TexasCHLforum.com

austin wrote:It would be interesting if any of our Houston area members could try to contact the shooter to get his testimony of the event now that the case has been resolved.

If I were this guy, I would never say a word about the case.

Being no-billed is not like being found not guilty. The prosecutors can reopen the case if new evidence emerges.

If you search for the man's name, you can see awful things written about him on numerous sites.

- Jim

Lucky45 wrote:

seamusTX wrote:As for civil suits by the decedant's survivors, I somehow doubt a guy who rides the bus has a lot of assets, especially after paying the defense attorney.

I see your point, but I don't think a monetary judgment in a civil suit case would help him out in his financial future.

An attorney who works on contingency has no reason to take a case against a defendant with no assets.

There's a chance that the defendant might win the lottery some day, but it's generally not worth the trouble.

- Jim

Liberty wrote:Could it be one of the witnesses when talking to the press was a little confused about who really had the knife?

It's very possible.

I posted in a similar discussion in tx.guns, psychologists have performed experiments where a crime is staged in front of a group of people who are not expecting it. Witness reports from these things vary widely. Sometimes people incorrectly identify the aggressor and the victim. Sometimes they say that weapons were present, when they weren't.

I have personally talked to people who have been involved in incidents like fights. They sometimes sound like this: "The guy called him a @#$%. And then the guy hit him. And then he hit him back. And then he fell down and kicked him."

You can't figure out from this kind of talk who did what to whom, especially when both parties were strangers to witnesses who were not expecting anything to happen.

- Jim

Lucky45 wrote:First, as has been suggested earlier, there is nobody walking around with a neon sign listing their criminal history. So therefore, any encounter where your handgun might be involved, should be thought out clearly and you should be ready to accept the consequences. For some to suggest the decedent was a bully and the shooter acted correct, you are basically condoning a serious problem for someone else in the future. Because the next similar shooting where the decedent does not have a questionable character, then will we have the same outcome?? The only difference would be knowledge of a person's character AFTER THE FACT/ SHOOTING.

I am not a lawyer and don't know the rules of evidence for grand juries.

This case was heard in Harris County, home of hang-em-high DA Charles Rosenthal. Nevertheless, the DA presented evidence of the decedant's record to the grand jury. (AFAIK, only the DA can present evidence to the grand jury.)

You are right that the defendant could not have known the criminal history of the decedant, but ...

If you have a diploma from the school of hard knocks, you can tell the difference between a blowhard who says, "I'm going to kill you," and someone who actually is going to try in the next few seconds.

If the defendant said that he perceived that the decedant was about to kill him, and the decedant had a history of violent assaults, isn't that evidence that the perception may have been accurate? (This is mostly hypothetical, since we don't know everything the grand jury heard.)

I don't think you can find many people past their teen years, who attack someone unjustly, and don't have a history of violent crime. That kind of thing starts early.

As for civil suits by the decedant's survivors, I somehow doubt a guy who rides the bus has a lot of assets, especially after paying the defense attorney.

P.S.: I wrote this while Charles was posting his reply.

- Jim

NcongruNt wrote:Yeah. How would one get a hold of a transcript of the hearing? I'm sure it would make an interesting read.

Grand jury procedings are secret. I'm pretty sure only the jurors, DA, and witnesses know what was said.

AG-EE wrote:Maybe this should be a lesson for some of us that we should not call people crazy and stupid based on what the newspaper article reports in a situation like this.

Amen to that. I had some thoughts that I am glad I kept to myself.

- Jim

There are a couple of strange items in this data:

UNL CARRY HANDGUN LIC HOLDER..............................Total: 16 CHL: 14
UNL CARRY HANDGUN LIC HOLDER ALCH PREM/CORR Total: 1 CHL: 0

I guess they're referring to PC §46.035 here. How can someone who is not a license holder be charged under this statute?

UNL CARRY WEAPON/WEAPONS FREE ZONE...............Total: 6 CHL: 0

I guess this refers to schools. It seems to indicate that no CHL holder has been caught in a school or at a school-sponsored function.

UNL CARRYING WEAPON ...........................................Total: 2,922 CHL: 27

If this refers to PC §46.02, were people caught with knives and clubs?

- Jim