Wafer / McBride Verdict Of Guilty

I was wrong on the mistrial prediction and should have stuck with my original prediction that he was toast based on his statement that he had fired the shotgun accidentally.

He's been found guilty of second degree murder/manslaughter and weapon offenses.

Between that statement and opening the door, he certainly opened himself up regarding his claim of self-defense.

Neither the jury nor individual jurors so far have made any comments about the case, and it would be interesting to hear their thoughts on the matter.

The defense has a lot to appeal on the case, and there's still plenty of questions that have not been answered.

The big take-away from the case is that self-defense is never an accident and that opening a door to the outside of your home is generally not a good idea unless you explain you were trying to escape through it, which didn't happen in this case.

Interesting Things In The Wafer / McBride Porch Shooting Case

At this point, I'm suspecting a hung jury in the Wafer trial.

However, that doesn't change the multiple interesting things that have occurred during the trial, including one of the prosecutors sweeping both the defense table and the jury with the shotgun, whether as a calculated act of theater or sheer incompetence.

One issue was the judge allowing the prosecution to use in their closing the argument that Renisha McBride was looking for help or just "trying to get home" that night.

There was no evidence introduced at trial that showed, even circumstantially, that she was either seeking help or trying to get home, but the judge allowed this in anyways.

One of the most curious is the sudden amendment of one of the Michigan Criminal Jury Instructions regarding the presumption for self defense Rule 7.16a, which was amended on Monday August 4, apparently on an emergency basis without comment just in time to change the jury instructions in this trial.

It changes an "or" that was very favorable for the defense into an "and" that makes it far less so.

A sheer coincidence on the timing of the change, I'm sure.

More On The McBride Porch Shooting Case

So far testimony is showing the officers really failed to collect evidence at the scene and failed to safeguard it from contamination, not to mention some evidence went missing, some went unchecked for days and some was only turned over to the defense during the trial. In short there's plenty for the defense to appeal should this case go south.

The Detroit Free Press: Prosecution rests in Wafer trial, defense calls expert forensic pathologist

Curiously the prosecution is trying to keep plenty of evidence out, including the entirety of Mr. Wafer's statement to the police. They're only using a portion when he stated right after the incident that the shotgun went off accidentally, but there's a lot more that should be coming in. The judge denied the defense's oral motion regarding completeness for the whole statement to come in.

The accidental statement, coming shortly after the shooting while he was still shaken up is explainable as a distancing statement after the shooting. After all he was stuck in the back of a squad car for over an hour seeing her body after the shooting which will likely account for the "accident" statement. There's more in his full statement to the police that explains what happens and makes it look like a good self-defense case.

As always, Andrew Branca at Legal Insurrection is doing a nice job of covering the case.

At this point I'd say 2nd degree murder is not going to happen but there's still a chance for manslaughter. There's plenty of questions about that night, namely where McBride was for the three hour gap and if anyone was with here during the pounding on Wafer's house that are very much unanswered.

McBride Case Gets A Little Stranger

Over At Legal insurrection, Andrew Branca has an interesting revelation about the Renisha McBride shooting case.

One of the most interesting things that came out of the preliminary exam is that the police put the screen door back into place before photographing it.

After reading Mr. Branca's article you'll note that putting the screen back up makes for a ridiculous and unwieldy shooting angle.

As such, it is likely that Ms. McBride may have already broken the screen trying to get into the house before she was shot.

As such there may be somewhat of a tenuous self-defense claim here, as well explained by Mr. Branca if his scenario is correct, but it seems that the statement that it was an accidental shooting is probably going to get the shooter a manslaughter conviction.

Renisha McBride Case: Charges Are Going Forward.

Arraignment is set for this afternoon and charges are going forward.

Unfortunately, the live feed is so messed up I could not hear what the charges actually were, but Worthy stated that she believes he did not act in lawful self-defense.

Thanks to the Detroit News it appears the charge is Second Degree murder, manslaugher and possesison of a firarm in a felony.

Homeowner Theodore Wafer, 54, faces arraignment Friday afternoon in the charges, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced.

At least some information was understandable during the feed and worthy stated that the shot was through an open front door but a closed screen door, and she confirmed McBride was intoxicated.

The media also asked some really stupid questions regarding the "Stand Your Ground Law" and a howler asking Worthy if she could confirm if McBride was wearing a hoodie - nice job trying to taint that jury pool there guys.

Charges To Be Announced in Renisha McBride Case, Tox Report Shows She Was Very Intoxicated

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy at a news conference set for today at 11 am will be announcing charges against the homeowner who shot Renisha McBride.

The Detroit Free Press has a live feed setup.

In other developments, it turns out (unsurprisingly) that the 19-year old Rensiha McBride was very, very intoxicated that night - .218% BAC and with marijuana in her system. Yes, that's not .021 but .21. This likely explains the car accident and perhaps the rest of her inexplicable behavior that night.

Witnesses also state she was speeding when she struck the parked car, and as we know, she left the scene, passed by numerous public establishments where she could have gone for help, and three hours later shows up on this guy's front door step.

We don't know what happened there.

Given the racially charged nature of the case, expect at least a manslaughter charge, especially if, as the Detroit Free Press keeps stating, the man did say he fired his shotgun accidentally.

McBride Case Turns Yet Again. - Detroit News Reports Shooting As Self-Defense, Not Accidental?

Interestingly, unlike the Detroit Free Press, the Detroit News is reporting that the home owner that shot McBride is claiming self-defense as opposed to an accidental shooting, and that it was the homeowner that called 911 after the shooting.

The Detroit News: Audio: Dispatcher details McBride shooting call

The shooting of McBride, an African-American woman, by the white homeowner, who claimed through his attorney that he fired his shotgun because he feared for his life, has ignited a national firestorm about Michigan’s version of the “Stand Your Ground” law. The man is not in police custody, and prosecutors are investigating whether to bring charges.

If it was accidental then it's not self-defense so either the Free Press or the News has it wrong.

Since there's no duty to retreat from your home, the whole "Stand Your Ground Law Is To Blame" canard doesn't apply. But hey, there's an agenda that's being pushed, facts be damned.

The media seems to be doing their best to misreport or distort the facts in this case nicely, or they just have no idea what the facts are and are reporting rumor as fact.  You'd think the two major papers in Detroit, owned by the same parent company, could at least report the basic facts consistently.

The Renisha McBride Incident: Curiouser and Curiouser

More facts are slowly coming out in the death of Renisha McBride, and the reported facts are raising even more questions about what may have happened that night.

It turns out the auto accident she was in was that she struck a parked vehicle in Detroit around 1 am.

The shooting then took place 6 blocks away from the accident scene and more than 2 hours later at 3:40 am in Dearborn Heights.

Dearborn Heights police have stated the shooting was not racially motivated, and the claim that the shotgun was fired accidentally hasn't been retracted yet. Further in contrast to her family's claim that she was shot in the back of the head, she was shot in the face.

In other strangeness, while the police call was assigned a low priority of a no injury accident, police didn't show up for 40 minutes until there was a second call when somebody saw that she was bleeding and called 911, after she had already left the scene and then returned.

She then disappears from the scene before the police get there and finally shows up six blocks away two hours later banging on this guy's front door.

According to the Detroit Free Press someone claimed that at the scene she seemed confused and stated she wanted to go home.

As usual, the facts are fragmented, information so far released is biased and full of rumor and exaggeration.  So far many facts are now not what people originally claimed they were and I'm sure we'll see more information develop and we'll likely be surprised at what comes up.

Did he pull a Biden and shoot his shotgun through the door? We don't know yet.

Was she alone or did she have some friends with her when she tried to get in the door? We don't know yet.   No toxicology report on her has been released at this point nor do we know if one was ordered.

If this claim that the shotgun was fired accidentally proves to be a true statement, and again, that's not confirmed then, without anything more, expect at least a manslaughter charge from the Wayne County Prosecutor.

Meanwhile, the usual suspects are still whipping up the racial angle, and there's no proof at all of any racial bias or "profiling" as they claim to have occurred here.

Shooting of Black Girl In Dearborn Not A Trayvon Martin Repeat

So far the circumstances are confused, but the death of 19-year-old Renisha McBride is not a Trayvon Martin repeat even as the usual suspects wish to make it so.  However, we again get the racial perfect storm as the dead 19-year old is black and the shooter is white.

The Detroit Free Press: Renisha McBride funeral mourns 'tragedy that didn't have to happen'; shooter 'torn up'

 Apparently, Ms. McBride, who totalled two prior cars, was in an auto accident and went to the homeowners house allegedly for help according to her family. The homeowner thought his house was being broken into, and she got shot in the face at or in the doorway at 3:30-4:00 in the morning.

No other facts are out yet and this whole things seems far more tragedy than Trayvon.

Also, it's looking like this will be a manslaughter case and the defense won't be able to raise self-defense as a defense.  Why is that you ask?

Because according to police the homeowner stated that he fired his shotgun accidentally:

Police said the man, who has not been named, told investigators he accidentally discharged his 12-gauge shotgun.

If he made that statement, then he's toast in Michigan at least as far as self-defense goes.  Self-defense is an affirmative defense, i.e. you did it on purpose.  Stating it was an accidental shooting removes that defense.

It is likely more facts will emerge and we'll find out more about what actually happened that night.

The usual suspects of Al Sharpton and John Conyers et. al.,  however, aren't waiting but comparing this to the Trayvon Martin case and claiming stand your ground laws precipitated the incident.

Conyers said today: “The shooting death of Renisha McBride has left the Detroit area hurt and asking many questions about how an unarmed 19-year-old young woman, reportedly seeking assistance in the middle of the night, could so tragically lose her life.

“There has been discussion about the impact of Michigan’s controversial “stand your ground” laws and whether they contributed to this incident. I have long opposed laws of this nature. I am confident that Wayne County prosecutors and law enforcement will conduct a thorough investigation to ensure that justice is served for Renisha’s family.”

Look, stand your ground laws aren't involved here Conyers, you twit.  So far you're the only one having a "discussion" about them under the circumstances.  He's in his home and still wouldn't have to retreat even if there was no Michigan "stand your ground" law.

The Michigan "No Need To Retreat If You're In A Place You're Legally Allowed To Be While Doing Only Legal Things And Not Acting As The Aggressor" (The more proper name for our "Stand Your Ground" law) does not and cannot apply. Quit grandstanding and dancing in the blood of what is looking like a tragic confused and mistaken situation. Idiot.

 If it turns out this was an accidental shooting, or should that accident statement prove to be false, then if he was not reasonable in his belief that his home was being invaded, again the no retreat law will still not provide any protection whatsoever.

You will note however that none of the other multiple fatal  shootings of black people that occurred in Detroit over the very same week was protested by Conyers, or Sharpton.  Funny that.