For those of you who didn't see it, here's an overview.
Setting is Long Island New York. Black family moves to a predominantly white neighborhood. The 17 year old son (hereafter called "black son") of the black family enters the mostly white high school his senior year and seems to fit in well. The trouble starts when someone posts on the internet sexually based threats about or directed toward a white female at the high school. The person posting the threats identifies himself on the internet as the black son. Black son maintains that he never posted anything of that nature.
White female has a party and the black son shows up. Black son maintains that he did not know about the postings when he showed up at the party. Enter another character, hereafter called white son. He is a 17 year old son of a well to do family who has smothered him with all kinds of muscle cars. In fact, the cars are his and his dad's hobby. White female asks white son to tell black son that he must leave the party. He does and black son leaves. White female then tells white son about all the threats on the internet and that's the reason she wanted him to leave. White son, who has a blood alcohol of 0.14, goes ballistic and decides he will protect the honor of white female. Black son is on his way home and receives threatening and racially charged phone calls from white son challenging him to come back to the party. Black son also receives calls from friends at the party who warn him not to come back and that there might be trouble later if he is found by white son and his friends.
Black son makes it home and wakes his father to tell him of the incident meanwhile white son and friends show up at the black family's house. What happens next depends on who you believe. (Lot's of unanswered questions about the next part.)
Black father and son leave the house and confront the white youth. Black father is armed with a .32 pistol and black son with a shotgun. White son ends up taking a .32 (only shot fired) to the head and dying at the hospital. Black father maintains that white son grabbed at the pistol and that it discharged as he snatched it back. Surviving friends of white son maintain that black father just came out of the house, took aim, and shot the kid.
Black father is found guilty of 2nd degree manslaughter and could face up to 22 years. Female judge sentences him to 4 years with possible 2 years for good behavior. White father goes ballistic in a press conference outside the courtroom shortly after, even says something to the effect of what would happen if the black father ends up shot
.Case is being appealed.
Lessons/questions here are:
-Alcohol and youth (and some adults at times) don't mix.
-The internet is a dangerous playground for our youth.
-Raging hormones of youth are powerful forces that cloud the ability of youth to reason.
-A firearm should be the last resort of conflict resolution.
-Assuming the story is as black father maintains it, you could still be convicted of manslaughter even though you were lawfully within your right to be armed on your property.
-This being New York, would this have played out in the court system differently in more gun friendly states, those with stand your ground legislation?
-Although the father maintains the shooting was accidental, how would disparity of force played into a defense?
