Sunday, September 28, 2008

Joe Cool Murder Trial - Miami

The Miami Herald reports on the dramatic murder trial which is coming to a conclusion perhaps as soon as Monday. On trial is Guillermo Zarabozo, a 20-year-old Hialeah security guard. He faces life in prison if convicted of four counts of first-degree murder, kidnapping and robbery. The defense claims that he was duped by the trigger man, Kirby Archer, who used Zarabozo's gun to kill the four victims.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Gilbert scoffed at Zarabozo's claims that he didn't know the violence was about to take place when the men boarded the vessel out of Miami last September. Zarabozo blamed 36-year-old Kirby Archer for the crimes, contending he was in the boat's bathroom when the four victims were shot.

Zarabozo attorney Michael Caruso said Archer, who had been an Army military policeman, posed as a high-level security official and claimed links to the CIA. He was introduced to Zarabozo, who dreamed of joining the police or military, and told him about an exciting job in the Bahamas.

Giving young Zarabozo the benefit of the doubt, my question is what did he carry the gun on board for anyway? And, once having carried it on board for a trip to Bimini in the Bahamas, should he be held responsible for having failed to exercise proper custody of the weapon? How grave is that? Let's say someone takes possession of a legally owned weapon and uses it to commit murder, is the gun owner culpable?

It seems the jury is leaning towards believing Zarabozo's story. The presented they judge with a written question, which is their right during deliberations.

If the defendant brought a gun on board the Joe Cool without knowing a crime would be committed, did that automatically make him a participant and also guilty?

3 comments:

  1. "Let's say someone takes possession of a legally owned weapon and uses it to commit murder, is the gun owner culpable?"

    Depends a LOT on the circumstances of the transfer. I've held other people's guns for various reasons (watching it...trying it to see if I'll be interested in buying it, doing some repair work on it ect) If durring those transfers I committed a crime, I would say the owners should never be held culpable, as they transfered the weapon for a legal and different reason. Now if the gun is stolen, or handed over voulentarily in a legally gray situation, then both parties have some responcibility.

    A ferry traveling to another nation is not the place to for a gun to leave its carrying case or holster (I won't even get into the legality of the gun in the first place...let's just say the guy who brought the gun in the first place likely committed a felony, possibly in TWO nations even BEFORE the murder was committed)

    This case sounds dirty!

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  2. If the defendant brought a gun on board the Joe Cool without knowing a crime would be committed, did that automatically make him a participant and also guilty?

    of course not, that's ridiculous. if a burglar breaks into my house in the night, without waking me; takes my kitchen knife out of the drawer, and stabs me to death with it --- i have certainly not committed suicide.

    now, as weerd hinted at, there might be further circumstances that might to some extent make the defendant culpable for something, if not murder. for instance, if he knew or reasonably should have known that someone else aboard was likely to commit such a crime of violence, yet failed to control the weapon and negligently allowed it to come into the gunman's possession, that would possibly be negligent manslaughter. but merely bringing the gun aboard would not make him automatically guilty, and certainly not of murder.

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  3. I aglararte mind before you continue talking nonsense and things not true, the not had any problems in any country and had no personal history swim in, only because he had the gun does not mean it is a criminal and that he knew what was going to happen, if here are many dark spots and they give me much to think guillermo but not the same if not dead, for that by a woman in the boat if it had to be there and he who first said killed truth and then ate it, to me is not colpable of those killed and that the family will forgive me a lot but who does not have to pay because not killed anyone does not have to be in jail.

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