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1 Punch Death, 3 Months In Prison
- Thread starter Rick Roma
- Start date
No, it didn't.
If you have something to say, then say it. If you think my post was inconsistent, then point out where it was inconsistent.
Seems like it fits based on what I've seen and read. I base this off of the thinking that if the guy he punched had lived but had been hospitalized and severely injured, I still think three months in jail would fit. The punishment is for punching someone without a justifiable provocation. He claims the guy was making him feel threatened but can't state exactly what this guy said to make him feel this way. My money is on this much smaller guy being a raging a-hole who wouldn't leave him alone. There are other ways to deal with that in a Vegas casino. Lots of security. A word to a dealer or pit boss that the guy is ruining your night could be enough to have him removed from your area. Nope. Coach jumped straight to punching the guy. I wouldn't pin death on him as murder in this case though. Clearly, there are very few of us who entertain the thought that we can kill a grown man with a single jab.
i'm at work so i can't post, but look up Jaime Foxx - Club Punch ![[laugh]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/012.gif "Laugh [laugh]")
jaime fox club punch - Google Search=
all joking aside, I found myself in the same situation 10+ years ago. a couple-few of townies were poking the bears (us, fresh of a 6 month deployment, lean, mean and trying to have a good time)...
it was all fun and games until it escalated to epic proportion. we mopped the parking lot with their asses.![[devil2]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/017.gif "Devil2 [devil2]")
we were long gone before anyone realized what happened.
jaime fox club punch - Google Search=
all joking aside, I found myself in the same situation 10+ years ago. a couple-few of townies were poking the bears (us, fresh of a 6 month deployment, lean, mean and trying to have a good time)...
it was all fun and games until it escalated to epic proportion. we mopped the parking lot with their asses.
we were long gone before anyone realized what happened.
I am not disagreeing with you and saying I would act the same way. However, to wait to be punched in the face if you believe someone is going to punch you is foolish.
I saw an incident similar to this happen in college. At a bar a kid gets into it with a drunk townie, townie decks the kid, causing him to fall back and crack his head. Dead. Really sad story, as the kid was a stand up dude and the townie was, well, not.
I'm not sure how "uncommon" this is, but it's certainly a case of the planets aligning I think. Really, what are the odds?
I'm not sure how "uncommon" this is, but it's certainly a case of the planets aligning I think. Really, what are the odds?
If you strike the first blow you are in greater legal danger.
If I thought someone was going to try to punch me, I would be backing up, be in an interview stance, and have my hands up, palms out, ready to block the punch but also non-threatening. I would not be the one escalating the situation.
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Enjoy your stay in jail.
SteelShooter
NES Member
Better than the morgue, at least I'll get out of one.
Totally Agree, Some people don't have the level of training as others, and I am trying to look at this as a Juror. It already happened. Not as a "what would I do differently" situation. But the truth of this is, nobody will know what happened and what was said in the bathroom.
The guy started a problem and has to not live with it. The guy should have walked IMO.
Who cares if it was a sucker punch? This wasn't an honor fight, it was a "get the **** away from me you crazy bastard" punch.... in which case, a sucker punch is probably the best way to come out on top.
Who cares if it was a sucker punch? This wasn't an honor fight, it was a "get the **** away from me you crazy bastard" punch.... in which case, a sucker punch is probably the best way to come out on top.
The guy who lived acused the deceased of "starting it". Doesn't mean it didn't happen that way but you're counting on his honor and recollection of the event rather than factual evidence to support your position.
You can't legally punch people who are bothering you, saying nasty things, and won't get away from you. If someone starts physically attacking you, then you can use force to defend yourself. But in this case, the deceased didn't physically attack Hawkins. Hawkins threw the first punch.
If some idiot says something stupid to you in a bar and you punch him in response, the police, DA, and judge aren't going to be impressed when you say "he started it."
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Looks like manslaughter to me, obviously we don't know much. If it was a white guy shooting a black guy in sd instead of walking away wonder how much time he'd get.
Sorry, This is incorrect.
If you believe someone is about to cause serous harm you don't have to wait for them to do so. I understand the case is much cleaner if you wait for them to throw the punch first. But if BG was the Mike Tyson would you wait for the him to punch first?
+1. I agree with Mike but cant articulate it very well. If you believe you have to wait to be attacked then you better not ever pull a gun and use it unless the other guy shot at you FIRST. This is the sort of victim thinking that makes the liberals smile.
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Threat is a fuzzy word that fits here. If you believe you are threatened, its time to react. What constitutes a threat will vary on a ton of different factors. The case in question, for example, would likely have been different if the deceased were following and taunting the defendant on a dark street. In that case, without security guards, cameras, and a large crowd I would believe a threat has a lower threshold to clear. If the deceased had three big guys with him who were clearly with him on his sentiment, I'd also think the threat would be easier to understand.
You are the only one who can accurately gauge a threat on your person, you just better be able to convince a jury of your peers that your perception was appropriate.
Is there another video where the guy with his hands in his pockets came at him?
Oh nvm, I found it.
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Actually in MA see below quoted from the front page of the MA self defense jurors instructions.
"A person is allowed to act in self-defense. If there is any evidence of self defense present. The Commonwealth must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not act in self-defense. In other words, if you have a reasonable doubt whether or not the defendant acted in self-defense, your verdict must be not guilty."
While I'd love to believe that this would be true in practice, I think in reality you'd have to spend a lot of time debunking the prosecutions claims that you're a gun nut-loose cannon-martial artist-badass who ain't afraid of nuthin. If you're painted as a dude who can defend himself, the jury will immediately doubt your need to act in self defense in a case like this.
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If its not then the defendant is a moron. He never claimed to be physically assaulted.
What caught my attention in the video was his mentioning a pre-existing medical condition. This is something I have been thinking about a lot recently. Last year I blew out a disk in my neck on the only vertebrae that allows your head to turn right and left. It pinched a nerve paralyzing my right hand and required surgery .
Now I am left with a major weak point in my neck. Something as simple as a punch can kill me instantly. I couldn't get in to a fight if I wanted to. So I came to the decision that if someone makes a fist I draw my gun. Just because someone doesn't know they re threatening your life is no reason to not defend it. I'm certainly not going to let someone punch me first and just wait to see if I live before I defend myself.
If the guy had already touched him (legally considered assault) and then preceded to follow him making threats and racial remarks then, assuming his medical condition is legit, he had every reason to believe his life was in danger especially with the guy at his back. I'm sure he didn't think he was going to kill the guy by punching him in the face once. I don't blame him for what happened it was just a shitty outcome to a situation the dead guy created.
Murder requires intent. As far as sentencing goes you pretty much have to ignore the fact that the guy died and just sentence him based on what he would get for simple assault which would have been the standard charge for a fight. The other man's death was a "freak occurrence" not the intended outcome. If he had punched him then jumped on top and started pounding his head in to the ground then it would be a different story.
Just last year my kid brother (23 at the time) was jumped by two guys in their 30's in New Bedford. He had several witnesses at the trial including a local bar owner who testified that the 2 guys were thrown out of the bar for trying to start a fight. They then targeted someone they thought would be an easy target. My brother is only about 5'6" maybe 160lb. What they didn't know was that he was a Marine fresh out of training. About 20sec. in to the fight the 2 of them found themselves taking a nap on the street. A few days later my brother got a summons. When all was said and done he got 3 months in dartmouth house of corrections and lost any chance of EVER getting his LTC back in this state. Just because he defended himself...
Now I am left with a major weak point in my neck. Something as simple as a punch can kill me instantly. I couldn't get in to a fight if I wanted to. So I came to the decision that if someone makes a fist I draw my gun. Just because someone doesn't know they re threatening your life is no reason to not defend it. I'm certainly not going to let someone punch me first and just wait to see if I live before I defend myself.
If the guy had already touched him (legally considered assault) and then preceded to follow him making threats and racial remarks then, assuming his medical condition is legit, he had every reason to believe his life was in danger especially with the guy at his back. I'm sure he didn't think he was going to kill the guy by punching him in the face once. I don't blame him for what happened it was just a shitty outcome to a situation the dead guy created.
Murder requires intent. As far as sentencing goes you pretty much have to ignore the fact that the guy died and just sentence him based on what he would get for simple assault which would have been the standard charge for a fight. The other man's death was a "freak occurrence" not the intended outcome. If he had punched him then jumped on top and started pounding his head in to the ground then it would be a different story.
Just last year my kid brother (23 at the time) was jumped by two guys in their 30's in New Bedford. He had several witnesses at the trial including a local bar owner who testified that the 2 guys were thrown out of the bar for trying to start a fight. They then targeted someone they thought would be an easy target. My brother is only about 5'6" maybe 160lb. What they didn't know was that he was a Marine fresh out of training. About 20sec. in to the fight the 2 of them found themselves taking a nap on the street. A few days later my brother got a summons. When all was said and done he got 3 months in dartmouth house of corrections and lost any chance of EVER getting his LTC back in this state. Just because he defended himself...
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