Oklahoma Pharmacist Sentenced to Life for Shooting Robber

So he disables one by hitting him in the head, and empties the clip while trying to hit the other. Then comes back to the one laying on the floor grabs another loaded gun and unloads on the guy on the floor, who could be playing possum and may have rolled over and shot him. And I'm sure the guy had his head swinging towards the door just in case they came back. It all happened in five seconds!!!

He eliminated one threat completely and set himself up for a good defensive postion had the other intruder(s) come back.

Well done.

Hey man, you enter a store armed with the intent to rob and kill anyone who opposes, you take on the risk of encountering resistance, which could be deadly. Premeditated Murder??!!! No way. This dude did not go to work plotting to kill. It was a reaction.

 

That is pure speculation about whether the guy is playing possum. Plus the other guy wasn't armed so he couldn't have rolled over and shot him. Anyway outside of movies a gunshot to the head doesn't mean the person is going to suddenly get up. Just ask Rep. Giffords.

As for this 5 seconds thing I don't know where that came from. I just rewatched the video it is about 42 seconds from when Ersland first started shooting to when he shoots the robber on the ground again. It is about 15 seconds from when he comes back in the store and shoots the robber on the ground.

As far as good defensive position incase the other intruder comes back in the video after shooting the suspect on the ground he puts the gun down and then walks a few steps to pick up the phone.

Premeditation doesn't mean you start the day thinking about killing someone. If you read the wikidefinition that CaseyH posted earlier it states the intent to ensure success or evasion of the law. In the video Ersland is clearly showing intent to take the time to get the other gun shoot the guy multiple times. That is premeditation and the prosecution and jury agrees.

 

I'm presuming that you're an average citizen and I dare you explain how a head shot is incapacitating and terminate, absolutely, thoroughly, the possibility of a reprisal from a person shot to the head.

The shot man was off camera. I can't tell how "down" he was.

Again, it depends on whether or not he was capable of confirming that the shot robber was incapacitated.

No.

He was at gunpoint making him eligible to use deadly force. If he was not capable of confirming the status of the shot person, it's safe to assume that there is still an imminent threat.

Again, was he ever able to confirm that he successfully repelled the attacker?

Idk how Ersland's party handled the case.

I don't mind being charged. I understand the need for an investigation. I have confidence that the jury will see that I am merely exercising my rights.

That's not exactly the same.

If you saw the mugger moving towards you like he did the first time, shoot him. If he's just buying ice cream, find a cop.

In this situation, the guy was knocked down, I can't confirm he's out and there's a chance of a reprisal. The threat never ended. Therefore, I have the right to shoot him.

You're not answering my question. Did you hear the testimony?

But to answer your question, no - but it's not like I've already passed judgement, unlike you.

Again, I have never passed judgement. What I have been saying is that there is a probability that the defendant is not guilty arising from the performance expected of an average person thrust into that situation.

Likewise, I feel you may need to review and clarify some details regarding the law. I appreciate and respect your civility but I fear you may be disadvantaging your students in life and death situations by reinforcing artificial rights to criminals. You should be reinforcing their rights to self-defense by telling them what situations merit the use of non-deadly and deadly forces.

 

There is a possibility he couldn't tell the guy's status, in which case, the imminent threat was still present.

Yeah? Was Ersland able to confirm that? The other guy had one so it's reasonable to assume everybody has one. I'm not gonna ask a robber whether or not he has a gun when one of his friends already had me at gunpoint. Do I wait for him to draw it? Of course not.

Yes, it's long but, if anything, there's no expiration to an imminent threat.

To be able to efficiently secure the situation is beyond what you can expect of an average citizen. Ersland is ex-military but the state would've needed to examine whether or not he has retained combatant level prowess.

Yes, if they were able to soundly confirm that that is what Ersland did. I'm gonna say that the video is insufficient to produce a guilty verdict, however.

 

QUESTION: Does The attempt to commit a crime render all your rights null and void? Does being a potential victim of a crime give you carte blanche to do whatever you want to the perpatrator?[sp?]



Rocket River

 

Follow up. Ersland gets life with the possibility of parole at sentencing.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43710936/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/?GT1=43001

Oklahoma pharmacist sentenced to life for killing would-be robber
Fifty-nine-year-old calls his sentence 'an injustice of a monumental proportion'

An Oklahoma pharmacist has been sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole for first-degree murder in the shooting death of a teenager who tried to rob the south Oklahoma City pharmacy where he worked.

Fifty-nine-year-old Jerome Ersland was sentenced Monday after Oklahoma County District Judge Ray Elliott rejected a defense motion to suspend the sentence.

Ersland had no reaction and said nothing as the sentence was handed down. As he left the courtroom, he responded to a reporter's shouted question by calling the sentence "an injustice of a monumental proportion."

A jury convicted Ersland and recommended the life with the possibility of parole sentence for the May 2009 shooting of 16-year-old Antwun Parker. Defense attorney Irven Box said the conviction and sentence will be appealed.

Confronted by two holdup men, Ersland pulled a gun, shot one of them in the head and chased the other away. Then, in a scene recorded by the drugstore's security camera, he went behind the counter, got another gun, and pumped five more bullets into Parker as he lay on the floor unconscious.

At the trial, prosecutors argued that Ersland crossed into the wrong when he shot the unarmed and unconscious Parker five more times.

Ersland contended that he was defending himself and two co-workers from a robber who still posed a threat.

'Please don't give up hope'
Thousands of Ersland's supporters have reportedly signed petitions pushing Gov. Mary Fallin to pardon the pharmacist, or ease his sentence.
Video: Was it murder or self-defense? (on this page)

"Please people, don't give up hope. We got 17,000 signatures in a month," Ersland's friend and activist Karen Monahan told KOCO.

Monahan told the station she is selling T-shirts and collecting signatures to help save the life of her good friend.

"The last time I talked to him (Ersland), he was over-excited. He's getting letters (of support) from people he doesn't even know," Monahan reportedly said.

 

He should have burned the video tape. I'm sure he wont get life for tampering of evidence obstruction. :grin:

 

Ooops