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Guilty verdict for involuntary manslaughter
By pguinto - 10-24-2009 04:58 AM
Originally Posted at: FMATalk
====================
This is an update regarding the drowning of my friend's father:
Quote:
Fisherman recounts brush with death at murder trial
Seconds after he was shoved into Lake Michigan, Ronald Squires started praying. The fisherman's heavy hiking boots were dragging his feet to the bottom of Montrose Harbor, and the nearest point where he could clamber out of the water was some 80 feet away. "I was swimming for my life," said Squires, his voice choking with emotion. "I was crying out to God to help me because I didn't think I was going to make it."
Squires' testimony came at the trial of 33-year-old John Haley, charged with the September 2007 murder of Du Doan, 62, another fisherman who drowned after Haley allegedly pushed him into the lake at the same harbor. His death outraged Asian-American groups who felt Haley should also be charged with a hate crime.
Prosecutors alleged that Haley went to the harbor to watch the sunrise after a long night of drinking with friends and pushed Doan into the water because he thought it was funny. They contended Haley knew his actions were likely to kill or severely injure the fisherman.
But the defense countered that at most Haley committed involuntary manslaughter by playing a stupid prank. He didn't know Doan was unable to swim, they said.
If it was a prank, why didn't he go back to make sure Mr Doan was okay? A video interview he gave to reporters the next day, showed a man who was angry with being accused of being a racist skinhead. At no time during the interview did he express remorse for his actions, nor did he show concern for Mr Doan's family members. Prank, my a$$.
Quote:
But Haley didn’t know Du Doan, 62, couldn’t swim. He didn’t know the Vietnamese immigrant would drown when he shoved him off the pier at Montrose Harbor, running away laughing as Doan desperately flailed his arms in the water.
How could a 33 year old man not understand that drowning was not a possibility? It's a big frikkin lake, one of the Great Lakes. How could this idiot not recognize that conditions that evening were bad enough that even a decent swimmer would have had difficulty in the very cold, dark and choppy waters? There aren't even safety ladders anywhere nearby. Conditions were so bad that none of the other fishermen bystanders even dared to risk a rescue. And there were well more than a couple dozen other fishermen in the immediate area.
Quote:
Squires told the jury his ordeal began when he was fishing at the end of a pier before dawn a little more than a month before Doan's death. He said that as he made his first cast, he turned and saw a tattooed man approaching him in a crouch. The man quickly stood up and asked for a lighter, but Squires said the look on his face concerned him.
"It was an evil look," he said. But Squires, 60, relaxed after the man stepped away, saying he talked with a woman who was with the tattooed man and another man. Moments later, he turned his back on the group to cast his fishing lure. "That was my fatal mistake," he said. "No sooner had I made my cast when I felt a push on my shoulder blade... I went in the water headfirst.
Would've served Squires better to trust his initial instincts and not let down his guard. He even says he saw "evil" in the man's face. Turning your back to a potentially hostile stranger is a big mistake.
Quote:
Manslaugter conviction for pushing fisherman into lake
"...The jury late Friday came back with a guilty verdict for involuntary manslaughter...While the conviction on involuntary manslaughter means Haley faces a sentence of 2 to 5 years in prison, attorneys said the range could be extended to up to 10 years because he has a previous drug conviction...A sentencing hearing was scheduled for Nov 19.
Read More...
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By pguinto - 10-24-2009 04:58 AM
Originally Posted at: FMATalk
====================
This is an update regarding the drowning of my friend's father:
Quote:
Fisherman recounts brush with death at murder trial
Seconds after he was shoved into Lake Michigan, Ronald Squires started praying. The fisherman's heavy hiking boots were dragging his feet to the bottom of Montrose Harbor, and the nearest point where he could clamber out of the water was some 80 feet away. "I was swimming for my life," said Squires, his voice choking with emotion. "I was crying out to God to help me because I didn't think I was going to make it."
Squires' testimony came at the trial of 33-year-old John Haley, charged with the September 2007 murder of Du Doan, 62, another fisherman who drowned after Haley allegedly pushed him into the lake at the same harbor. His death outraged Asian-American groups who felt Haley should also be charged with a hate crime.
Prosecutors alleged that Haley went to the harbor to watch the sunrise after a long night of drinking with friends and pushed Doan into the water because he thought it was funny. They contended Haley knew his actions were likely to kill or severely injure the fisherman.
But the defense countered that at most Haley committed involuntary manslaughter by playing a stupid prank. He didn't know Doan was unable to swim, they said.
If it was a prank, why didn't he go back to make sure Mr Doan was okay? A video interview he gave to reporters the next day, showed a man who was angry with being accused of being a racist skinhead. At no time during the interview did he express remorse for his actions, nor did he show concern for Mr Doan's family members. Prank, my a$$.
Quote:
But Haley didn’t know Du Doan, 62, couldn’t swim. He didn’t know the Vietnamese immigrant would drown when he shoved him off the pier at Montrose Harbor, running away laughing as Doan desperately flailed his arms in the water.
How could a 33 year old man not understand that drowning was not a possibility? It's a big frikkin lake, one of the Great Lakes. How could this idiot not recognize that conditions that evening were bad enough that even a decent swimmer would have had difficulty in the very cold, dark and choppy waters? There aren't even safety ladders anywhere nearby. Conditions were so bad that none of the other fishermen bystanders even dared to risk a rescue. And there were well more than a couple dozen other fishermen in the immediate area.
Quote:
Squires told the jury his ordeal began when he was fishing at the end of a pier before dawn a little more than a month before Doan's death. He said that as he made his first cast, he turned and saw a tattooed man approaching him in a crouch. The man quickly stood up and asked for a lighter, but Squires said the look on his face concerned him.
"It was an evil look," he said. But Squires, 60, relaxed after the man stepped away, saying he talked with a woman who was with the tattooed man and another man. Moments later, he turned his back on the group to cast his fishing lure. "That was my fatal mistake," he said. "No sooner had I made my cast when I felt a push on my shoulder blade... I went in the water headfirst.
Would've served Squires better to trust his initial instincts and not let down his guard. He even says he saw "evil" in the man's face. Turning your back to a potentially hostile stranger is a big mistake.
Quote:
Manslaugter conviction for pushing fisherman into lake
"...The jury late Friday came back with a guilty verdict for involuntary manslaughter...While the conviction on involuntary manslaughter means Haley faces a sentence of 2 to 5 years in prison, attorneys said the range could be extended to up to 10 years because he has a previous drug conviction...A sentencing hearing was scheduled for Nov 19.
Read More...
------------------------------------
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