TexasCHLforum.com

Getting back to the original topic, the first trial of the suspect in this case ended with a deadlocked jury and a mistrial. The state intends to prosecute the case in a second trial.

http://www.kingmandailyminer.com/main.a ... leID=54443" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.azcentral.com/news/free/2013 ... ditor.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

- Jim

WildBill wrote:What I was getting at was the "all-too-common" practice of announcing a new product for sale or debuting it at a trade show and then not being able to deliver the product to the consumer.

This is nearly always a bad move.

Companies get some buzz from rumors (I suspect sometimes intentionally leaked) or advance previews at shows like the SHOT Show. However, if they can't start selling soon they burn up that good will. Also customers won't buy what is currently on the market if they are waiting for the next new thing. Some computer companies were destroyed by this mistake.

I don't know (or care) how sales of the Ruger LCP are going now, but I think Ruger made a mistake by not meeting demand and also having some early production problems.

The thread police should be here any minute.

- Jim

WildBill wrote:I suppose it's very difficult to wheedle a weapon when the weapon is still only a model on the designer's computer.

Magazines and the industries that they cover have a symbiotic relationship (to put it diplomatically). Magazines need advertising dollars, and vendors need an advertising vehicle for the products that they sell.

This is true of just about everything—guns, cars, motorcycle, clothing, furniture, etc.

I would think the vendors and magazine editors correspond regularly, telling each other what they are planning to publish or what they are planning to announce in the near future. However, as I said, I never worked at that level.

There is always controversy about vendors providing hand-picked samples for reviewers to try, or giving them access to prototypes that are not the design that ended up for sale

- Jim

WildBill wrote:... planning the contents of a monthly magazine is a longer term effort. I suspect that the advertisements play a larger role than the actual articles....

This is correct.

They plan a year in advance. Let's say they're going to have an article about compact polymer pistols. They will solicit some of their known writers to write the articles, and they will solicit manufacturers to buy advertising in the same issue. Along the way someone also has to wheedle weapons for evaluation from the manufacturers. I don't know how that aspect works.

- Jim

The lead time of print magazines is months. (I have written a few magazine articles, without a byline, unfortunately).

- Jim

Last week a judge refused to lower Venola's $100,000 bond. Venola remains in jail.

He now has an attorney who is claiming the case was self defense. However, the deceased man was not armed.

http://www.mohavedailynews.com/articles ... 659244.txt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.kingmandailyminer.com/main.a ... leID=51298" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I don't understand why someone can't make $100,000 bond. Usually they let the suspect use his house as bail.

This story received no news coverage except in the local media after the incident. It was repeated on about a thousand gun boards (Google turns up 45,000 links). Normally I ignore gossip, but there isn't even any substantial gossip.

- Jim

What in the world does this case have to do with rape?

The only real facts that are known is that one guy is dead and another guy is charged with killing him. No self-defense claim has been asserted or even hinted at.

- Jim

States differ in this regard. I think the only constant is that the suspect is supposed to have a bond hearing within a few days. Even that can take holidays and weekends into account.

A bond hearing isn't the same as arraignment. The arraignment was supposed to occur on May 21, which was about three weeks after the offense.

- Jim

WildBill wrote:The wheels of justice turn ever so slowly.

Arraignment is supposed to occur within a certain short period after indictment. Usually it's pretty routine. The defendant pleads not guilty. Maybe nobody remembered to go to the hearing or look it up later.

In many cases the defense attorney starts broadcasting a defense soon after the indictment, but not necessarily.

- Jim

A month has passed, and there is no news on this topic. Nada. Not even rumors.

- Jim

Mr. Venola was indicted for second-degree murder by a grand jury a few days ago:

http://www.mohavedailynews.com/articles ... 481324.txt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That means a majority of the grand jury (I don't know the specifics in Arizona) decided there was probable cause to proceed with a trial. Self-defense cases are usually dismissed at this stage because the grand jury finds the actions of the accused justified.

- Jim

Heartland Patriot wrote:How many folks who shoot someone in self-defense either A) Don't kill the person, or B) Aren't charged due to the circumstances?

I don't know off the top of my head.

Homicides are easy to measure because the victim is either dead or not. (Some people die long after the shooting, but not many.) Then all homicides are classified as criminal, justifiable, accidents, or a very few other categories.

Non-fatal shootings are much harder to classify because often they are not closed. A shooting may not be prosecuted for lack of evidence, so it is never determined to be a criminal act or justifiable.

I think it's reasonable to estimate that if 5% of homicides are justifiable self defense and the rest are criminal, probably the percentage is about the same for non-fatal shootings.

There's an old saying, when you hear hoofbeats, look for a horse, not a zebra.

- Jim

Jumping Frog wrote:But I would like to point out that just because someone has had a drink or five, they still have an inherent, God-given right to legitimate self defense.

I agree.

However, there are a few relevant points to keep in mind:

• Arizona has a strong presumption of justified self-defense, passed into law since the Harold Fish case. It requires the state to prove that a defendant did not have a justification, rather than the defendant proving that he did have a justification.
  
  As a result, prosecutors have to think twice before prosecuting someone who has used force or deadly force in self-defense.
  
  Granted that everyone who is arrested is considered innocent until proven guilty, the police on the scene at the time believed that they had good reason to arrest Mr. Venola. I can't say exactly what the practice is in Arizona, but arresting someone for a felony charge usually requires approval from a prosecutor.

• It never looks good when people who are acquainted (whether they are really "friends") are involved in a violent incident. This doesn't mean that justified self-defense is impossible, but the authorities are going to take a much closer look at whether it was some kind of ongoing dispute, like a debt or romantic problems.

• It never looks good when people who are drinking are involved in a violent incident. Whether you are a teetotaler or a bartender, you have to acknowledge that no one has better judgment after a few drinks than they do sober.

"Looks bad" does not mean guilty. I don't know what happened here. It's a complicated case that is going to cost Mr. Venola a fortune no matter what happens.

What I do know is that not every shooting is justified self-defense.

There are about 15,000 homicides per year in the U.S. (not all are shootings, and there are many more non-fatal shootings). In 2010, the FBI classified 665 homicides as justified. Of those, fewer than half were justified shootings by people who were not acting in a law enforcement capacity.

That was not an exceptional year, BTW. The murder rate has been going down since 1992, and the number of justifiable shootings by private citizens has been going up.

Therefore, odds are that any homicide is outright murder or manslaughter. The police are going to be skeptical about any shooting of an unarmed man outside the shooter's home or business. If you think not, think again.

The Arizona self-defense law is discussed here:
http://blog.novakazlaw.com/2012/04/ariz ... -defenses/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

FBI Uniform Crime Report for 2010:
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/cr ... murdermain" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/cr ... rtbl14.xls" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/cr ... micidemain" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

- Jim

Sometimes you can find more than one news story:

The county sheriff’s office said 53-year-old Richard Venola of Golden Valley was arrested on a second-degree murder charge. Police found 39-year-old James Patrick O’Neill dead of a rifle shot to the chest. Police say the men had been drinking, but detectives don’t know what led to the shooting.

http://www.fronterasdesk.org/news/2012/ ... 6aEG8Vv_rs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Mohave County sheriff's office says a former gun magazine editor has been arrested in the death of one of his friends....
Venola and O'Neill had been drinking, but detectives say they don't know yet what led to the shooting. Venola declined to speak with detectives until he had a lawyer present.

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/7 ... -Shooting/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Upon arrival, deputies found 39-year-old James Patrick O’Neill outside the residence. They summoned medical personnel, who responded and declared the victim dead at the scene.

Sheriff’s office spokeswoman Trish Carter said O’Neill suffered a gunshot wound to his chest.

Detectives then executed a search warrant and collected evidence.

The murder weapon was a high-caliber rifle, Carter said, which was recovered.

http://www.mohavedailynews.com/articles ... 542416.txt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Please notice that when a news article quotes or paraphrases a police spokesperson, this is probably what the police said. Newspapers and television stations can't maintain good relationships with their sources if they misquote them.

Also Kingman, Arizona, is not exactly a hotbed of liberalism.

- Jim