White man kills 2 black men during robbery

Marc · 11-19-2007, 12:19 PM

Three young black men break into a white man's home in rural Northern California. The homeowner shoots two of them to death — but it's the surviving black man who is charged with murder.

In a case that has brought cries of racism from civil rights groups, Renato Hughes Jr., 22, was charged by prosecutors in this overwhelmingly white county under a rarely invoked legal doctrine that could make him responsible for the bloodshed.

"It was pandemonium" inside the house that night, District Attorney Jon Hopkins said. Hughes was responsible for "setting the whole thing in motion by his actions and the actions of his accomplices."

Prosecutors said homeowner Shannon Edmonds opened fire Dec. 7 after three young men rampaged through the Clearlake house demanding marijuana and brutally beat his stepson. Rashad Williams, 21, and Christian Foster, 22, were shot in the back. Hughes fled.

Hughes was charged with first-degree murder under California's Provocative Act doctrine, versions of which have been on the books in many states for generations but are rarely used.

The Provocative Act doctrine does not require prosecutors to prove the accused intended to kill. Instead, "they have to show that it was reasonably foreseeable that the criminal enterprise could trigger a fatal response from the homeowner," said Brian Getz, a San Francisco defense attorney unconnected to the case.

The NAACP complained that prosecutors came down too hard on Hughes, who also faces robbery, burglary and assault charges. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty.

The Rev. Amos Brown, head of the San Francisco chapter of the NAACP and pastor at Hughes' church, said the case demonstrates the legal system is racist in remote Lake County, aspiring wine country 100 miles north of San Francisco. The sparsely populated county of 13,000 people is 91 percent white and 2 percent black.

Brown and other NAACP officials are asking why the homeowner is walking free. Tests showed Edmonds had marijuana and prescription medication in his system the night of the shooting. Edmonds had a prescription for both the pot and the medication to treat depression.

"This man had no business killing these boys," Brown said. "They were shot in the back. They had fled."

On Thursday, a judge granted a defense motion for a change of venue. The defense had argued that he would not be able to get a fair trial because of extensive local media coverage and the unlikelihood that Hughes could get a jury of his peers in the county. A new location for the trial will be selected Dec. 14.

The district attorney said that race played no part in the charges against Hughes and that the homeowner was spared prosecution because of evidence he was defending himself and his family, who were asleep when the assailants barged in at 4 a.m.

Edmonds' stepson, Dale Lafferty, suffered brain damage from the baseball bat beating he took during the melee. The 19-year-old lives in a rehabilitation center and can no longer feed himself.

"I didn't do anything wrong. All I did was defend my family and my children's lives," said Edmonds, 33. "I'm sad the kids are dead, I didn't mean to kill them."

He added: "Race has nothing to do with it other than this was a gang of black people who thought they were going to beat up this white family."

California's Provocative Act doctrine has primarily been used to charge people whose actions led to shooting deaths.

However, in one notable case in Southern California in 1999, a man who robbed a family at gunpoint in their home was convicted of murder because a police officer pursuing him in a car chase slammed into another driver in an intersection, killing her.

Hughes' mother, San Francisco schoolteacher Judy Hughes, said she believes the group didn't intend to rob the family, just buy marijuana. She called the case against her son a "legal lynching."

"Only God knows what happened in that house," she said. "But this I know: My son did not murder his childhood friends."

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If anything is to be learned from this, it is that everyone should have a gun to protect themselves because black men will break into your house and try to steal your weed.

jessis · 11-19-2007, 12:50 PM

At least the homeowner isn't being sued... Yet.
Sorry, but if anybody breaks into my home, and I am within grabbing distance of a gun, it's on like Donkey Kong.

And, as Ron White would say, you don't have to shoot them in the back. You can shoot them in the leg until they turn around. Cause eventually they're gonna get curious.

ssspert · 11-19-2007, 03:28 PM

gotta be about race.

they could have been white?
the result would have been the same.

wilthrill · 11-21-2007, 08:21 AM

Well, for the past thirty years our liberals have trained our minorities that when you don't have a leg to stand on legally, then play the race/gender card.

You see it at the top with Hillary Clinton. You see it at the bottom with the Jena 6 and THUGS like this guy.

You know that Cali doctrine sounds awfully close to felony murder. Felony murder basically supplies INTENT (so DA's can charge 1st degree murder) when someone is killed while a felony is being committed.

megagoat · 11-21-2007, 05:21 PM

Screw making it into a racial thing when it clearly isn't. I'm all for thieves getting killed. Fuck 'em.

Cherry-Bomb Productions · 11-22-2007, 07:41 PM

Here's video of the guy,immediately after he shot them...

ssspert · 11-22-2007, 09:27 PM

he was diggin it, he was playing all the air instruments.

11-19-2007, 12:19 PM	#1 (permalink)
Marc Administrator GCB Senior Citizen Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The hearts of women everywhere. Age: 28 Posts: 3,273 Rep Power: 49	White man kills 2 black men during robbery Three young black men break into a white man's home in rural Northern California. The homeowner shoots two of them to death — but it's the surviving black man who is charged with murder. In a case that has brought cries of racism from civil rights groups, Renato Hughes Jr., 22, was charged by prosecutors in this overwhelmingly white county under a rarely invoked legal doctrine that could make him responsible for the bloodshed. "It was pandemonium" inside the house that night, District Attorney Jon Hopkins said. Hughes was responsible for "setting the whole thing in motion by his actions and the actions of his accomplices." Prosecutors said homeowner Shannon Edmonds opened fire Dec. 7 after three young men rampaged through the Clearlake house demanding marijuana and brutally beat his stepson. Rashad Williams, 21, and Christian Foster, 22, were shot in the back. Hughes fled. Hughes was charged with first-degree murder under California's Provocative Act doctrine, versions of which have been on the books in many states for generations but are rarely used. The Provocative Act doctrine does not require prosecutors to prove the accused intended to kill. Instead, "they have to show that it was reasonably foreseeable that the criminal enterprise could trigger a fatal response from the homeowner," said Brian Getz, a San Francisco defense attorney unconnected to the case. The NAACP complained that prosecutors came down too hard on Hughes, who also faces robbery, burglary and assault charges. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty. The Rev. Amos Brown, head of the San Francisco chapter of the NAACP and pastor at Hughes' church, said the case demonstrates the legal system is racist in remote Lake County, aspiring wine country 100 miles north of San Francisco. The sparsely populated county of 13,000 people is 91 percent white and 2 percent black. Brown and other NAACP officials are asking why the homeowner is walking free. Tests showed Edmonds had marijuana and prescription medication in his system the night of the shooting. Edmonds had a prescription for both the pot and the medication to treat depression. "This man had no business killing these boys," Brown said. "They were shot in the back. They had fled." On Thursday, a judge granted a defense motion for a change of venue. The defense had argued that he would not be able to get a fair trial because of extensive local media coverage and the unlikelihood that Hughes could get a jury of his peers in the county. A new location for the trial will be selected Dec. 14. The district attorney said that race played no part in the charges against Hughes and that the homeowner was spared prosecution because of evidence he was defending himself and his family, who were asleep when the assailants barged in at 4 a.m. Edmonds' stepson, Dale Lafferty, suffered brain damage from the baseball bat beating he took during the melee. The 19-year-old lives in a rehabilitation center and can no longer feed himself. "I didn't do anything wrong. All I did was defend my family and my children's lives," said Edmonds, 33. "I'm sad the kids are dead, I didn't mean to kill them." He added: "Race has nothing to do with it other than this was a gang of black people who thought they were going to beat up this white family." California's Provocative Act doctrine has primarily been used to charge people whose actions led to shooting deaths. However, in one notable case in Southern California in 1999, a man who robbed a family at gunpoint in their home was convicted of murder because a police officer pursuing him in a car chase slammed into another driver in an intersection, killing her. Hughes' mother, San Francisco schoolteacher Judy Hughes, said she believes the group didn't intend to rob the family, just buy marijuana. She called the case against her son a "legal lynching." "Only God knows what happened in that house," she said. "But this I know: My son did not murder his childhood friends." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- If anything is to be learned from this, it is that everyone should have a gun to protect themselves because black men will break into your house and try to steal your weed. __________________ GCB Myspace Need Guitar Tabs? Need Song Lyrics?

11-19-2007, 12:50 PM	#2 (permalink)
jessis Fawkin' Newbie Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Starkville/Biloxi Age: 21 Posts: 99 Rep Power: 0	At least the homeowner isn't being sued... Yet. Sorry, but if anybody breaks into my home, and I am within grabbing distance of a gun, it's on like Donkey Kong. And, as Ron White would say, you don't have to shoot them in the back. You can shoot them in the leg until they turn around. Cause eventually they're gonna get curious. __________________ "Civil War dudes! You guys are brothers, for God's sakes. You gotta stop fighting. North wins. Slavery's bad. Sorry. Don't want to burst your bubble. But, South, you guys get Allman Brothers and... NASCAR. So just chill!"

11-19-2007, 03:28 PM	#3 (permalink)
ssspert Band Member Productive GCB Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: wemo Posts: 1,783 Rep Power: 11	gotta be about race. they could have been white? the result would have been the same. __________________ Straight Shots Myspace page My Myspace Bass page email ME for Straight Shot booking information. “Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.” James Dean

11-22-2007, 07:41 PM	#6 (permalink)
Cherry-Bomb Productions MODERATOR BY DAY / NINJA BY NIGHT GCB Senior Citizen Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: A Padded Cell Posts: 2,476 Rep Power: 44	Here's video of the guy,immediately after he shot them... __________________ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- www.myspace.com/cherry_bomb_productions www.myspace.com/octavedownband नमस्ते ELEVATE,DON'T PERPETRATE Dip Me In Beer,And Throw Me To The Drunk Chicks.

11-22-2007, 09:27 PM	#7 (permalink)
ssspert Band Member Productive GCB Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: wemo Posts: 1,783 Rep Power: 11	he was diggin it, he was playing all the air instruments. __________________ Straight Shots Myspace page My Myspace Bass page email ME for Straight Shot booking information. “Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.” James Dean

11-21-2007, 08:21 AM	#4 (permalink)
wilthrill Band Whore Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 818 Rep Power: 44	Well, for the past thirty years our liberals have trained our minorities that when you don't have a leg to stand on legally, then play the race/gender card. You see it at the top with Hillary Clinton. You see it at the bottom with the Jena 6 and THUGS like this guy. You know that Cali doctrine sounds awfully close to felony murder. Felony murder basically supplies INTENT (so DA's can charge 1st degree murder) when someone is killed while a felony is being committed.

11-21-2007, 05:21 PM	#5 (permalink)
megagoat Fawkin' Newbie Join Date: Dec 2004 Age: 32 Posts: 44 Rep Power: 0	Screw making it into a racial thing when it clearly isn't. I'm all for thieves getting killed. Fuck 'em.