News

Man Faces 30-Year Sentence in the Self-Defense Case Everyone Ignored Last Week

Opposition to the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict—which saw a jury accept the teen’s self-defense claim after he shot two men and wounded another during a night of civil unrest—primarily splintered along two lines. The jury was allegedly wrong in one case. Even if it was wrong, the jury could have gotten it right in the second. Technically You are correct, new laws must be passed to stop such a verdict ever being made again.

This is largely due to a good-intentioned effort to reduce racial disparities within the judiciary system. Another Florida verdict, delivered the same day Rittenhouse’s was, shows that punitive actions would be detrimental to those who are already facing disproportionately adverse outcomes.

Andrew Coffee IV was arrested for the attempted murder of an officer in law enforcement and the felony murder Alteria Woods, Coffee’s girlfriend. Woods was shot 10 times by Indian River County Sheriff’s Office officers during an attempted murder of a law enforcement officer and the felony murder of Coffee’s girlfriend, Alteria Woods. The raid on Coffee’s father’s drug stash in 2017 saw them target Coffee’s father. According to the younger Coffee, he opened fire upon deputies after they broke into his bedroom that night. Woods was killed by deputies who fired back.

The felony murder rule allows the government to charge someone for killing someone they didn’t kill, if the incident is somehow related to another tangential offense. Coffee would have tried to defend his self that night, and the government claimed the officers wouldn’t have fired at him in return. Coffee is therefore presumed guilty of killing his partner.

Coffee was cleared by the jury. Coffee said, “I was trying protect Alteria’s life and I thought that I was doing this.” However, he added, “But I don’t feel like I protected her.” I can’t sleep with that….They killed her.”

Coffee’s case was far worse than Rittenhouse’s. State agents broke into Coffee’s room and killed his girlfriend. They then tried to put him in jail. Coffee faces the same fate as Rittenhouse, but he is free to go. 30 Years in prison, because the jury found him guilty of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon—a firearm he used in self-defense when officers burst into his home for a drug raid that had nothing to do with him.

In a statement, Assistant State Attorney Chris Taylor stated that the state would seek maximum thirty years for him.

The court tossed Rittenhouse’s weapons case after it was clear that the prosecution misunderstood the statute. Despite this, falsehoods and misunderstandingsWhile there are still many questions about this development, it is legal in Wisconsin for 17-year olds to possess a firearm as long it isn’t short-barreled. Choruses for harsher lawsIronically came from liberalsThey would be advocates for reform in criminal justice.

However, the unfairness of our punitive system does not justify making it more severe. Un system which seeks fairness through punishing all Continue readingHe is seeking the wrong type of equality. Coffee’s case shows that even more strict laws and harsher punishments can backfire on defendants they might find more sympathetic.