Wildalaska
Moderator
When does the goal of stopping end and excessive force begin? What about state of mind? Of both shooter and victim?
Good shoot or bad shoot. Remember our juries here are very pro self defense.
Killing wasn't self-defense, jury decides
7 SHOTS FIRED: Victim was high on meth, but use of gun called unnecessary.
By JAMES HALPIN
jhalpin@adn.com
(02/23/08 00:56:56)
Osaiasi Saafi pumped seven .40-caliber slugs into his cousin's abusive husband and called it self-defense. On Friday, a jury called it murder.
Saafi, 30, was convicted on charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter, but the jury found him innocent of first-degree, or premeditated, murder in the death of 25-year-old Joshua Kagel, who showed up high on methamphetamine outside an Airport Heights home on a Sunday morning in August 2005, began arguing with his wife in the street and threatened to kill Saafi.
The defense maintained that Kagel's history of abuse against the family and his aggressive behavior the morning of his death warranted deadly force in response.
But prosecutors said Kagel, who had a knife but didn't pull it, was not an imminent threat.
"There is some dispute, quite frankly, about whether (Kagel) was getting ready to attack him or not," said assistant district attorney John Skidmore. "My argument was that no amount of deadly force was authorized -- not the first shot, not the seventh shot."
The state medical examiner testified that Kagel was high enough on meth to be acting aggressively and erratically, and Skidmore said during trial that Saafi had the right to defend himself. But pulling a gun and firing all but two of the bullets into Kagel's face, side and leg was unjustified against a man who did not have a gun, he said.
During the trial, defense attorney Rex Butler called Kagel a "ticking time bomb," against whom the family had repeatedly taken precautions to protect themselves, including banning him from their home, locking their doors and calling police. When he showed up with his wife to pick up their 2-year-old son, Kagel and she were arguing, and Saafi had every reason to think Kagel would explode, Butler said.
Prosecutors, though, said if this were a case of self-defense, one or two shots would have been enough to accomplish the purpose and stop Kagel. The number of shots -- combined with the fact that they were fired from a distance -- proved that this was no matter of self-defense, the prosecution claimed.
The defense responded that Saafi, overcome by a rush of adrenaline, wasn't aware how many times he was firing the gun.
The two-week trial ended early Friday afternoon, when jurors came in after two days of deliberations with their verdict. Saafi, who is facing between 10 and 99 years in prison at his May 30 sentencing, walked out of the courtroom in handcuffs without expression. Butler said he plans an appeal.
"We're disappointed that the jury came back with the murder in the second degree," Butler said. "It is self-defense. There's no question about it."
WildhopethisisintherightplaceAlaska TM
Good shoot or bad shoot. Remember our juries here are very pro self defense.
Killing wasn't self-defense, jury decides
7 SHOTS FIRED: Victim was high on meth, but use of gun called unnecessary.
By JAMES HALPIN
jhalpin@adn.com
(02/23/08 00:56:56)
Osaiasi Saafi pumped seven .40-caliber slugs into his cousin's abusive husband and called it self-defense. On Friday, a jury called it murder.
Saafi, 30, was convicted on charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter, but the jury found him innocent of first-degree, or premeditated, murder in the death of 25-year-old Joshua Kagel, who showed up high on methamphetamine outside an Airport Heights home on a Sunday morning in August 2005, began arguing with his wife in the street and threatened to kill Saafi.
The defense maintained that Kagel's history of abuse against the family and his aggressive behavior the morning of his death warranted deadly force in response.
But prosecutors said Kagel, who had a knife but didn't pull it, was not an imminent threat.
"There is some dispute, quite frankly, about whether (Kagel) was getting ready to attack him or not," said assistant district attorney John Skidmore. "My argument was that no amount of deadly force was authorized -- not the first shot, not the seventh shot."
The state medical examiner testified that Kagel was high enough on meth to be acting aggressively and erratically, and Skidmore said during trial that Saafi had the right to defend himself. But pulling a gun and firing all but two of the bullets into Kagel's face, side and leg was unjustified against a man who did not have a gun, he said.
During the trial, defense attorney Rex Butler called Kagel a "ticking time bomb," against whom the family had repeatedly taken precautions to protect themselves, including banning him from their home, locking their doors and calling police. When he showed up with his wife to pick up their 2-year-old son, Kagel and she were arguing, and Saafi had every reason to think Kagel would explode, Butler said.
Prosecutors, though, said if this were a case of self-defense, one or two shots would have been enough to accomplish the purpose and stop Kagel. The number of shots -- combined with the fact that they were fired from a distance -- proved that this was no matter of self-defense, the prosecution claimed.
The defense responded that Saafi, overcome by a rush of adrenaline, wasn't aware how many times he was firing the gun.
The two-week trial ended early Friday afternoon, when jurors came in after two days of deliberations with their verdict. Saafi, who is facing between 10 and 99 years in prison at his May 30 sentencing, walked out of the courtroom in handcuffs without expression. Butler said he plans an appeal.
"We're disappointed that the jury came back with the murder in the second degree," Butler said. "It is self-defense. There's no question about it."
WildhopethisisintherightplaceAlaska TM
