Thursday, May 20, 2010

Vermont Manslaughter Trial

Google reports on the manslaughter trial in Vermont.

John Reiss, English Professor Emeritus was sitting down to eat dinner in his suburban Essex home when a rifle bullet tore through a window and hit him in the chest, killing him on the spot.

Police didn't have to look far to figure out what had happened. At the house next door, four men were taking target practice with rifles and a shotgun in a backyard shooting range, the sound of gunfire still heard by police arriving at Reiss' home in response to a frantic 911 call from his wife.

Because the four had been taking turns shooting the weapons, prosecutors concede they don't know who fired the fatal shot.

But they charged two of the men with involuntary manslaughter, and the trial got under way Tuesday for one of them — Joseph McCarthy, a 40-year-old tool operator at IBM who had set up the shooting range in his backyard, about 750 feet from Reiss' house.

Prosecutors say McCarthy, who had passed a hunter safety course 10 days before, should have known the risk posed by the shooting party and should be held criminally liable for Reiss' death. If convicted, he could get 15 years in prison.

Isn't it possible to blame this accident on the lax gun attitudes in Vermont? And by extension, wouldn't it be possible to blame all gun rights supporters who tout Vermont as the paragon of gun-totin' liberty?

I say yes. And you're only defense is a shabby one, that it happens infrequently enough that it's worth it.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

17 comments:

  1. Stupid people live in all 50 states. "Gun attitudes" are irrelevant.

    There is no difference between these idiots and the ones that shoot into the air every night in The Brady paradise of Chicago.

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  2. Bet it was an NRA hunter safety course.

    --JadeGold

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  4. Jade,

    Why did you jump topics again for a chance to blast the NRA without at least calling someone a racist or making a dick joke?

    RuffRidr,

    Do you really expect anything resembling anything remotely honest from Jade? If he takes the bet, which I doubt he will, and loses, he will not leave. He'll just call you a name and say it didn't count.

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  5. It was an NRA hunter safety course.

    Agenda:
    1. Fill out name on NRA Hunter Safety Course certificate.
    2. Pay course fee.
    3. Listen to NRA instructor explain benefits of NRA membership.
    4. Take home NRA Hunter Safety Course certificate.

    --JadeGold

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  7. MikeB: “And by extension, wouldn't it be possible to blame all gun rights supporters who tout Vermont as the paragon of gun-totin' liberty?”

    I don’t see you accepting responsibility for DC and Chicago’s failures. I always see you blaming neighboring states.

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  8. The fact remains it was an NRA Hunter Safety Course.

    Of course, this basically means the guys paid a fee to the NRA and got a cheap certificate.

    Then off to drink beer and shoot!

    Like all NRA safety courses.

    --JadeGold

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  9. The funny thing about facts is that they are easily provable.

    Like the fact this was an NRA Hunter Safety Course.

    --JadeGold

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  10. Notice won't take RuffRidr's wager

    I've been down this path with gunloon's before: we wager, gunloon reneges.

    Fact remains another NRA Hunter Safety Course grad manages to scrw up..again.

    --JadeGold

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  11. Jadegold: “I've been down this path with gunloon's before: we wager, gunloon reneges.”

    So let’s watch him renege then. Five times now you’ve said it was an NRA course without saying how you know that. How hard would it be to include your evidence?

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  12. "How hard would it be to include your evidence?"

    Very hard since he made his shit up as usual.

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  13. Hey guys, why can't we all just get along?

    In case you haven't noticed, "making shit up" is not a major crime around here. Often it can be done to make a point. There's no need to get all upset about it, especially challenging people to leave the blog forever. Remember what Rodney said. C'mon.

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  15. C'mon, RuffRidr. I don't want to ban anyone, except maybe Mike W. I am thinking about that.

    Can we try this, though? If someone says something we don't like or agree with, let's just point it out without turning it into a life or death struggle.

    You know me, I say a lot of things that I have no proof or backup for, they're often just things I think. Sometimes they're sarcastic exaggerations to make a point. There's nothing wrong with that.

    But when this kind of thing is met with accusations of being a "lying chickenshit," it turns into something else. C'mon man, lighten up a bit, will ya?

    I know you think, and it's been said before, that I favor JadeGold. Well, to a point that's true, he does belong to the same side of the argument as I do after all, but there have been a few of his comments that have disappeared at my hand. I don't know if you noticed, but I really don't encourage name calling and nastiness from anyone.

    About the name calling, I don't think gunloon or gun nut is so bad, although I generally don't use them myself. I do feel that "liar" is offensive. I try to avoid that one too, although there have been exceptions to all this, I admit.

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  17. That sounds fair enough. No more flinging insults.

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