We don’t usually leave up the comments to other posts, but these reflect to a person how fed up Americans are with not only the corruption of the court system but the stupidity of jurors.
The Unbelievable Way a California Trial Concluded Left Both the Police Chief & Judge Absolutely Stunned: ‘I Can’t Believe It’
A Central California judge was left with no choice but to free a career criminal Wednesday after a jury accidentally filled out a not-guilty form. One hour later, the freed man was found fatally stabbed in a city street.
Judge W. Kent Hamlin said that he was forced to free defendant Bobby Lee Pearson, 37, because the jury’s verdict had been entered into the public record, the Fresno Bee reported.
“I can’t believe it,” he said, after issuing the order.
Jurors were hung on the case, but claim there wasn’t a deadlock form available, so they instead accidentally filled out a not-guilty form, according to the Bee.
“I can’t change it because double jeopardy has already attached,” Hamlin told them. “This has never happened to me in more than 100 jury trials that I have done.”
“This has never happened to me in more than 100 jury trials that I have done.”
Police say Perason and two others burglarized an apartment in May 2013, stealing a video game console and a firearm. He had prior felony convictions of corporal injury to a co-inhabitant, possession of a firearm by a felon and carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle, the Bee reported.
Just one hour after Pearson was released, the man was found to be the victim of a fatal stabbing, police said. The boyfriend of Pearson’s sister has been arrested in connection with the murder.
“The question that comes about in an incident like this is, ‘If Bobby Pearson would not have been released, would this murder have occurred?’” Fresno police chief Jerry Dyer said Thursday afternoon. “And the obvious answer is, ‘No, he would have been in jail.’”
The police chief added that this was the first time in his 35 years as an officer that he’d ever seen something like this occur during a trial.
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timeryder
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So justice was served
MisterSarcastic
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Gave him the old ‘one, two.
The-Monk
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Look at his eyes and his fore head… he’s not right mentally.
Cavallo
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Don’t worry. He’ll still be voting for democrats for years to come.
Lothmar
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Since it was a stabbing maybe it was actualy be a bit of the ol in out, in out?
lock_n_load
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Karma’s a bitch
nzkiwi
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It seems that it was, Time, but vigilantism is fundamentally wrong. The mob operates on emotion and peer pressure. Crowds can be erroneously swayed to murder the possibly innocent by skilful and ill-intentioned rabble-rousers. Or it is privately decided to exact vengeance.
That seems not to be the case here, but did the death penalty fit the crime?
What astonishes me is that the judge decided that he couldn’t correct an obvious mistake – one that all agreed had occurred. It isn’t that he might have changed a “not guilty” verdict to “guilty”, but just that he correct a rather stupid clerical error and then perhaps order a retrial.
Surely that is within a judge’s power…
WildschweinJager
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The pen is mightier than the sword, until I take your pen.
ScottyJ
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So an ignorant jury and an impotent judge leads to death of a human being. Why would anyone want to live in that state?
WildschweinJager
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@ scotty
The state of ignorance and impotence?
RedDirtTexas
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Is the O.J. Simpson jury doing a reunion tour???
BehindBlueEyes
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I recently served on a grand jury. The people that ran this courthouse were typical bureaucrats, clueless and incompetent.
gadgetcc
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Who is to say that the guy is dead from vigilantism? The “boyfriend of Pearson’s sister has been arrested in connection to the murder.” Could also be gangs. I’m sure he has plenty of enemies.
I am also not surprised that the judge was not able to do anything. You hear every day of people being set free because of “technical errors”. Cases where cops might have done simple trivial mistakes on a case with lots of great evidence, but the criminal gets set free regardless.
I still have a lot of faith in our cops and our criminal legal system.
RAL1949
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Righteous Vigilantism; AWESOME CONCEPT !
OniKaze
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Vigilante Justice and what you are talking about are slightly different things…
What you are talking about (Mob Mentality) is “Mob Justice” and your right, that is horrible… Village lynchings, and Stake Burnings etc….. The heard can be easily swayed (and not always for the better)…
And While Vigilante Justice is not always “right”, it has it’s place ( a small place, but one IS there)… However, only in the most extreme circumstances, as the line between “Justice” and “revenge” can become quite blurry for those too close to the situation…
I’m not advocating it, but there (to me) is a clear difference between a “mobs” sense of Justice, and an Individual’s sense of Justice. Typically Mobs will do things that an individual simply would not (like stake burnings)…
Observer
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This was his sister’s boyfriend… people…. a family honour killing , but with out the messy stone throwing………….
[Suspended User]
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Maybe the judge was in on the murder conspiracy.
I certainly wouldn’t put it past these corrupt judges we have today.
Krichek
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Prohibition against double jeopardy is explicit in the Constitution.
“[N]or shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb in criminal or civil cases . . . (Fifth Amendment). The four essential protections included are prohibitions against, for the same offense:
retrial after an acquittal (which sadly occurred here either through stupidity or malicious intent by the jury);
retrial after a conviction;
retrial after certain mistrials; and
multiple punishment
adoerfler
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It was NOT vigilantism – it was one hoodlum knocking off another.
GrumpyNGrumpier46
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Mob justice is the purest form of democracy.
Rosie6600
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The jury’s filing was an acquittal, that the defendant was not guilty.
A judge can overrule a guilty verdict, but he cannot overrule a verdict of not guilty, no matter if that verdict was unintentional or not.
meeche
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Judge was just as stupid as the jury – how dumb can you be? Was everyone on that jury too dumb to read the form they were filling out? Was the judge too dumb top correct an obvious error? Don’t believe the guy should have been stabbed to death – hope they catch the one who did it
adamic
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No it isn’t and it isn’t for good reason. Stupid jury members made a stupid mistake.
Gonzo
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Sounds like a story Rod Serling might have written.
BehindBlueEyes
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Today’s reality is yesterday’s twilight zone.
tcpubelle
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Gonzo – Thanks….now I can’t get that Twilight music out of my head…do-dee-do-do, do-dee-do-do, do-dee-do-do
RRFlyer
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what world do You live in timeryder, when stealing a video game deserves the death penalty?
Gonzo
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“no choice but to free a career criminal “
gauge
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The world where all progressive liberals would love to see the same fate happen to Conservatives…… The world where progressive liberals see fit to murder millions of babies. Seems this guy and all involved would have been better off if his mommy had kept her Planned Parenthood appointment .
jimstainless
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felon with a firearm? what if some kid tried to stop him from taking his game console
troublesometimes
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RR he didn’t just steal a video game. He broke into someone’s home. That deserves the death penalty in my opinion. Come into my house tonight, uninvited, and you will leave under a sheet. He also is a felon and stole a firearm from the same house. He is dead and the world is a better place for it.
WearyWarrior
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He was a career criminal. This wasn’t his first or only offense.
sebrantley25
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I won’t beleaguer the point of what he actually stole. Instead, I’ll say timeryder lives in the same world as the rest of us. Only most of us don’t have our heads in the sand like you.
Windchyme
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He stole a firearm…that firearm would have been sold on the streets or kept to commit other crimes with…THIS is why gun control will never work. Someone wants to shoot up others and the gun control is just too tight to legally get a weapon….someone will buy THIS gun. Course, well, not now…dude got caught..but alot don’t.
paegh
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You conveniently ignored the rest: stealing a video game console and a firearm. He had prior felony convictions of corporal injury to a co-inhabitant, possession of a firearm by a felon and carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle.
katphisher
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you must have missed the part about the stolen gun too. He entered someones home to steal it. Glad he got his just due.
betterthantv
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He lives in a world I wish I could find. A world that doesn’t find a need for a thief, a murderer or anybody who has a lack of respect for others. I’m fine with how this ended. Karma is a beautiful thing!
jenlnicholson
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Priors included doing harm to co-inhabitants. Seems to me the sister’s boyfriend had reason to believe someone was going to get hurt…and he decided to see to it the person getting hurt was the one who deserved it most and not least. My speculation is that he killed the scum bag to protect someone he loved and for whatever reason felt he had no other choice. Whether he did or not is for a jury with all the information…and hopefully the proper forms…to decide. Clearly we don’t have that information and shouldn’t judge unless we do.
Lesbian Packing Hollow Points
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Dontcha just love it when large problems solve themselves?
koyettsu
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Exactly, I am fine with the way it ended, maybe God intervened.
idarusskie
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its called….. Karma
yoshik100
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what an *******
hauschild
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Only in Cali.
Doesn’t really amount to much, considering what the majority is getting away with these days.
Just kick back, relax as best you can and witness the “managed decline”.
bilker
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you misspelled. it’s the peoples republic of Kalifornia. but don’t worry kamala harris will confiscate all knives so that it won’t happen again. /sarc/
dwhit
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Street justice is the way of the future of third world country ‘Merca.
It works far better than the DOJ and its lower courts.
RivahMitch
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Yep… and, by deliberate design and the efforts of the government we’re well on the way to becoming one
YallComeBack
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Hey Bubba. Hand me a “Deadlocked Form.”
We ain’t got none. How about one of these?
Sure, it won’t make any difference.
/facepalm
proliance
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This isn’t the jurors’ fault. It sounds to me like the judge didn’t issue proper instructions to the jury.
GrumpyNGrumpier46
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breath in … breath out … breath in ….
Secret Squirrel
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“‘If Bobby Pearson would not have been released, would this murder have occurred?’””
DUH!
DJYahtzee
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Not just, then, no.
zorro
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Only an idiot couldn’t get out of jury duty so there’s really only one type of person who ends up on one. The system is broken.
texastommy
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So how many have you served on?
ThreePeaches
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Seriously!
zorro
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I’ve been summoned three times gotten out of every one, texastommy. My guess is, I struck a nerve.
LOL….
sbagwell
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Not sure why so many people think it’s a victory to get out of jury duty just for the sake of it. It’s an inconvenience, but a privilege and responsibility. If you get wrongfully charged with a crime, don’t you want those who respect and understand the system to be sitting that jury? Baffling
zorro
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The opportunity cost for me to sit in a jury is too high. The_system_is_broke.
GrumpyNGrumpier46
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Just say you don’t like n-i-g-g-a-s; immediate dismissal.
If the defendant was black I assume the jury was black (his “peers”). And you wonder why they couldn’t fill out the right form.
jenlnicholson
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Only a jerk off would try to “get out of jury duty” without a valid reason.
zorro
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LOL…way to take the bullet for me, jenlnicholson. If we ever meet, I owe you a Coke.
JohnofOregon
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Karma
Al J Zira
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So will the jury get it right this time and fill out a Not Guilty form again for the man who issued justice?
chug70
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Sweet
redfish53
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You gotta love Karma…
Beckatude
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I’m waiting to hear the family is suing because he was wrongfully released. I’m sure it will be worth millions..
YallComeBack
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Oh Man! You are right.
Can’t you just hear the lawyer-eese.
The jury and the judge, will be sued for “Wrongful Acquital”
Tennessee Veteran
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Yep. The ambulance chasers are probably lining up at Pearson’s surviving relatives’ homes to take on the case of wrongful death.
Crow hunter
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ditto..and a lot cheaper…
mglosenger
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yes, but here is the kicker. the police were wrong to say he would be in jail. It was a hung jury meaning that the state would have to retry him and he would have gotten bail. Still would have been dead though…
Sapper-7
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The humor in this is, by releasing one thug you end up getting two !
Great for society !
Unfortunately the second did not die in a police shoot out!
Tennessee Veteran
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This could get even more interesting if the police don’t get enough evidence against Pearson’s sister’s boyfriend and before they can get sufficient evidence he gets to walk and the sister stabs or shoots the suspect.
ow01503
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And the taxpayers saved a bunch of money too.
Cadisasterrelief
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I’m from Fresno and I think it’s reported this dead guy had at least 22 convictions and had previously pistol whipped the guy that killed him. The killer is the boyfriend of the dead guy’s sister. All in all, LOL…..I bet the dead guy would’ve wished he hadn’t gone “acting like a fool” if he was still polluting our city.
Advection
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They couldn’t just sign the right form? There’s no way to correct a simple mistake?
This reminds me of the movie ‘Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy,’ where the Vogon bureaucratic alien race destroys the Earth because the President of the galaxy accidentally signs the wrong form.
DarkJello
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Why, for the love of kindness, is KNIFE CONTROL ignored?!?!?!
If even 1 life can be saved… We MUST act now, irrationally or otherwise.
/sarcasm
greg60
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Don’t forget the fork! We must become a spoon feed society, after all safety first
RaydocX
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Swing sets
SREGN
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Spoon control as well. I used to get whacked with a wooden spoon when I was a kid, right on the self-esteem.
The_Renegade
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“-there wasn’t a deadlock form available, so they instead accidentally filled out a not-guilty form”
What a bunch of dunces.
makingout
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It’s Cali., what can you say?
shabe
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I think he already said it
lordjosh
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Being a dunce is a requirement to sit on a jury.
DZ-015
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Why do you need anything more than one form with three boxes to check off: “Guilty,” “Not guilty,” and “No Verdict?”
idarusskie
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referendum for the next California election. Forms reform… Because the judge cannot ask them…so say you one say you all… They have to fill in the form.
GONE_SOVEREIGN
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Yes, as we all found out in an article on the blaze yesterday. Cali is one of the states full of stupid people IQ wise..
Windchyme
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Yeah it is…not all are stupid, but the majority are…
bilker
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and they all came from New York and destroyed a great state. they’ve now moved to Colorado to begin the destruction there.
timeryder
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Yes we need knife control!!!! Someone call Obama because if he had a brother, he would look just like Bobby Lee.
Fenrirsulfr
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I don’t really see a problem here, stabbed to death on the street instead of in jail, now the State isn’t responsible for burial costs.
Unless SNAP and EBT can be used for caskets………..
Stay-calm-and-Pray-on
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Plus they “caught” a person who they think did the stabbing. Another trial.
Yayama
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if they can be used at adult toy stores in LA why…oh nevermind.
Enuff Zenuff
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Karma can be a bitch.
Dark_Night
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Well, he thought he was the luckiest criminal in the world for an hour.
Witness1974
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We don’t have a justice system in this country; we have a legal system, and that is a crap shoot. However, that doesn’t mean the ultimate Judge is asleep.
mcsledge
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Judges swear to uphold the US Constitution and then they turn around and rule contradictory to it based on precedence. Justice is so blind in America, it can’t remember the principles written in its own guiding document, the US Constitution.
ScottyJ
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What happens if the jury members fill out their tax forms incorrectly, does the state just go through with it and pay them all big refunds? What if someone fills out an immigration from incorrectly, citizenship?
rayvet
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Form? There’s a form? I just thought you had to wade/swim across the Rio Grande and citizenship was automatically conferred. They don’t need no stinking forms for the little stuff.
GrumpyNGrumpier46
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Why doesn’t Mexico have a team in the US Olympics? Because anyone who can run, swim or jump is already here.
bilker
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in the peoples Republik of Kalifornia that is exactly what happens. thank you democrats and frisco liberals.
high school drop out
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” A Deadlock form wasn’t available”? So I guess to idiot proof the process they came up with the 3 form ( For each possible outcome) Idea, And it still got screwed up…Wow!… Justice is not only blind, It’s also stupid
Jinxe
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It is the fault of the jury selection system that such morons are allowed to pass judgment.
ChurchvilleMike
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You’re supposed to be tried by a jury of your peers. From looking at the now deceased dirtbag, one has to wonder about the makeup of the jury!
GrandPaTx
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Must have been Obama supporters on that jury.
kickagrandma
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My thoughts exactly. Perhaps all of them?
XGP15A226
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Ok, so they filled out the wrong paperwork, everyone knows it, and they go through with the deal anyway.
THEN
The guy gets killed and….ok…lemme follow these mental gymnastics…. and the entire jury goes to prison for manslaughter….right? I mean….
if we follow the horse teeth guessing quality of the logic at start here.
Wow, Ever see Brazil? This is that.
DZ-015
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“Brazil” is just about the greatest dystopian film. It definitely captures the soul of bureaucracy and its paperwork.
UncleDudley
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At least it ended well. . Turd #1 killed by Turd #2. Turd #1 Dead. Turd #2 going to prison for killing Turd #1. Got 2 Turds off of the street. Works for me…….
Smith29-2
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He must have gotten the OJ jury.
suz
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not surprised a california jury did that. not at all surprised.
rparrish2
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Imagine how happy this guy was when he got released…irony.
daytona91
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I call it poetic justice.
Apple Bite
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Social Justice? It looks that way….
CaKe
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Um… karma is a b!tch!
COBLAZECO
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Yeah ’cause no one ever gets stabbed to death in jail.
elainehawk50
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Good grief that guy had a freakishly large head! Looks like a demonic creep! Good Riddance!
rparrish2
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This guy gives a new definition to the term “illegal alien”
GBTVFan_Non_American_Overseas
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You can land an A380 on that forehead….
Eyepoker
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Black Beavis.
USArmyProud
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And black ******** in the WH.
mewnani
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Is his head supposed to look like that? He looks more alien than human. At least now justice is served.
Grover_Standpipe
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Looking at the underlying bone structure, I think he actually had a pretty normal shaped head with a very unusual hairline, and that he would have looked a lot better if he’d just started shaving his head when it started to get like that. Oh well, it’s the undertaker’s problem now.
kettererbg
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Simian.
Grover_Standpipe
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No, just the opposite. A simian skull has a big jaw and a small cranium.
GBTVFan_Non_American_Overseas
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That forehead is longer than the runway in Fast & Furious 6……: )
bobad
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That’s not a forehead, that’s a fivehead.
Shakemeawake
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Who is this guy’s father – Picasso?
stotlaat
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Just shows, you never know how a dirty deeds will come back on you
Apple Bite
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Dirty deeds! Done dirt cheap!!
And tax payers don’t have to come out of pocket to feed and shelter the scumbag.
wboehmer
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As long as it all still worked out.
Bobby Lee Pearson: Forever 37
Good riddance.
AZgirl9000
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Soon it may be hard to find jury members who can read cursive. Already, many of them probably have difficulty with drawing reasonable conclusions from facts. But Common Core should turn out immensely capable citizens, right?