Australian exchange student gunned down

[Duchess]

I remember this story. Bored teenagers. Jesus Christ.

I know many families forgive this sort of thing but I don't think I could ever be one of them if I were to find myself in that position.

[SIXFOOTERsez]

Glad he got as much time as he did. I wouldn't be too forgiving either. If I couldn't get to him on the outside I might be tempted to become best friends with one of the cellies close to him. Send him some birthday and christmas cookies or something

[HairOfTheDog]

Glad he got as much time as he did.

Me too Six. At best, Jones will be eligible for parole when he's 56 years old.




Last year, James Edwards ^ (the youngest of the three defendants) had his charges reduced all the way down from first degree murder to accessory after the fact.

Edwards testified in preliminary hearings against both Jones and Luna in return for that deal.



^Chancey Luna is the one who pulled the trigger, according to the police investigation and the testimony of the other two defendants.

I'd hate to see Luna's defense try to point the finger at Edwards or Jones as the trigger man and confuse a jury -- that can be a successful strategy when there are multiple suspects/defendants.

But, I don't think prosecutors would allow Jones not to testify against Luna unless they've got Edwards firmly lined up to tell the jury unequivocally that Jones was the driver and Luna was the shooter.

Luna's trial begins April 13^th, if he doesn't plead out before then. He's lucky he was just short of 18 when he shot and killed Chris Lane. I think he'd be facing the death penalty if he was of age.

[HairOfTheDog]

CHANCEY LUNA ON TRIAL FOR MURDER


^ Chancey Luna

The alleged trigger man is now the confirmed trigger man. Chancey Luna's attorney admitted in court that his client shot Chris Lane in the back.

The Prosecution contends that Luna intentionally shot Lane. The Defense contends that Luna was only trying to scare Lane and accidentally shot him.

Melbourne-raised baseball player was jogging along a Duncan street in 2013 when he was shot in the back and died at the scene. Lane had a baseball scholarship at an Oklahoma college.

So, the question for the 7 men and 5 women on the jury will be whether Luna is guilty of first-degree premeditated murder, as the State of Oklahoma alleges.


^ Luna's mother, Jennifer, has supported him throughout

Luna was 16 when he shot Melbourne-born Chris Lane in the back while Lane was jogging in August of 2013. If convicted of first-degree murder, he faces life behind bars without parole.

The trial is expected to last between seven and 10 days.

Ref:
http://www.news.com.au/world/north-ameri...7304182710

[HairOfTheDog]

CHANCEY LUNA ON TRIAL FOR MURDER


^ Chancey Luna

The alleged trigger man is now the confirmed trigger man. Chancey Luna's attorney admitted in court today that his client shot Chris Lane in the back.

The Prosecution contends that Luna intentionally shot Lane. The Defense contends that Luna was only trying to scare Lane and accidentally shot him; that Luna made a "horrible judgement call".

So, the question for the 7 men and 5 women on the jury will be whether Luna is guilty of first-degree premeditated murder as the State of Oklahoma alleges, or if he's instead guilty of a lesser charge.


^ Luna's mother, Jennifer, has supported him throughout

Luna was 16 when he shot Melbourne-raised Chris Lane in the back while Lane was jogging in August of 2013. If convicted of first-degree murder, he faces life behind bars without parole.

The trial is expected to last between seven and 10 days.

Ref:
http://www.news.com.au/world/north-ameri...7304182710

[HairOfTheDog]

Chris Lane’s Oklahoma girlfriend Sarah Harper (pictured above with Lane) was the first witness called at Luna's murder trial.

Harper wept when she told the court how she heard there had been a “drive-by” shooting nearby but didn’t think Lane was involved.

Lane was visiting his girlfriend Sarah Harper's family when he was killed.

The couple had just returned from visiting his family in Australia and were staying with her relatives in Oklahoma before going back to college.

Then police came to her work. “They said he was shot and he did not make it,” Harper, whose parents live in Duncan, said.

[Duchess]

The Defense contends that Luna was only trying to scare Lane and accidentally shot him; that Luna made a "horrible judgement call".

Lock 'em up & throw away the key. I'm so sick of seeing murder justified and defended and sometimes called an accident.

That would be the same defense John & Maytee Clarke would use if their bullets had found their mark - we were only trying to scare her. Whatta crock of shit.

[Cutz]

Even if the defense's argument is true, willful/wanton behavior that results in a fatality is still not "bad judgement." The prosecution doesn't need to prove that he intended to kill the kid, merely that he intended the action - to point the gun at him.

[HairOfTheDog]

Even if the defense's argument is true, willful/wanton behavior that results in a fatality is still not "bad judgement." The prosecution doesn't need to prove that he intended to kill the kid, merely that he intended the action - to point the gun at him.

If Luna had been in the commission of a separate felony crime (like rape, robbery, kidnapping) when he killed Lane, proof of intent to kill wouldn't be required. But, it's not alleged that Luna and his co-defendants were committing any other crimes when Luna shot Lane. So, proof of intent or "malice aforethought" is required to support the first degree murder charge in this case.

Your statement is true for second degree murder though. If prosecutors fail to prove that Luna shot Lane with intent to kill, they can still secure a second degree murder conviction. Second degree only requires the jury to be convinced that the murder was committed due to the depraved actions of another, without regard for human life.

Luna's co-defendant Mike Jones (the driver who pleaded guilty last month to second degree murder) told police in early statements that he, Luna and Edwards killed Chris Lane because they were bored and essentially just wanted to see how it felt. Jones' plea agreement waived him from having to testify against Luna. However, Edwards is required to testify truthfully against Luna as part of his sweet plea deal (charges reduced to accessory-after-the-fact).

I think Luna will go down for first degree murder and don't think the jury will buy his earlier claim that he thought the gun only contained blanks, nor his newest claim that he only shot to scare.

[Cutz]

Luna's co-defendant Mike Jones (the driver who pleaded guilty last month to second degree murder) told police in early statements that he, Luna and Edwards killed Chris Lane because they were bored and essentially just wanted to see how it felt.

Morons.

[HairOfTheDog]

Morons.

Beyond all doubt.



James Edwards (pictured left) is the youngest of the defendants and a key prosecution witness.

Edwards testified that once the boys realized Luna had shot Lane from the backseat, Luna (right) said to the driver of the car, Michael Jones (center), "I thought there were blanks in the gun." At which point, Jones said "Me too, I'm sorry."

Sure thing guys. Everyone goes tooling around with blanks in their guns.

Anyway.......the trial is almost over already. Closing arguments begin tomorrow.

The prosecution presented witnesses who testified about responding to the shooting and trying to help Chris Lane.

Forensic experts testified about gunshot residue on Luna's hands. The defense argued that it could have been transferred to Luna by one of the responding officers. (I don't know why the defense argued the point; Luna has admitted to the shooting and is using the "I'm a dipshit" defense, not the "wasn't me" defense.)

Today the Medical Examiner testified that Lane's wound was small yet fatal because the bullet went through the main artery, damaged every major organ, and most of the bleeding was in the chest cavity.

The last witness to take the stand was Chancey Luna's mother, Jennifer. After being asked to leave the courtroom two day ago because she's on the witness list, she was called in and asked one question by the defense. “Do you love Chancey?” She responded, “With all my heart.”

Twenty members of Chris Lane's family and circle of friends attended the trial this week. Hopefully there will be a verdict early next week and they can get some closure if Luna is convicted and sentenced to life.

Ref: http://www.news9.com/story/28825822/clos...rder-trial

[HairOfTheDog]

SHOOTER FOUND GUILTY OF FIRST DEGREE MURDER


^ Chancey Luna was found guilty of First Degree Murder -- the verdict was reached within hours. So, Luna, the shooter, will spend life behind bars with no possibility of parole.



^ Michael Jones, the driver, pleaded guilty to second degree murder and is serving a life sentence. He won't be eligible for parole until he's 52 years old.



^ James "Bug" Edwards testified against Luna, per his plea bargain. He has not yet been sentenced on the reduced charge of accessory-after-the-fact. I'm very curious to see how much time he gets.

ACCESSORY AFTER THE FACT -- OKLAHOMA
If the underlying offense be murder in the first degree, the accessory thereto shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than five (5) years nor more than forty-five (45) years. If the underlying offense be murder in the second degree, the accessory thereto shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than five (5) years nor more than twenty-five (25) years. Source: http://public.esquireempire.com/Accessor...-21-172-75

[HairOfTheDog]

Chris Lane's parents ^, mother Donna and father Peter, attended the trial. They heard how their son was callously shot in the back. They cried when witnesses described how they tried to help Chris as he lay bleeding, and when the Medical Examiner explained how one small bullet shut down all of their son Chris's vital organs.



When family, friends and loved ones talk about slain Australian baseball player Chris Lane ^ they describe his magnetic personality, desire to help others and drive to be a good man.They also talk about his smile and big, brown eyes.

I hope today's lightning quick verdict brings them at least some small sense of closure.

Ref: https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/271486...n-parents/

[Duchess]

It's awful that someone with a bright, promising future is dead while those pieces of shit live to breathe another day. Life is so unfair in so many ways.

[HairOfTheDog]

It's awful that someone with a bright, promising future is dead while those pieces of shit live to breathe another day. Life is so unfair in so many ways.

It is very unfair for Chris Lane's loved ones.

I'm glad for them that the killers were identified and caught quickly, and that two of them have already been convicted and put away for life.

But, that probably doesn't ease their pain much, if at all.

[Duchess]

I never grew up in that it's often very difficult for me to accept how unfair life can be. Logically, I get that it's just the way the ball bounces and things are what they are but it doesn't make it any easier to accept. That kid did everything right and yet he's the one that is dead while those worthless bitches live on.