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The family of Jazmine Barnes appear to have lied about the shooter

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by KingCheetah, Jan 6, 2019.

  1. KingCheetah

    KingCheetah Contributing Member

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    Suspect in Jazmine Barnes Shooting Is Charged With Capital Murder


    Mr. Merritt, the lawyer who is representing Jazmine’s family, acknowledged on Twitter that the men arrested did not fit the description of multiple witnesses or the sketch of the suspect released by the authorities.

    “It is difficult to understand how at least four independent witnesses mistook two black male suspects for one older white suspect,” he said. But he suggested that the man witnesses described could have been a bystander attempting to escape the shooting.

    Mr. Merritt did not respond to requests for further comment on Sunday.

    Jazmine was in the car with her mother and three sisters just before 7 a.m. when a man in a pickup truck pulled up beside them and began shooting. A bullet struck Jazmine in the head and she died at the scene, the police said.

    The initial description of the gunman as a white man was based on accounts of the shooting from the family, the sheriff’s office said at a news conferencelast week. The authorities released a sketch of the suspect, describing him as a thin white man in his 30s or 40s.

    Image[​IMG]
    Eric Black Jr., 20, has confessed to taking part in Jazmine’s killing, the authorities said.CreditHarris County Sheriff's Office
    Research has shown that stress levels and conditions at the time of a crime can undercut the accuracy of eyewitness identification.

    “Eyewitness testimony is the least reliable evidence you can have,” said Lori Brown, a criminologist at Meredith College in North Carolina, who said that people generally try to understand how a traumatic event could have happened by using what they know about the world. “Unfortunately,” she said, “we fill in the gaps.”

    Jazmine’s mother, LaPorsha Washington, who was injured in the shooting, previously told CNN that she and her daughters were still in their pajamas when they made a coffee run before sunrise. She said that she did not see the shooter, but that her teenage daughter did.

    “I don’t know if it was some kind of violent hatred, if it was a hate crime, or what it was,” Ms. Washington said. “But you can plainly see through my windows. I have no tint on my windows or anything so you can see that it was a mother, a black mother, with four beautiful children, girls, in this car.”

    After Jazmine’s killing, the public mobilized to help the family. Shaun King, a prominent racial justice activist and a columnist at The Intercept, had offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the gunman’s arrest. DeAndre Hopkins, a wide receiver for the Houston Texans, pledged to donate his paycheck from this weekend’s playoff game, which amounts to $29,000, to help pay for Jazmine’s funeral.

    At a rally for Jazmine on Saturday, supporters clutched banners and artwork dedicated to Jazmine, who was in second grade at a Houston-area school. “No peace, no justice,” the crowd chanted. Many parents said the shooting had made them in fear of their own lives and those of their children.

    It was unclear who was representing Mr. Black or Mr. Woodruffe. The Harris County Public Defender’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    At the court hearing for Mr. Black, a prosecutor said that an anonymous source had contacted the authorities and said the men did not realize the vehicle they shot belonged to Jazmine and her family until they saw it on the news.

    The prosecutor said Mr. Black told the authorities that he had driven a rental vehicle during the shooting and that an accomplice had opened fire from the passenger side. The authorities recovered a pistol consistent with evidence at the scene, he said.

    In a statement on Sunday, Mayor Sylvester Turner of Houston thanked the public for an “outpouring of support from across the country.”

    “It provided law enforcement with a sense of urgency and made Jazmine’s loved ones know they weren’t alone in their time of grief,” he said, adding: “It’s now my hope that justice will prevail and that Jazmine’s family will find some comfort knowing the alleged gunman is off the street.”

     
  2. KingCheetah

    KingCheetah Contributing Member

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  3. Haymitch

    Haymitch Custom Title
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    I think "lied" is a bit strong. A teenage girl who just got shot at and watched her sister get murdered was the one who gave the description. So it would be understandable if she really messed it up given what had just happened. Maybe she saw a white guy in a truck pass by her moments before the other car pulled up and fired? Who knows.

    I would guess that a guy in a red truck heard gunshots and high-tailed it out of the area. Witnesses saw that and it aligned with the inaccurate description given by the teen. News ran with that and it became national attention.

    Glad the guys who committed the act got caught and glad that they got a confession.
     
  4. Bobbythegreat

    Bobbythegreat Member
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    They are right by saying that eyewitness testimony is by far the least reliable evidence you can go on. When it comes to if the girl "lied", you can't say for sure. She might have been simply mistaken, she might have been fearful of repercussions if she "snitched", or she might have been forward thinking enough to realize that no one would care if a black man in his 20's shot her sister but if she put out there that it was a white man in his 40's it would become national news and make it much more likely for the real shooter to be brought to justice.

    Either way, it doesn't matter, they caught the guy and that's good no matter what.
     
    edwardc likes this.
  5. biff17

    biff17 Member

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    What is point of that title?

    The article you posted has a valid reason for a mistake, you are a scumbag troll.
     
  6. KingCheetah

    KingCheetah Contributing Member

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    The mother and her legal/ media are scumbags for using her child's tragic death to make money.
    _______

    Jazmine’s mother, who was wounded in the shooting and treated at a hospital and released, said at Saturday’s rally that she appreciates the outpouring of support from around the nation.

    "It is going to be justice for her, and I feel it in the bottom of my heart," said Jazmine’s mother, LaPorsha Washington. "It's going to be justice for her, because there’s too many people out here looking for this man."

    Washington spoke of the pain of losing a child and said Jazmine’s siblings were next to her when she was shot. She said supporters are giving them strength.

    "My babies, man, they come to me and they’re, ‘Momma, are you all OK?’ … helping me, faith in me. And it’s supposed to be the other way around," Washington said. "It's not supposed to be like this."

    Washington said they did nothing to provoke the gunman, and she believes it possibly could have been a hate crime.

    Police on Thursday released a sketch of the suspect and released surveillance video of what they believe is the red pickup truck he was driving during the shooting.

    Attorney Lee Merritt, who is assisting Jazmine’s family, said Saturday that he believes the shooting could be race-related, and he said previously that there seemed to be no other motivation for the crime but race.

    "There was no other justification or the motivation that the family could identify, other than a white male who was a complete stranger to them decided to target their family," Merritt said Thursday at a news conference with the sheriff.

    "He had a chance to look into the car, see young girls, observe that family, and without any other explanation he decided to riddle the car with bullets," Merritt said Thursday.

    Supporters on Saturday shouted "What do we want? Justice! Who do we want it for? Jazmine! Say her name! Jazmine!" and "Whose child? Our child!" at the rally.

    "However it is defined, it is a hateful and vicious act with violence and guns on innocent women and children driving for a Sunday morning coffee break," U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who represents part of Houston, said Saturday. "That should not be acceptable in this country."

    She called the strong turnout at the rally "a powerful expression of really what America is about, and what this great city is about."

    https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna955141?espv=1
     
  7. biff17

    biff17 Member

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    So I ask once again what was the point of that title since you obviously have an issue with something else.
     
  8. Duncan McDonuts

    Duncan McDonuts Contributing Member

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    Question: why does the family need an attorney? It's a criminal case that the state would handle.

    In regards to the family, I believe they saw the white male. But I also think they were quick to jump to conclusions that he was the shooter and the motive was white supremacy. People are too quick to blame racism for their problems, and the media runs with it. They should be ashamed for that.
     
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  9. KingCheetah

    KingCheetah Contributing Member

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    What other things do I have issue with - what are you implying?
     
    Nook likes this.
  10. marks0223

    marks0223 2017 and 2022 World Series Champions
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    Didn't they even have the eye color of the suspect in their description? It was curious that they had such detail. Who would take notice of someone's eye color that was shooting at you?
     
    Sajan, Nook and Astrodome like this.
  11. biff17

    biff17 Member

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    And by the way there were 2 people in the vehicle and the shorter was a passenger.

    That might explain something.
     
  12. Astrodome

    Astrodome Member
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    Glad the perps were caught. The eye color description raised my eyebrows all week but at this point I dont blame the family at all. Sad situation all around.
     
    Nook and eric.81 like this.
  13. Cohete Rojo

    Cohete Rojo Contributing Member

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    [​IMG]
     
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  14. CometsWin

    CometsWin Breaker Breaker One Nine

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    Trash title. Four independent witnesses. Grow up.
     
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  15. The Real Shady

    The Real Shady Contributing Member

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    I'm glad an innocent bystander was not falsely accused and identified by the media. Would have been a **** storm for the guy.
     
    MiddleMan and marks0223 like this.
  16. Bobbythegreat

    Bobbythegreat Member
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    Yeah and all four of them either lied or were about as mistaken as possible it's noteworthy one way or the other.


    Out of curiosity, If a group of white witnesses said they were attacked by a black man in his 40's and it turned out to be a 20 year old white man that looked completely different, would you be this charitable or would you accuse them of racism?
     
    mick fry and cml750 like this.
  17. bigtexxx

    bigtexxx Contributing Member

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    I wonder if Shaun King will still care, since it doesn't fit his narrative of a white hate crime? I guarantee he wouldn't have been all over this had it been your garden variety black-on-black violence.

    In any event, it's truly tragic that a child had to die senselessly like this. I'm glad they got the perp(s).
     
    mick fry likes this.
  18. ArtV

    ArtV Contributing Member

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    The "rumor" is that Jazmine's mom and the driver (Eric Black) were FB friends. Odd if true but it would line up with the other "rumor" that the mom went looking for drugs and drove off without paying. Might explain the completely different shooter description. Again all rumor that could be refuted or confirmed in a few days.
     
  19. Kim

    Kim Contributing Member

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    Now that would make for a movie drama style sensational twist to the story.
     
  20. Roc Paint

    Roc Paint Contributing Member

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    Excellent jod at keeping racial tension down
     

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