Death of a courier

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On the Wikipedia article it states Sheppard was throwing rubbish around and stuff, before Bryant attacked him, but the citation for this is a magazine interview with Bryant about his "comeback"

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Bump. C'mon people. Nearly at 1,000 signatures.

Signed. There were something like 940 signatures when I signed it.

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Signed. 933 signatures now.

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I've added my name to the petition.

I really don't know what to say about the case - it's frightening to think he wasn't even charged with murder in the first place....

On the Wikipedia article it states Sheppard was throwing rubbish around and stuff, before Bryant attacked him, but the citation for this is a magazine interview with Bryant about his "comeback"

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I've just edited that line to make it clear where that snippet comes from. We shouldn't remove it but if it's not true it shows what kind of crap Bryant is willing to push.

Signed. 946.

I've added my name to the petition.

I really don't know what to say about the case - it's frightening to think he wasn't even charged with murder in the first place....

well it would never be murder - extremely unlikely that there actually was, let alone could be proved, any intent to kill the cyclist (as opposed to simply to harm him). so manslaughter at worst.

also, whilst i think it's absolutely revolting that the guy is trying to make money out of it with his book, and i have signed the petition, the guy should still be considered innocent until proven guilty. it is at least possible that there is no conspiracy, and the prosecutors genuinely did not think they had a good enough case to bring it to trial (it is very common for this to happen). it is also seems possible (although i've only read the wikipedia article so admit to not being the best informed) that it might be true that he accidentally bumped the cyclist's rear wheel, and then when his car was grabbed he felt threatened and was just trying to get the guy off his car.

i'm genuinely not trying to play devil's advocate, and my heart goes out to the family and friends of the cyclist, it is undoubtedly a terrible tragedy - but in my opinion we ought to think twice. just because he is a horrible human being and trying to make money out of the situation doesn't mean we ought to call him a murderer.

I disagree - I don't see using a car as a weapon any differently to using a gun or a knife.

'I didn't mean to kill him, I just meant to run him over...' doesn't really work for me.

I disagree - I don't see using a car as a weapon any differently to using a gun or a knife.

'I didn't mean to kill him, I just meant to run him over...' doesn't really work for me.

well this is what it says on wikipedia: (i'm aware that's not a great source but the best i have)

"The fatality occurred when Bryant drove away and Sheppard grabbed hold of the side of the vehicle.[21][24][25] The car veered into the opposite lanes, Sheppard's body struck a fire hydrant knocking him off the car and his head hit the pavement.[22] There were witnesses who said it appeared Bryant had attempted to knock Sheppard off the car by striking him against trees and mailboxes."

so it's not really the same as if he shot or stabbed him, where it is obvious that there is intent to kill. not to mention the fact that of course just having a gun or a knife shows you are out to cause harm - which is of course not true of driving a car. it's also not the same as if he deliberately ran him down and then reversed over him or something, which would also obviously show an intent to kill. the guy apparently claimed that he was just trying to get the cyclist off his car - so if this is true (i understand that is a huge if), then it is more like the following situation: you were walking back from cricket practice and accidentally trod on someone's toe, this caused an argument and as you walked away they ran after you, you got worried and hit them with your cricket bat, and they hit their head on a lampost and died. also a tragedy but not murder.

anyway not wanting to cause an argument just saying that it's easy to judge but impossible to know what the guy was actually thinking or what he intended.

as you walked away they ran after you, you got worried and hit them with your cricket bat

Oh come on, that's not nearly equivalent to scraping a guy across trees and street furniture with your car. The baseball bat could be interpreted as self-defence. Dragging a man to his death while you're locked safely in a big metal box is the act of an animal.

The entire sorry story makes me feel ashamed to be the same species as this guy.

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Oh come on, that's not nearly equivalent to scraping a guy across trees and street furniture with your car. The baseball bat could be interpreted as self-defence. Dragging a man to his death while you're locked safely in a big metal box is the act of an animal.

The entire sorry story makes me feel ashamed to be the same species as this guy.

just trying to justify what i said, so again from wikipedia:

On May 25, 2010, prosecutor Richard Peck withdrew all charges against Bryant stemming from the incident, noting there was "no reasonable prospect of conviction."[3] Peck said that "[Bryant] was attacked by a man who unfortunately was in a rage. [Bryant] was legally justified in his attempt to get away"

so the prosecutor at least clearly did interpret it as self-defence.

also it says it was a convertible car - not sure if the top was down or not but you can see how you might feel threatened, and how you wouldn't be protected by a big metal box, if it was.

not going to say any more on this other than that it is a terrible tragedy, and i'm in support of the petition.

peace

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so the prosecutor at least clearly did interpret it as self-defence.

Yeah. Another part of the story is that Bryant's connections within the legal system were what made this interpretation possible. I've read the wiki article too and I'm taking it with a big sack of salt given the other things that I've read that aren't in the same wiki article.