TheBluesMan
Moderator Emeritus
Story
This was big news around here last December, and this comes as a huge surprise to me.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Published Wednesday, July 12, 2000, in the Akron Beacon Journal.
Judge lets cabbie out of prison.
Former Akron taxi driver Russell Dossie apologizes to family of man slain in July 4, 1999, traffic dispute
BY PHIL TREXLER
Beacon Journal staff writer
Russell Dossie's tears streamed down his cheek, splashing onto his thick forearms and the handcuffs clasping his wrists.
Barbara Russell's eyes were reddened from her own tears as she gazed at Dossie, the Akron cabbie who gunned down her husband after a road rage traffic dispute on the Fourth of July 1999.
Dossie wanted out of prison. Russell wanted him to stay.
In a matter of minutes, before a standing-room-only courtroom, Dossie won out and was released.
Summit County Common Pleas Judge John Adams freed the 48-year-old Dossie, who had served about seven months of a three-year prison sentence handed down in December.
During his trial, Dossie was acquitted of murder and other charges in the shooting death of Mark Russell, whose wife and four children saw him die.
Jurors decided that Dossie acted in self-defense when the 35-year-old Russell broke Dossie's cab window in stalled traffic after a dispute between the two men.
Dossie was convicted of having a gun, despite a prior felony conviction for robbery, and trying to hide the pistol used in the shooting.
"It's been one heck of a year for me,'' Dossie told the judge. "I (searched) my brain and my mind and heart and asked God to give me some insight of what happened that night and was it right or wrong and could it have happened another way. I could not find no other way.
"I sat down there (in prison) and I almost lost my will to live. I lost considerable weight because I couldn't eat. I lost my home, my wife. I thought about the Russell family quite a bit, especially the past Fourth of July. I'm sorry.''
Russell family members left the courthouse without comment.
Summit County Prosecutor Michael Callahan did not oppose or endorse Dossie's release.
"If (Dossie) spent the rest of his life in prison, it wouldn't be enough for (the Russells),'' he said outside the courtroom. "It is tough to balance (the feelings of the victims). It's a tragedy for everybody involved. Sometimes you don't want to compound the tragedy.''
The night of the shooting, Russell became enraged when Dossie's taxi cut off the van that Russell's wife, Barbara, was driving after Akron's downtown fireworks show.
As both vehicles were stopped for a red light on the Tallmadge Avenue bridge over state Route 8, Russell got out of the van, went to Dossie's taxi and smashed his fist through the driver's-side window of the cab.
Dossie reached for a handgun lying on the passenger's seat of the taxi and fired one shot. The bullet penetrated Russell's lungs and his aorta. He died moments later.
Adams said in court that he considered about a dozen letters written by friends of the Russell family, which urged the judge to keep Dossie in prison.
"The few months he served, I don't think and cannot possibly imagine that Russell Dossie has learned his lesson,'' Judith Russell, the mother of Mark Russell, wrote in a letter to Adams.
Adams said Dossie, however, had learned his lesson.
"The Russells have lost a son, a husband, a father, a brother. Their loss is great, their grief is great,'' Adams said before releasing Dossie. "In my mind, the evidence in this case is overwhelming and evidence was clear: It was Mr. Russell's action that began the chain of events that led to this horrible tragedy.
"Mr. Russell's family is devastated and Mr. Dossie's family is devastated as well. I think my message on carrying a weapon has been sent.''
Adams placed Dossie on five years' probation and ordered him to perform 200 hours of community service. Dossie told Adams he would like to counsel young adults on the perils of carrying weapons.
The judge also ordered Dossie to find a job but forbade him from driving a cab.
After the hearing, the Dossie family hugged in joy while the Russell family was ushered to a back room by victim advocates.
"He hasn't even thought about his future,'' said Dossie's attorney, Kirk Migdal. "He's taking it day by day and dealing with it the best he can.''
"It wasn't meant to happen and we're sorry for the events that occurred,'' said Randy Dossie, the cabbie's 18-year-old son who graduated from Central-Hower High while his father was in prison. "We just hope things change and change for the best.''
Phil Trexler can be reached at 330-996-3717 or
ptrexler@thebeaconjournal.com
[/quote]
I agree that this is a terrible tragedy for both families. The thing that I can't figure out is the quote from Judge Adams, "I think my message on carrying a weapon has been sent." I'm not sure if he's saying, "Even if you are a former felon, you still have a right to own a gun and defend yourself with lethal force if necessary." or if he's saying "Even if you clearly defend yourself with a gun, you will go to jail."
------------------
RKBA!
"The people have the right to bear arms for their defense and security"
Ohio Constitution, Article I, Section 4 Concealed Carry is illegal in Ohio.
Ohioans for Concealed Carry Website
This was big news around here last December, and this comes as a huge surprise to me.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Published Wednesday, July 12, 2000, in the Akron Beacon Journal.
Judge lets cabbie out of prison.
Former Akron taxi driver Russell Dossie apologizes to family of man slain in July 4, 1999, traffic dispute
BY PHIL TREXLER
Beacon Journal staff writer
Russell Dossie's tears streamed down his cheek, splashing onto his thick forearms and the handcuffs clasping his wrists.
Barbara Russell's eyes were reddened from her own tears as she gazed at Dossie, the Akron cabbie who gunned down her husband after a road rage traffic dispute on the Fourth of July 1999.
Dossie wanted out of prison. Russell wanted him to stay.
In a matter of minutes, before a standing-room-only courtroom, Dossie won out and was released.
Summit County Common Pleas Judge John Adams freed the 48-year-old Dossie, who had served about seven months of a three-year prison sentence handed down in December.
During his trial, Dossie was acquitted of murder and other charges in the shooting death of Mark Russell, whose wife and four children saw him die.
Jurors decided that Dossie acted in self-defense when the 35-year-old Russell broke Dossie's cab window in stalled traffic after a dispute between the two men.
Dossie was convicted of having a gun, despite a prior felony conviction for robbery, and trying to hide the pistol used in the shooting.
"It's been one heck of a year for me,'' Dossie told the judge. "I (searched) my brain and my mind and heart and asked God to give me some insight of what happened that night and was it right or wrong and could it have happened another way. I could not find no other way.
"I sat down there (in prison) and I almost lost my will to live. I lost considerable weight because I couldn't eat. I lost my home, my wife. I thought about the Russell family quite a bit, especially the past Fourth of July. I'm sorry.''
Russell family members left the courthouse without comment.
Summit County Prosecutor Michael Callahan did not oppose or endorse Dossie's release.
"If (Dossie) spent the rest of his life in prison, it wouldn't be enough for (the Russells),'' he said outside the courtroom. "It is tough to balance (the feelings of the victims). It's a tragedy for everybody involved. Sometimes you don't want to compound the tragedy.''
The night of the shooting, Russell became enraged when Dossie's taxi cut off the van that Russell's wife, Barbara, was driving after Akron's downtown fireworks show.
As both vehicles were stopped for a red light on the Tallmadge Avenue bridge over state Route 8, Russell got out of the van, went to Dossie's taxi and smashed his fist through the driver's-side window of the cab.
Dossie reached for a handgun lying on the passenger's seat of the taxi and fired one shot. The bullet penetrated Russell's lungs and his aorta. He died moments later.
Adams said in court that he considered about a dozen letters written by friends of the Russell family, which urged the judge to keep Dossie in prison.
"The few months he served, I don't think and cannot possibly imagine that Russell Dossie has learned his lesson,'' Judith Russell, the mother of Mark Russell, wrote in a letter to Adams.
Adams said Dossie, however, had learned his lesson.
"The Russells have lost a son, a husband, a father, a brother. Their loss is great, their grief is great,'' Adams said before releasing Dossie. "In my mind, the evidence in this case is overwhelming and evidence was clear: It was Mr. Russell's action that began the chain of events that led to this horrible tragedy.
"Mr. Russell's family is devastated and Mr. Dossie's family is devastated as well. I think my message on carrying a weapon has been sent.''
Adams placed Dossie on five years' probation and ordered him to perform 200 hours of community service. Dossie told Adams he would like to counsel young adults on the perils of carrying weapons.
The judge also ordered Dossie to find a job but forbade him from driving a cab.
After the hearing, the Dossie family hugged in joy while the Russell family was ushered to a back room by victim advocates.
"He hasn't even thought about his future,'' said Dossie's attorney, Kirk Migdal. "He's taking it day by day and dealing with it the best he can.''
"It wasn't meant to happen and we're sorry for the events that occurred,'' said Randy Dossie, the cabbie's 18-year-old son who graduated from Central-Hower High while his father was in prison. "We just hope things change and change for the best.''
Phil Trexler can be reached at 330-996-3717 or
ptrexler@thebeaconjournal.com
[/quote]
I agree that this is a terrible tragedy for both families. The thing that I can't figure out is the quote from Judge Adams, "I think my message on carrying a weapon has been sent." I'm not sure if he's saying, "Even if you are a former felon, you still have a right to own a gun and defend yourself with lethal force if necessary." or if he's saying "Even if you clearly defend yourself with a gun, you will go to jail."
------------------
RKBA!
"The people have the right to bear arms for their defense and security"
Ohio Constitution, Article I, Section 4 Concealed Carry is illegal in Ohio.
Ohioans for Concealed Carry Website