Odd case
A federal jury this afternoon returned guilty verdicts against a 70-year-old retired plumber who fired on a team of lawmen after they crossed his Roane County property in August 2004 to chop down marijuana plants.
[…]
Klyce was the federal officer at issue in the indictment. He testified that he and four other lawmen were stopped at a gate on Hendricks property when Hendricks suddenly fired on them with a .22-caliber rifle.
The officers testified that Hendricks continued to brandish the weapon even after they identified themselves as police and demanded they leave his property.
Hendricks contends he initially thought the crew were members of a pesky clan of neighborhood thieves. He testified he only fired warning shots and never aimed or shot directly at the lawmen.
And the lawyer is going for the jury nullification angle:
Attorney Doug Trant asked jurors today to show Hendricks, who he said is in failing health, some mercy, an argument bordering on a legal concept known as jury nullification. Under that concept, jurors would essentially ignore the facts of a case and the law in favor of their own brand of justice.
June 1st, 2006 at 7:14 am
“The officers testified that Hendricks continued to brandish the weapon even after they identified themselves as police…”
Given the way these things usually go down, it’s a thousand wonders that the King’s Men didn’t call in a SWAT team and smoke the uppity serf.
June 1st, 2006 at 10:37 am
I think the government should be required to give him just compensation for the marijuana they seized. In fact, they shouldn’t have been allowed to seize it at all, unless they were planning on making it available for the public to use.
June 1st, 2006 at 12:35 pm
We’ve come a long way since being a free country.
June 1st, 2006 at 4:00 pm
When did defending your property from theives become illegal???
June 1st, 2006 at 5:46 pm
“… ignore the facts of a case and the law in favor of their own brand of justice.”
— That’s something I love about a jury of peers. When all else fails, just appeal to their humanity. They aren’t *really* bound by the laws of the land, only the laws of their conscience…. 🙂