http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/19/us...ladelphia.html

Here's the basic story -- a guy shoots a police officer in 1966 cause the police officer to be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. The shooter serves his full sentence for the crime and gets out of jail. Meanwhile, the former police officer dies of a UTI and the shooter is arrested again for murder. The family charges that the UTI was a result of the former police officer being confined to a wheelchair.

What are your thoughts on this?

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"Anybody who believes the pen is mightier than the sword hasn't been inside a maximum security prison." ~ Lisa Scottoline

My first reaction to this is NO not double jeopardy, my understanding of double jeopardy is that you can not be tried for the SAME crime twice. His first conviction was attemted murder I am assuming since the Police Officer lived. This trial would be for murder. So two different "crimes" even though it is the same victim.

However, I think it is going to be a hard case to prove without a doubt that the UTI was cause by the shooting and only the shooting.

Interesting!

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I've grown certain that the root of all fear is that we've been forced to deny who we are. ~ Frances Moore Lappe

Well I have mixed feelings about this. I guess legally it isn't double jeopardy because he IS being tried for a different crime. And as someone who worked as a spinal cord injury nurse for a zillion years it IS very likely the UTI came as a result of the spinal cord injury. Most spinal cord injured patients can't empty their bladders properly so must catheterize themselves introducing bacteria into the bladder frequently, and they don't empty their bladders well so bacteria sits and breeds in there. Many of them end up having to be on long term antibiotics to prevent constant infections.

But having said that.....even though the UTI probably came from the spinal cord injury and so theoretically he now has died from his injury, somehow this seems not quite right.

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I don't think its double jeparody persay. But I don't think the guy should be charged again with Murder. But That was 40 years ago when he got shot he could of died from other reasons. Which would make him kinda old and the fact he got hep. and the two car accidents doesnt help him any either. Who knows it could of been his time to go.

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Mom of one kangaroo!

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. If he goes to jail over this man's death, then there's going to be a lot of other people that are going to be charged for similar deaths.

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"Anybody who believes the pen is mightier than the sword hasn't been inside a maximum security prison." ~ Lisa Scottoline

I read that article in People magazine. I think the man did his time in prison and is now trying to be a productive citizen, i say he shouldn't be charged again!

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"Go on, get outside, get the stink blown off ya!!"

“The law is that when you set in motion a chain of events,” District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham said, “a perpetrator of a crime is responsible for every single thing that flows from that chain of events, no matter how distant, as long as we can prove the chain is unbroken.”

I can understand why they have filed, but honestly after 40 years I don't think he should be tried for this man's murder. In reading the the full article I personally would have thought they could have constantly been filing charges against the gunman - he fell out of his wheelchair as a result of the accident - he wouldn't have been in a wheelchair if he hadn't been shot. Nor sure how he got Hep. but that could have been linked if they tried hard enough. Even though he had been in two additional car accidents they could have linked all the problems that stemmed from them to the original shooting - because that most likely exacerbated everything.

I understand the family is hurting and they don't think the 20 years served is enough for the pain and suffering, but I do not think the man should ave to go back to jail. IMO, he shouldn't even be in jail waiting for the prelim.

Being this is a national case, they will be sending a BAD message to everyone if this passes.

Just my opinion.

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This is in the article:

"After his initial paralysis, his condition improved significantly and he regained motion in his legs, walking with braces and riding short distances on a stationary bicycle. But he reinjured his spine repeatedly, in two car accidents and in a fall from his wheelchair, according to interviews with relatives and news reports from the era. "

I don't see how they could prove that the original injury caused his death
because he had these other injuries also.

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If this goes through, there are going to be a lot of people trying to do the same thing. The courts and jails are overcrowded as it is...not sure how good of an idea it is.

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