I represent black clients for murder on the regular. They have zero issue charging them.ShaggySLC said:I think everyone knows the answer to that but no one is really allowed say it out loudTom Fox said:Jury selection is paramount in this case.aggiehawg said:Hear me out here. Self defense is not really at play as a legal defense as much as it will be a jury play. Voir dire.Tom Fox said:The charge will be murder. Intent can be formed in an instant. When you stab someone intentionally in the chest ... it is a murder. This was not recklessly done. Manslaughter is not the appropriate charge.aggiehawg said:
He has not been indicted yet. Why not?
Murder one is a little harder to prove, in my opinion. Manslaughter (hear me out) is more appropriate with additional charges over having the knife, also having the knife on school property. (Which still seems weird to me because of my age with every PU having a loaded gun rack in the rear view window was common) but my concern here is overcharging.
That is not a defense for Anthony on my part, it is looking at what we know thus far. Intent and premeditation hard to prove with we know now. Not a self defense claim, per se. It is not.
So, I'm just warning posters here not to flip out if the indictment is less than what they expect.
And this would be lightning fast for a murder indictment. I doubt they even have the full autopsy yet. There is zero rush. He is already on bond so the prosecution is not up against the 90 day clock for indictment to avoid a pr bond.
Now, that having been said, do I think Anthony has that caliber of defense attorneys? Don't know.
But for prosecutors stick to what you have nailed down. Not a jury expert by far but my belief is the simpler a prosecutor makes it for the jury to understand and follow, the better for your case.
It is all about the jury.
But how do they have manslaughter "nailed down" but not murder. How did he recklessly kill Metcalf? He did it intentionally and we know that because he asked about self defense. I'm sure there is an interview with the defendant where he says he was afraid and that is why he stabbed Metcalf. That is not reckless conduct.
His self defense claim will fail because his use of deadly force was not a proportion response.
This is murder. He will be charged with murder. I cannot even conceive of a reason why he would not charge murder. I was a Texas state felony prosecutor for years and am now a defense attorney.
Hell, they should get me and my guys in as special prosecutors. We are all former felony state prosecutors. For $1.5 million, we will shut down the office for a few months and get this fool 30+ years on murder.
It will be an all white male (no white females) and hispanic petit jury.
This is an easy case for the state.