letters to him.

Whoever says public defenders aren't any good haven't seen Dennis Burke and his team.

When I got this news today I cried. My Dad called me at work to tell me and I broke down right there.

Mid-Trial:
http://www.madison.com/wsj/mad.../index.php?ntid=252617

Verdict:
http://www.madison.com/wsj/mad...hp?ntid=253555&ntpid=3

Out of respect for his family I'm not going to talk too much about the alleged victim in the case but consider these words from someone that knew the guy, posted here: http://althouse.blogspot.com/2...ml#3949544933263306420

Warifloon said...
I knew Austin quite well, and to be perfectly honest, his murder didn't surprise me at all. The last time I saw him he was standing outside my window, across the street, stalking me as he did for about three to four months after I told him to stop contacting me. He was completely drunk, kicking cars and street cones when a man asked him to stop, very politely. Austin then proceeded to charge him and threaten to "beat the living shit out of him". From then on, I use to tell people who knew what a psycho he was that I guaranteed he wouldn't live another year or so. I presumed it would either be from a drug or alcohol or both overdose, or from being murdered. Guess when you know a person pretty well nothing surprises you about them. I feel horrible for his family, but honestly, they probably weren't shocked either. Some people live their lives as a slow suicide. Austin was one of those people...it just took someone to pull the trigger for him.

RIP dude.

 

[CPA]

From what I read, it looks like it was the right verdict. Congratulations to your brother.

 

[brxndxn]

GOOD.. A victory for self defense.

All the arguments saying that 'victim's injuries weren't bad' are stupid arguments.. You are allowed to protect yourself from any injury at all.

 

[skyking]

Originally posted by: brxndxn
GOOD.. A victory for self defense.

All the arguments saying that 'victim's injuries weren't bad' are stupid arguments.. You are allowed to protect yourself from any injury at all.

QFT.
OP, congratulations on your family's good news.

 

[jjones]

Congrats to your family, and kudos to the jury for making a smart decision.

 

[Darwin333]

First of all, congrats on your brother's legal victory. From what I have read its definately the right decision.

Although it sounds like the gun saved his life I really must ask, what is someone with schizoaffective disorder doing with a gun? I don't know the severity of your brothers condition and please don't take this the wrong way, but from my quick google search on it, could he even legally own/carry a gun?

A person may manifest impairments in the perception or expression of reality, most commonly manifesting as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions or disorganized speech and thinking, as well as discrete manic and/or depressive episodes in the context of significant social or occupational dysfunction.

That sounds like a pretty serious mental disorder for someone who is walking around with a gun. Like I said, I am glad it saved his life and I am glad the justice system worked for him but with his disorder should he really be carrying a gun?

 

[txrandom]

Very good news to hear. I'm glad the politician wasn't allowed to get in the way of justice.

A person with a schizoaffective disease and a gun may be dangerous, but it may have saved his life.

 

[Tiamat]

good, from what i read, i agree with the verdict.

 

[Mursilis]

Originally posted by: Darwin333
First of all, congrats on your brother's legal victory. From what I have read its definately the right decision.

Although it sounds like the gun saved his life I really must ask, what is someone with schizoaffective disorder doing with a gun? I don't know the severity of your brothers condition and please don't take this the wrong way, but from my quick google search on it, could he even legally own/carry a gun?

A person may manifest impairments in the perception or expression of reality, most commonly manifesting as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions or disorganized speech and thinking, as well as discrete manic and/or depressive episodes in the context of significant social or occupational dysfunction.

That sounds like a pretty serious mental disorder for someone who is walking around with a gun. Like I said, I am glad it saved his life and I am glad the justice system worked for him but with his disorder should he really be carrying a gun?

In many states, perhaps most, he'd be prohibited from carrying if he's got such a serious psychiatric disorder. And it sounds like he was carrying concealed - is a license required for that in Wisconson?

 

[Pacfanweb]

Good for you brother. I don't see why it matters what his injuries were. The onlookers said it didn't look like anyone was winning the fight, but how do they know?
Your brother might have known that he was about out of gas physically, and feared he wouldn't be able to hold the other guy off.

And when is is okay for him to shoot the other guy? When his nose is broken? Ribs? Teeth knocked out?

According to the testimony, the attacker said he was going to "beat the shit out of him and didn't care about the cops".

No way to know what a drunk that's already on top of you kicking your ass meant by that.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

are the other two guys who were with the douchebag being charged with anything?

 

[FoBoT]

nice to see self defense is still respected

 

[AlienCraft]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
nice to see self defense is still respected

by the citizens who make up the juries.

Fixed it for you. The DA does not respect self defense.
Please note that defending oneself is one's most basic human right, yet every DA , Cop, or politician ever has said is ... while this case is an exception, citizens should not take the law into their own hands, blah, blah, blah.".

 

[compnovice]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
nice to see self defense is still respected

:thumbsup:

And for the onlookers who said that nobody was winning the fight, screw them. 3 against 1 is never a fair fight. I bet none of them tried to help. There is no reason why his brother should have waited to get injured before firing.

 

[jonmcc33]

Good verdict. Now tell your brother to stay away from idiots in the future.

 

[jlee]

Glad to hear that, OP...I believe I recall the original thread, and it's good to hear that things worked out. :thumbsup:

Originally posted by: AlienCraft

Originally posted by: FoBoT
nice to see self defense is still respected

by the citizens who make up the juries.

Fixed it for you. The DA does not respect self defense.
Please note that defending oneself is one's most basic human right, yet every DA , Cop, or politician ever has said is ... while this case is an exception, citizens should not take the law into their own hands, blah, blah, blah.".

There's a big difference between a street cop and a politician when it comes down to opinions on self-defense. Please don't generalize.

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

Originally posted by: jonmcc33
Good verdict. Now tell your brother to stay away from idiots in the future.

His brother was minding his own business when he was attacked. If you're statement is true, then everyone in the world would have to stay in their homes 24/7. They're idiots everywhere.

Congrats to your brother. Good to see the justice system worked in this case. :thumbsup:

 

[dlock13]

Originally posted by: Cdubneeddeal

Originally posted by: jonmcc33
Good verdict. Now tell your brother to stay away from idiots in the future.

His brother was minding his own business when he was attacked. If you're statement is true, then everyone in the world would have to stay in their homes 24/7. They're idiots everywhere.

Congrats to your brother. Good to see the justice system worked in this case. :thumbsup:

Teehee. I had to! It is "There".


Also, congrats to you and your family. That definitely is a huge win. I'm glad to see your brother and family are fine again.

 

[Patt]

Good news on your front ... glad to hear that justice was served.

 

[Raduque]

Originally posted by: dlock13

Originally posted by: Cdubneeddeal

Originally posted by: jonmcc33
Good verdict. Now tell your brother to stay away from idiots in the future.

His brother was minding his own business when he was attacked. If you're statement is true, then everyone in the world would have to stay in their homes 24/7. They're idiots everywhere.

Congrats to your brother. Good to see the justice system worked in this case. :thumbsup:

Teehee. I had to! It is "There".


Also, congrats to you and your family. That definitely is a huge win. I'm glad to see your brother and family are fine again.

Think for a second, and it works both ways.

 

[Gunslinger08]

Congrats to your brother and your family. Good to see that at least 12 people think we're allowed to defend ourselves.

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

Originally posted by: dlock13

Originally posted by: Cdubneeddeal

Originally posted by: jonmcc33
Good verdict. Now tell your brother to stay away from idiots in the future.

His brother was minding his own business when he was attacked. If you're statement is true, then everyone in the world would have to stay in their homes 24/7. They're idiots everywhere.

Congrats to your brother. Good to see the justice system worked in this case. :thumbsup:

Teehee. I had to! It is "There".


Also, congrats to you and your family. That definitely is a huge win. I'm glad to see your brother and family are fine again.

Tsk tsk..it's "They're" not "There". "They are" Silly rabbit..

 

[dmcowen674]

Good to hear good news on the justice front especially from an ATers family. :thumbsup:

 

[jonmcc33]

Originally posted by: Cdubneeddeal

Originally posted by: jonmcc33
Good verdict. Now tell your brother to stay away from idiots in the future.

His brother was minding his own business when he was attacked. If you're statement is true, then everyone in the world would have to stay in their homes 24/7. They're idiots everywhere.

Congrats to your brother. Good to see the justice system worked in this case. :thumbsup:

I can usually run away from someone that's drunk off their ass. Can you? It's called identifying a bad situation and avoiding it.

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

Originally posted by: jonmcc33

Originally posted by: Cdubneeddeal

Originally posted by: jonmcc33
Good verdict. Now tell your brother to stay away from idiots in the future.

His brother was minding his own business when he was attacked. If you're statement is true, then everyone in the world would have to stay in their homes 24/7. They're idiots everywhere.

Congrats to your brother. Good to see the justice system worked in this case. :thumbsup:

I can usually run away from someone that's drunk off their ass. Can you? It's called identifying a bad situation and avoiding it.

Alright. Whatever you say. Bad situations happen all the time and you can't necessarily avoid them all. Shit happens and we all know it. You can't always run from it and I believe his brother had all of his jewelry and equipment on him. Was he supposed to drop what provides him a living and run? Put yourself in his shoes.