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Algoa: Woman justified in shooting husband
Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 6:59 am
by seamusTX
In Algoa (a wide spot in the road in western Galveston County), in November 2011, a 50-year-old woman fatally shot her husband. She was arrested and charged with murder.
http://www.guidrynews.com/story.aspx?id=1000038999" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
According to a copyrighted story in the Galveston County Daily News today, prosecutors dropped charges after determining that the shooting was justified self defense.
A prosecutor wrote:After having all the experts consult and review the actual physical evidence, we felt that dismissal was in the best interest of justice
A jury trial had been scheduled for August 19.
http://www.galvestondailynews.com/news/ ... 0f31a.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
It's rare for a spouse to successfully claim self defense. Note that this process took nearly two years.
- Jim
Re: Algoa: Woman justified in shooting husband
Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 7:12 am
by baldeagle
Those articles are rather sparse on details. She shot him. She called 911. She was arrested. Charges were filed. Charges were dismissed. End of story.
Re: Algoa: Woman justified in shooting husband
Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 8:06 am
by seamusTX
Not quite.
She had to make bail on $150,000 bond. That probably means she paid $15,000 to a bail bondsman that she'll never see again. She hired a lawyer. All that stuff costs a lot of money. Maybe she had to plant her deceased husband.
There are very few rich people in Algoa.
- Jim
Re: Algoa: Woman justified in shooting husband
Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 8:22 am
by JALLEN
seamusTX wrote:Not quite.
She had to make bail on $150,000 bond. That probably means she paid $15,000 to a bail bondsman that she'll never see again. She hired a lawyer. All that stuff costs a lot of money. Maybe she had to plant her deceased husband.
There are very few rich people in Algoa.
- Jim
The bail-bondsman wants security too. They seldom just take your word for it. Cash, real estate, securities, etc.
OTOH, maybe it was worth it.
Re: Algoa: Woman justified in shooting husband
Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 9:54 am
by seamusTX
JALLEN wrote:OTOH, maybe it was worth it.
A divorce would have cost less and not involved jail time. Even moving to another state when the guy wasn't around might have done it. Then if he chased her down, she would have had a clear-cut self-defense case.
Many incidents of this type (people known to one another) are like an airplane crash, which could have been averted by pulling up the stick at the right moment.
- Jim
Re: Algoa: Woman justified in shooting husband
Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2013 11:52 pm
by Oldgringo
Shooting people, whether they need it or not, will give cause to lots of paperwork and, more than likely, expense. So, think wisely before you
anyone down.
Re: Algoa: Woman justified in shooting husband
Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 8:08 am
by Blindref757
Oldgringo wrote:Shooting people, whether they need it or not, will give cause to lots of paperwork and, more than likely, expense. So, think wisely before you
anyone down.
True...the Zimmerman case is a great example of this. When the cops didn't charge him, he was basically out of the ordeal with minimal attorney's fees. Suddenly, that all changed.
Re: Algoa: Woman justified in shooting husband
Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 8:28 am
by Keith B
There are times when it can be totally justified. My ex-brother-in-law's mother shot her husband (BIL's step father) while he was asleep in bed. He came hone drunk, beat her severely and then passed out on the bed. She grabbed the shotgun and put one round into his head. The DA chose not to prosecute her due to the extreme levels of injury she had sustained just prior to her shooting him as well as previous instances of physical abuse that had been reported. This was back in the days be before a LEO could arrest just on the findings of abuse alone without the other party pressing charges. She was afraid to press charges before as he had previously said he would make bail and come back and kill her.
Re: Algoa: Woman justified in shooting husband
Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 9:27 am
by seamusTX
I would not call shooting a person who is unconscious "totally justified." It's old-fashioned rough justice. Let me guess, this was in southern Missouri?
I doubt anyone would get away with that now.
- Jim
Re: Algoa: Woman justified in shooting husband
Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 10:13 am
by JALLEN
seamusTX wrote:JALLEN wrote:OTOH, maybe it was worth it.
A divorce would have cost less and not involved jail time. Even moving to another state when the guy wasn't around might have done it. Then if he chased her down, she would have had a clear-cut self-defense case.
- Jim
Or been dead.
"Worth" is not always measured in dollars.
Re: Algoa: Woman justified in shooting husband
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2013 12:10 am
by Oldgringo
seamusTX wrote:I would not call shooting a person who is unconscious "totally justified." It's old-fashioned rough justice. Let me guess, this was in southern Missouri?
I doubt anyone would get away with that now.
- Jim
Agreed!
If Mrs. Oldgringo decided to plug me in my slumbers, I hope somebody would ask, "...how come...". OTOH, maybe not, and in any event, the Oldgringo wouldn't know or care.....
Re: Algoa: Woman justified in shooting husband
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2013 7:53 am
by Keith B
seamusTX wrote:I would not call shooting a person who is unconscious "totally justified." It's old-fashioned rough justice. Let me guess, this was in southern Missouri?
I doubt anyone would get away with that now.
- Jim
I think the scrutiny would be much heavier today than back in the '70's when this happened. It was also a small rural area and everyone knew everyone and their business. I think everyone knew what he had been doing prior and how mean a person he was and they would have enough witnesses and testimony that she would not be convicted anyway.
Re: Algoa: Woman justified in shooting husband
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2013 9:18 am
by seamusTX
There was a case (IIRC in the 1980s) in some small town in the Midwest where a bully terrorized people at will. Even though he had dozens of assault arrests, he was never sentenced to prison.
One day someone walked up to his pickup truck in the middle of town and fatally shot him in the head. There were no witnesses. Everyone had been "busy," although maybe a dozen people had actually seen the incident.
- Jim
Re: Algoa: Woman justified in shooting husband
Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 1:37 pm
by OldCurlyWolf
seamusTX wrote:There was a case (IIRC in the 1980s) in some small town in the Midwest where a bully terrorized people at will. Even though he had dozens of assault arrests, he was never sentenced to prison.
One day someone walked up to his pickup truck in the middle of town and fatally shot him in the head. There were no witnesses. Everyone had been "busy," although maybe a dozen people had actually seen the incident.
- Jim
It may not be legal, but morally that probably should have happened sooner.
Re: Algoa: Woman justified in shooting husband
Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 8:35 pm
by seamusTX
Here ya' go:
Ken Rex McElroy (June 1, 1934 – July 10, 1981) was a resident of Nodaway County, Missouri, near the town of Skidmore. Known as "the town bully", his unsolved murder became the focus of international attention. Over the course of his life McElroy was accused of dozens of felonies, including assault, child molestation, rape, arson, hog and cattle rustling, and burglary.
In all, he was indicted 21 times, but escaped conviction each time, except for the last. In 1981, McElroy was convicted of shooting and seriously injuring the town's 70-year-old grocer, Ernest "Bo" Bowenkamp, the previous year. McElroy successfully appealed the conviction and was released on bond, after which he engaged in an ongoing harassment campaign against Bowenkamp, the town's Church of Christ minister, and others who were sympathetic to Bowenkamp. He appeared in a local bar, the D&G Tavern, armed with an M1 Garand rifle and bayonet, and later threatened to kill Bowenkamp. The next day, McElroy was shot to death in broad daylight as he sat with his wife Trena in his pickup truck on Skidmore's main street. He was struck by bullets from at least two different firearms, in front of a crowd of people estimated as between 30 and 46. To date, no one has been charged in connection with McElroy's death.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_McElroy" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
- Jim