11 minutes ago, nkypete said:

I'm sad because a young life was lost needlessly.  I'm hoping that the law is sufficient to make sure justice is served, but that won't bring him back.

The teen did survive and has already been released from the hospital.

 

14 minutes ago, rjs4470 said:

The teen did survive and has already been released from the hospital.

 

Which is great for the most obvious reason, but also because we'll get his side of the story. 

2 hours ago, TheDeuce said:

I'm just pointing out the obvious. If both parties were black, there's no race factor. If both parties are white, there's no race factor. I didn't say he was a racist, there's no way to tell that, yet. 

In any case where the parties are not the same race, it is a factor. That is the country we live in. 

I get what your saying.  What I was getting at, is that yes it's very black and white on the surface, so it doesn't require any explanation from the prosecutor.  But for the prosecutor to come out and state it, leads me to believe there were statements made or something from Lester's past, that allowed the prosecutor to feel comfortable stating it.  It's a high profile case and the prosecutor isn't,  in most cases, going to put himself out there with a statement like that,  without evidence to support said statement.

 

58 minutes ago, rjs4470 said:

The teen did survive and has already been released from the hospital.

 

My apologies.  I assumed the worst without taking the time to read the entire story.

He'll spend the rest of his days in prison.

Similar story from this past week. Teenagers in New York pull into a driveway, because they were lost, to turn around. Home owner fires on the car twice with a shotgun, killing a young woman in the car. Guy was arrested after standoff with police.

These two cases are perfect examples of why everyone shouldn't be allowed to have a gun. 

1 hour ago, TheDeuce said:

These two cases are perfect examples of why everyone shouldn't be allowed to have a gun. 

True. It would be nice if we had a way of knowing which people those were, before they committed these types of crimes.

2 hours ago, Jumper_Dad said:

True. It would be nice if we had a way of knowing which people those were, before they committed these types of crimes.

Minority Report (2002)

2 hours ago, Jumper_Dad said:

True. It would be nice if we had a way of knowing which people those were, before they committed these types of crimes.

3 minutes ago, nkypete said:

Minority Report (2002)

This is where we are headed only minus the precogs. 

18 minutes ago, theguru said:

This is where we are headed only minus the precogs. 

I think you would be good for that role.

5 minutes ago, nkypete said:

I think you would be good for that role.

Thank you but no matter who decides there will be mistakes made both ways.

Another crazy shooting, kids playing ball in the street it sounds like. Basketball rolls into a yard and man runs out shooting. Hits 6 yo girl in the cheek, a bullet grazes her mom and the dad is shot in the back in his own yard. A 4th person was shot at also. Man was screaming, "I'm going to kill you" as he ran towards them shooting. Shooter runs off and is arrested later in Florida. 

There is a race factor involved in this one as well.

1 hour ago, Jumper_Dad said:

Another crazy shooting, kids playing ball in the street it sounds like. Basketball rolls into a yard and man runs out shooting. Hits 6 yo girl in the cheek, a bullet grazes her mom and the dad is shot in the back in his own yard. A 4th person was shot at also. Man was screaming, "I'm going to kill you" as he ran towards them shooting. Shooter runs off and is arrested later in Florida. 

There is a race factor involved in this one as well.

Yep. Ignorance knows no color, unfortunately. 

These countless examples aren't new. That's just America. We've decided a long time ago this (shoot first, ask later, school shootings, violent crimes in cities, etc.) is the acceptable tradeoff for gun security, access, and culture.