<p>Donna, if I recall correctly from the police report. The Bishop said that Amy was talking to her mom, and her mom said not to point the gun at anybody and Amy was not looking at Seth as she raised the gun up and the gun went off. Seth happened to be there on the line of sight as she raised the gun and the gun happened to go off at pretty much when it was horizontal to the ground, not when it was pointing down or slightly down. Plausible? I guess it is. Again, we are talking about a smart 20 year old who just a moment ago just set off a round accidentally.</p>
<p>I think she murdered her borther just the same as she murdered the professors. Why? Because if you fire a shotgun for the first time accidently, you don’t keep on carrying it, load another round, go downstairs, point it at someone at close range, shoot, and then continue to carry it outdoors, run around the neighborhood and point it at various people demanding a car. Notice that I didn’t even mention a third shot since the above scenario is as preposterous as can be. Does it mean that it was a clear 23 years ago particularly if the deciding official never heard about the others who experienced the gun pointed at them-no. But with subsequent behavior, it becomes crystal clear to many of us.</p>
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<p>Wow - quite a harsh assessment. I hope this is not true and I don’t at all buy that this is inevitable. How often have you met siblings or a parent and a child that were <em>nothing</em> alike? It would be pretty obvious to anyone who knows them well if the kids are completely different than the mother. But to presume that the kids will be judged negatively regardless? I think people have the capacity to be a lot better than that. </p>
<p>Some real life examples (unfortunately ). A friend of mine is close to one of the grown children of a father who was in the news (you’ve probably heard of him)for killing his wife. The wife was goodness personified - the kids are nothing like the father was. Not a single one of the kids’ friends, past or present, current or potential significant others, employers or their community has ever done anything but relate to them as the people <em>they</em> are. The kids have no use for the father, who is out of their lives permanently (in jail) , regardless. Another person I know (hard to believe I know two stories like this, but sadly, I do) knows a grandmother raising a child ( the father killed the mother -a big news story in her area, too). They changed the girl’s last name, but everyone knows the story and no one is ostracizing the child from any social groups - to the contrary. The support of the entire community is there for the family and the former friends of the mom’s continue to be there for the famlly through the years as well. Of course in these examples maybe the key is that there is a whole second side of the family that people rallied around and supported. I don’t know if that will be the case for Bishop’s H to that same degree, but regardless, I think it’s an unecessarily harsh view of human nature to assume that the kids will be shunned if they stay in town.</p>
<p>Assertions that “maybe the investigation of Seth’s killing wasn’t screwed up” are ludicrous. If it had been a plumber or UPS delivery man who’d been shot dead, accidentally or otherwise, no way would Amy have escaped arrest and conviction. Saying that the victim was “just her brother” doesn’t make the killing “a family matter.”</p>
<p>You really need to read these reports. “Dr. Katsis took photographs before beginning. He showed me the wound, pointing out that there was no spread which would indicate the shot was fired from very close range. The shot also went straight back.”</p>
<p>Also, there was wadding taken from inside the body. Go read the Mossberg 500 specs. Depending on the set-up it can have a 20" barrel and a total length of 38-1/2".</p>
<p>Does everyone get the picture? Short barrel. NO spread, straight back wound and wadding INSIDE the body!!! As I pointed out eons ago on this thread, to have those three conditions, Amy shot him eye-ball to eye-ball. Seth could not have been more than a foot away from the end of the barrel when it was horizontal to the floor. Try to square those facts with the statements of Amy and mom of where everyone was standing in relation to each other.</p>
<p>In many jurisdictions, flight from the scene carries an inference of guilt.</p>
<p>These are softballs in the strike zone.</p>
<p>07DAD - Assuming the shooting was accidental, which was it? First, or second degree manslaughter?</p>
<p>Please spell it out for us dummy. The stuff you just said, why does it make the shooting accidental?</p>
<p>ttparent–it doesn’t. It is the argument from the reports that it was intentional.</p>
<p>And your point is?..</p>
<p>NewHope33–in Texas (my state):</p>
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<p>If it was not charged as “intentional” and the Jury believed that Amy had no idea Seth was in the house, I suppose she could have walked on both. Her own statements show she knew the shotgun was loaded, she knew she didn’t know how to unload it, she knew that she was capable of firing it without intending to (re the hole in the wall of her bedroom) and her mother had warned he not to point it at anyone. Seems criminal negligence could have stuck.</p>
<p>ttparent–my present “point” is the physical evidence and Amy’s actions would be weighed against Amy and her Mom’s testimony of no intent. </p>
<p>In Dallas (where I live), if Henry Wade (of Roe vs. Wade fame) was the DA, I think he’d have taken this to the grand jury.</p>
<p>Involuntary Manslaughter</p>
<p>“Most unintentional killings are not murder but involuntary manslaughter. The absence of the element of intent is the key distinguishing factor between voluntary and involuntary manslaughter. In most states involuntary manslaughter results from an improper use of reasonable care or skill while performing a legal act …”</p>
<p>[Involuntary</a> Manslaughter](<a href=“Involuntary Manslaughter - Act, Negligence, Malum, and Person - JRank Articles”>Involuntary Manslaughter - Act, Negligence, Malum, and Person - JRank Articles)</p>
<p>… improper use of reasonable care or skill while performing a legal act. I’d say that’s the ‘best case’ interpretation of the events in Braintree.</p>
<p>Exactly! Miss Scarlet in the library with the candlestick. I knew it.</p>
<p>“ttparent–my present “point” is the physical evidence and Amy’s actions would be weighed against Amy and her Mom’s testimony of no intent.”</p>
<p>OK, yes then I would sort of agree. But wait, huh, you are agreeing with me now?</p>
<p>poetgrl–Damn right!</p>
<p>I wonder if Amy’s Mom ever had a single moment after that without some niggling doubt about what happened</p>
<p>*Exactly! Miss Scarlet in the library with the candlestick. I knew it. *</p>
<p>LOL…but sadly it was Miss Psycho in the conference room with the 9mm.</p>
<p>ttparent…you are always in discovery with 07, especially if you think he is AGREEING with you. He loves to pull the rug out from underneath you once he’s lead you somewhere. ;)</p>
<p>ttparent–if someone said that I HAD to wager $25 on whether Amy commited a crime in 1986, I’d bet she did. </p>
<p>Murder? Well, even the current DA doesn’t appear to think he can go for murder.</p>
<p>^^^^ Actually, forensic analysis proved that Miss Scarlet didn’t have the strength to perform the killing using that particular candlestick. It turns out that the victim had a poorly fitting plate in his skull, which dislodged when struck. The coroner ruled the poorly fitting plate to be the primary cause of death, and the surgeon who installed the plate is currently doing a twelve-to-twenty stretch. Miss Scarlet was released from custody and is currently tending a large tomato garden in Tuscany.</p>
<p>Wah, wah, wah, I want the old 07 back…</p>
<p>*Does everyone get the picture? Short barrel. NO spread, straight back wound and wadding INSIDE the body!</p>
<p>In many jurisdictions, flight from the scene carries an inference of guilt.*</p>
<p>Yes, and the picture is of guilt…no accident.</p>