Trial begins of father who killed the drunk driver that killed his two sons

[longnecker]

Originally Posted by katygirl68

On the one hand, I'm glad that this guy isn't spending several years in jail after what happened to him already. But a part of me doesn't think we should go back to the wild west days where people can seek blood vengeance.

I feel very bad for the kid's family. But you are right . We should not accept wild west justice.

[Frydazechild]

The man was acquitted, because there was no evidence of him having shot the man. They found no gun, there was no gun powder residue on his persons, and there were no witnesses stating he shot the man.
The police made up a story to fit the crime & it didn't fly. I can't figure out why the man was ever charged. They did find mr Barajas's blood on the outside of the driver side door, but if Mr. Bando had hit the defendent I'm sure there would have been blood on his vehicle.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by Frydazechild

The man was acquitted, because there was no evidence of him having shot the man. They found no gun, there was no gun powder residue on his persons, and there were no witnesses stating he shot the man.
The police made up a story to fit the crime & it didn't fly. I can't figure out why the man was ever charged. They did find mr Barajas's blood on the outside of the driver side door, but if Mr. Bando had hit the defendent I'm sure there would have been blood on his vehicle.

No, the blood was on the inside of his door and the armrest.

That doesn't mean he shot Banda though. One of the witnesses---the cousin or half brother---testified that they saw Barajas reach inside the drunk driver's car window and punch/grab him or something like that. Since Barajas would have bloody wounds from the accident, his blood would have gotten inside the interior of the car. What's interesting is the cousin/half brother's testimony was discredited by Barajas lawyer because pictures show the car window open. That doesn't mean there wasn't an altercation. The window may have been down at that time or maybe the car door was open.

Having no gunpowder, no gun and no witnesses is very compelling. Since the police arrived in mere minutes, where did the gunpowder and gun go? The most logical explanation is the gunpowder and gun left with the cousin and step-brother when they fled the scene. Why did they flee? It makes sense the cousin fled because he was driving a separate vehicle after attending the same party where Banda was drunk. That doesn't explain why the step-brother fled. Since the step-brother wasn't driving either vehicle, he wasn't at risk of a DUI. If my sibling was injured in a car accident, I'd stay to help my sibling. I wouldn't run off with my cousin in another vehicle.

I'm leaning more towards the step-brother being the killer than the cousin.

[gen811]

Originally Posted by katygirl68

Texas Man on Trial for Allegedly Slaying Driver Who Killed His Sons - ABC News

Trial of Texas father raises legal, moral issues - Houston Chronicle

Has anyone heard about this case? The Houston Chronicle article is much more detailed than the ABC News report. The father and his two sons were pushing their broken-down truck down the street to their house, and 50 feet from the house another car struck them, killing the two boys.

Police say that the father ran to his home, got his gun, and came back and shot and killed the drunk driver. No gun was ever found, the guy's hands tested negative for gunpowder residue, and his wife says the father stayed nearby the whole time trying to revive their dying son (the other was already dead).

I'm no sure what to believe, but I wouldn't want to be on that jury. If the guy is guilty, I could see the jury giving him the lightest sentence possible. On the other hand, it's hard to believe a father would leave the side of his dying son to get a gun and shoot somebody. The lack of gunpowder residue is strange too.

What do you think?

...In this case if I was the jury... I would also try to give him the lightest sentence possible the drunk driver actually deserved to die by killing innocents even if by accident.
perhaps I would even just let him go if the drunk was a really bad person himself so the world wouldn't even miss him...

I can understand the father. I would not kill the drunk myself, but would really want to.
life in prison for the father would do nothing.