Drunk gun owner shoots leg off man, wonders why he's now a felon.

S

Stagger Lee

New member
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/ID_CAMPER_SHOT_IDOL-?SITE=CODEN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

GRANGEVILLE, Idaho (AP) -- A northern Idaho man has been sentenced to the maximum five years in prison for the alcohol-fueled shooting of another man floating in a lake.

"Society is, frankly, fed up with the effects of alcohol and guns," 2nd District Judge John H. Bradbury said Thursday, ordering Michael W. Jackson to serve at least two and a half years before becoming eligible for parole.

The 43-year-old was convicted of aggravated assault during a two-day jury trial in April.

While camping in July 2007, he fired six hollow-point bullets from a .44-magnum handgun at 21-year-old Alex Hagen, who was floating in a lake in a rubber raft.

Hagen was struck in the abdomen and spent three months in hospitals, eventually losing his left leg.

"It's probably by the grace of God that you're not charged with homicide," Bradbury said. Mixing alcohol and guns "is a scourge. It ruins families. It takes lives. (This incident) was totally avoidable."

At the trial, witnesses said Jackson and other campers had been drinking beer throughout the day. Jackson said he didn't intend to harm Hagen.

"I just can't understand how this gets blown into me being a felon," the Lewiston Tribune quoted Jackson as saying. "It was an accident."
...

And this is why many people resist allowing guns in National or State Parks. :rolleyes:
 
S

Socrates

Moderator
Maybe they shouldn't allow beer in public parks...alcohol causes far more damage then guns, when you factor in drunk driving, drunk boating,
idiots drunk in public parks, places, etc. It also destroys property value, with homeless drunks peeing all over the place.
Alcohol should be banned...

I guess my point is you have to be ready for the idiots to be idiots, and, the blacked out drunks to be blacked out drunks, with guns, cars, and boats, and, that is the price of a free society. Sometimes randomly, people that shouldn't, are going to be hurt.
 
B

BurkGlocker

New member
Government warning: (1) According to the surgeon general, women should not drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects. (2) Consumption of alcoholic beverages impairs your ability to drive a car or operate machinery, and may cause health problems.

Just two questions... is stupidity a health problem for the person suffering from it, or for the people around them, and is it considered a birth defect?
 
S

Socrates

Moderator
Actually, we have way too many laws. I'm sure this area has a drunk in public law that this guy was violating while he was shooting at the kid. Where were the police? Why didn't they stop this guy? Probably is a Federal law that prohibits discharging a gun in a park, as well. Why wasn't this guy stopped?

So, since the system failed in the first place, let's write another law, that will also fail for the same reasons the first ones failed. The only real way this could have been stopped is if the kid on the raft had a gun, and started shooting back.
Truth is the only real hope in such a situation is for the person being attacked to be armed, and ready, to return fire.

So, the logical law to write would be that ALL people entering such a park carry a loaded firearm...
 
W

WeedWacker

New member
First off:
"Here's your sign..."

Secondly, "It was an accident..." ?????? :confused: from the sound of the story it seems he intentionally shot in the direction of the victim. No ND or AD or mistaken backdrop here. :mad:
 
C

Communism

New member
The guy he shot was floating in a rubber raft. He thought it would be hilarious if he popped it and made the guy swim back to shore.

So naturally he grabbed his 44...
 
S

Socrates

Moderator
Bradbury noted Jackson, of Stites, had problems with alcohol for many years, and previously had spent time in jail because of it.

"If jail had worked, you wouldn't still be drinking," Bradbury said.
Click to expand...

This makes me think, since it was a Federal Park, and therefore he was in Federal court:

"Society is, frankly, fed up with the effects of alcohol and guns," 2nd District Judge John H. Bradbury said Thursday, ordering Michael W. Jackson to serve at least two and a half years before becoming eligible for parole.
Click to expand...

Is that correct?
 
N

nate45

New member
He thought it would be hilarious if he popped it and made the guy swim back to shore.
Click to expand...

What would be even funnier is if his victim shows up at his parole hearing and tells how missing a leg has affected his life and Jackson serves the whole five years.
 
L

LightningJoe

New member
As is almost always the case, alcohol is the problem. It seems obvious. But there's a minority of people in this country who think drinking alcohol is their right. It's not in the Constitution and it's killed what hundreds of thousands, millions? How do these alcohol-heads have more rights than the rest of us?
 
L

LanceOregon

Moderator
It seems obvious. But there's a minority of people in this country who think drinking alcohol is their right. It's not in the Constitution and it's killed what hundreds of thousands, millions?
Click to expand...

We obviously need an Amendment to the US Constitution that outlaws the manufacture and consumption of alcohol.

Doing that will definitely solve these kinds of problems.

.
 
P

PT111

New member
I got raked over the coals a little while back for posting that alcohol and guns don't mix and that water and cars could also be dangerous. Cars weren't involced in this but water was so I guess we can blame it on them being around water all day instead of the drinking beer.
 
3

.300H&H

New member
Good thing Dick Cheney wasn't in a Federal Park when he was quail hunting!:D


BTW, two of the last 4 governors of my state have gone to prison, and are considered 'felons.'
 
L

LightningJoe

New member
Doing that will definitely solve these kinds of problems.
Click to expand...


Yes, it would. Of course, then you'd have the problems always associated with contraband drugs, precisely the problems we have contolling heroin, cocaine, etc. Those would be serious but manageable. Many people talk about the cost and difficulty of the war on drugs, but if you were to make contraband drugs legal, the user base would increase and the resulting problems would make the war on drugs seem trivial.


This is exactly what has occurred since the repeal of Prohibition. Smugglers operating on the Mexican border no longer shoot it out with guys like Tom Threepersons, but tens of thousands die every year on the road with drunks and an unknown but gigantic number of crimes are committed every year due to the effects of alcohol.


Right now fully 1/3 of adults in the United States use alcohol. The results have been disastrous.
 
H

HuntAndFish

New member
"I just can't understand how this gets blown into me being a felon," the Lewiston Tribune quoted Jackson as saying. "It was an accident."
Click to expand...

This guy thinks of himself as a victim of his own actions. Not a good attitude. He will have some time to think about it and hopefully accept some responsibility. I wouldn't bet on it though.
 
W

Waitone

New member
GRANGEVILLE, Idaho (AP) -- A northern Idaho man has been sentenced to the maximum five years in prison for the alcohol-fueled shooting of another man floating in a lake.

"Society is, frankly, fed up with the effects of alcohol and guns," 2nd District Judge John H. Bradbury said Thursday, ordering Michael W. Jackson to serve at least two and a half years before becoming eligible for parole.
Click to expand...
Whoa! So you can commit a violent attack on another person, be directly responsible for his mutilation, and as a consequence spend a mere 30 months in the clink? Is the DA up there associated with Charlotte's DA? Same schools; same fraternity, married to sisters?

There will be no doubt follow on civil actions which will begin the process of restoration much less restitution. That said, I'd prefer law to place a little more value on human life.

Edited to add: You can get 10 years in Milwaukee offing a lawnmower.

You can tell a lot about a society by what and how it punishes.
 
4

44 AMP

Staff
Obviously TV is to blame....

And, of course alcohol and his own stupidity.

Probably never even gave a thought to the fact the bullets (especially tiny little underpowered ones like .44 Magnum) actually go through things. I'm sure the shooter, like the rest of us has watched TV for years, and seen countless examples of guys hiding behind card tables, empty oil drums, and other thin material that the bullets never penetrated.

Subconscious training, fueled by beer. A wonderful thing. I'm wonder what was involved, to get aggravated assault, instead of ADW or attempted murder.

Its ok folks, he didn't mean it. Shot at him 6 times with a .44 magnum, hitting him once (at least), but he didn't mean it!:eek:

I wonder if the shooter said "Hey, hold ma beer and watch this!"
 
P

Playboypenguin

Moderator
Maybe they shouldn't allow beer in public parks...alcohol causes far more damage then guns, when you factor in drunk driving, drunk boating,
idiots drunk in public parks, places, etc. It also destroys property value, with homeless drunks peeing all over the place.
Alcohol should be banned...
Click to expand...
I could get solidly behind banning alcohol and allowing firearms (for licensed carriers in accordance with state laws) in public parks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top