Sunday School Teacher Gunned Down

[mrjarrell]

The jury let him off easy and voted for manslaughter, rather than murder. And the judge may have the option of declaring a mistrial.

Mistrial possible in ex-officer’s conviction - The News Desk

 

[daddymikey1975]

The attorney for Daniel Harmon–Wright asked for the mistrial after court officials discovered two dictionaries and a thesaurus in the jury room

Why would this make it a mistrial ?

 

[Black Cloud]

Daniel Harmon-Wright guilty of voluntary manslaughter - Star Exponent: Culpeper Star Exponent

 

[cmstuard]

Somethings off...almost like they knew each other. Explains her ignoring him.

 

[HoughMade]

Why would this make it a mistrial ?

The jury must use only the instruction on the law given by the judge. When the jury looks up definitions of legal terms in outside sources, it is possible that they were using definitions which were not the proper legal definitions.

Sometimes this causes a mistrial, sometimes not. It depends greatly on how close the dictionary was to the correct definition and whether the dictionary definitions played into the ultimate decision.

There are specific instructions about not consulting outside sources. I hope the judge made the jury feel stupid, which it was, for doing this.

 

[EvilBlackGun]

"Premeditated" at that:

"He stepped out into the road and fired 5 more shots." He needs to be tied to a Jeep and taught how to keep up at 55 MPH. Any volunteers?

Unbelievable. I don't really see any way in which the officer is not to be found guilty of murder.

Like others have said, how could his arm get stuck in a manually cranking window?

 

[EvilBlackGun]

Can GOOGLE find .....

.... his residence for us? What will be his sentence if not a mistrial? Hope he'll be in normal cell-block. Was it revealed which shot(s) killed her?

 

[Glocker 400]

Can GOOGLE find.... his residence for us?

Why?

 

[JettaKnight]

I hate to cop bash, but, this is a reason I should be allowed to disarm the officer for my safety during a traffic stop.

 

[JettaKnight]

The defense tried to throw it out for having a dictionary?

Judge Susan Whitlock questioned each juror individually this afternoon. They told her the only words they looked up were malicious and malice. They said the jury forewoman brought the dictionary in because the jurors didn’t understand the judge’s instructions on those terms.

Who are these people that served on this jury?

EDIT: mrjarrell - thanks for posting the result of this.

 

[mrjarrell]

Well, they've finally sentenced him. He got off light on the sentence, as he did on the charges. Thirty six months in jail for murdering a woman. What a sad state of affairs.

Former Culpeper Officer Receives Sentence for Manslaughter

 

[PX4me]

This is a perfect example of why the "justice" system is f*****g joke. And LEO's wonder why they get bashed.

If it were my mother, wife or sister that he killed, that would be 36 months to prepare my own punishment upon his release. I would be looking forward to it.

 

[mrortega]

The jury must use only the instruction on the law given by the judge. When the jury looks up definitions of legal terms in outside sources, it is possible that they were using definitions which were not the proper legal definitions.

Sometimes this causes a mistrial, sometimes not. It depends greatly on how close the dictionary was to the correct definition and whether the dictionary definitions played into the ultimate decision.

There are specific instructions about not consulting outside sources. I hope the judge made the jury feel stupid, which it was, for doing this.

+1 on the possibility of a mistrial. I was on the jury of a nasty case against a guy for sexual deviate conduct and sexual assault against a young woman. We asked for clarification on the meaning of a word and the judge pulled out a Webster's dictionary and read the definition from the bench. Our conviction was overturned on appeal and a new trial ordered because the judge did that. The appellate court ruled that he should have only reread the instructions given to us when we were charged at the end of all the testimony.

That was very disheartening. Our deliberation was so gut wrenching that after we convicted him I almost got physically sick. Then it was thrown out!

 

[JettaKnight]

Well, they've finally sentenced him. He got off light on the sentence, as he did on the charges. Thirty six months in jail for murdering a woman. What a sad state of affairs.

Former Culpeper Officer Receives Sentence for Manslaughter

Thanks for the update. At least he's guilty and his LEO career is over.

 

[Denny347]

This is a perfect example of why the "justice" system is f*****g joke. And LEO's wonder why they get bashed.

If it were my mother, wife or sister that he killed, that would be 36 months to prepare my own punishment upon his release. I would be looking forward to it.

Why would I get bashed? I didn't assist him and I don't control the courts.

 

[WC Deer Hunter]

Why would I get bashed? I didn't assist him and I don't control the courts.

See you don't even understand how it works!

 

[dusterboy49]

Someone needs to ask the judge in this case why he gave him such a light sentence.
There's something wrong with that in my opinion!

 

[Mark 1911]

That is a very sad excuse for "justice". That guy is a murderer and should spend the rest of his life behind bars. I just hope he never dons a uniform again. That would be salt in the wounds for the victims family.

 

[Frank_N_Stein]

Why would I get bashed? I didn't assist him and I don't control the courts.

****bag by association. Duh.

 

[rambone]

The murderer will not even see the inside of a prison. Just jail. That's the penalty for shooting a Sunday-school teacher in the face.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwNmc80wKSc


And then there's this.

Culpeper Cop Who Shot and Killed Patricia Cook Sentenced

Soon after Harmon-Wright was arrested, it was revealed that he had a tarnished military record, a drinking problem, and a history of harassing Culpeper residents. The first two problems nearly kept him from getting the job, and no one at the Culpeper Police Department will say why they didn't.