Tailgater...I feel as sick about this as you do, but this is the way laws, especially criminal laws are written in this country. From what I've read, the investigative authorities felt like they could not have proven that the defendant, while beating the victim to death, demonstrated malice and intent, the two key factors needed to charge someone with murder. So, the bad guy was charged with voluntary manslaugther, a bondable offense in most states. During the time that the police were out rounding up witnesses and taking statements, tough guy went on vacation before he was charged with this crime. I read somewhere that the reason the defendant beat the victim the way he did because he was familiar with the victim's propensity towards violence. I feel certain that the investigating officers would have like to have charged the defendant with murder, but weak-kneed leadership, which is prevalent in most law enforcement agencies around the country, refused to let them because the way the law is written. Based on my experiences, I feel that with the number of people who witnessed this attack, the weight and height differences between the defendant and victim, the absolute hatred, which to me was indicated by the savageness of the attacker, the incredible disregard for the children participating in this event and society in general, the officers assigned to this case could get a Grand jury to hand down a true bill of indictment of capital murder and malice murder against the defendant. DISCLAIMER: The presiding statement is not that of this website but only that of the (sic)author.
