Homeowner pleads guilty to shooting Black teen Ralph Yarl who rang the wrong doorbell
Homeowner pleads guilty to shooting Black teen Ralph Yarl who rang the wrong doorbell
An 86-year-old Kansas City man has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in the 2023 shooting of Ralph Yarl, a Black honor student who rang the man’s doorbell by mistake.
Andrew Lester was scheduled to stand trial next week on charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the shooting of the then-16-year-old, who survived and is now a freshman at Texas A&M, where he is a member of ROTC and the school’s marching band.
As part of a plea deal, Lester pleaded guilty to second-degree assault, a charge that Judge David Chamberlain said carries up to seven years behind bars. Lester, who will be sentenced on March 7, was hunched over as he was wheeled into the courtroom, his hands folded.
“While this marks a step toward accountability, true justice requires consequences that reflect the severity of his actions — anything less would be a failure to recognize the harm he has caused,” she said.
I live by logic and reason, and a bit of gut instinct once in a while. Now let's think about this for a whole 5 seconds...
It's not the person that knocks on your door or rings your doorbell that you should have to worry about, it's the person that doesn't knock or ring the bell.
Duh. Some people really don't need guns..
Have you considered: It was a black teenager and these people are fundamentally broken individuals who scream about toughness and are just about the softest little shitheel cowards you’ll ever meet?
Many people in the US have that “fear of the other” drilled into them starting at a very young age. Whether it’s skin color, religion, nationality, or sexuality — relatives, religious leaders, and politicians create this unnecessary fear. Just look at the current administration’s words and actions for example. It’s sick and sad, and it creates irrational behavior like this.
I generally support gun ownership, but responsible gun ownership is key. Safety training and explanations/workshops on your rights and where they end should be mandatory.
What a strange weather app
Cloudy with a chance of hellfire.
Someone should investigate that psycho who would seemingly shoot a child at the door.
He is not fucking around... he is just a cowardly fuck up
Why a weather account?
I didn't know about this so I checked out the Wikipedia article. Wild shit, I tell you.
Yarl sought help at three different homes before someone finally complied.[14] Neighbors had found him lying injured in the street and called police, who found him with at least two gunshot wounds to the head and arm.[13]
The district attorney stated there was a "racial component" to the case.[3] Assistant prosecuting attorney Alexander Higginbotham clarified that "there is not a racial element to the legal charges that were filed". Legal experts noted this was likely because a hate crime charge would have carried a lower maximum sentence.
Why a plea deal? Evidence not good enough?
Trial is always a gamble. The DA can have tons of evidence and one person on the jury will simply refuse to believe it. Or the jury might decide that the shooter deserves the worst possible penalty. Both sides want to know what they are getting.
I wish this hadn't happened. The poor kid has to live with that horrific memory. I'm glad he's living.
I think some common sense should've been applied from the start. People like that need to not have guns, but they also need to feel secure enough not to want them.
Most of Canada manages to survive just fine without the need to shoot kids who knock on a wrong door.
Maybe it's just a you thing.
I'm more scared when people knock on the good door and it's still mine, because it means I'll have to do some social interaction
But the article said it's a black chlid. Scaaaaaaary
GTFO with the victim-blaming bullshit. The perp's ridiculous paranoid bigotry was 100% his own problem, nobody else's.
I wasn't blaming the kid ffs. The homeowner is a piece of shit for shooting him. Jesus. Reading comprehension is your friend
The person you're yelling at wasn't replying to you and was just commenting on the story
but they also need to feel secure enough not to want them.
I'm not willing to do what racist pieces of shit would require done to others to make racists not want guns.
The only thing that needs to happen for people to "feel secure enough not to want" guns is for Fox News (et al) to stop spreading disinformation about the levels of violent crime. I see tons of ads falsely claiming that violent crime is through the roof, when it's actually very low and decreasing.
