Rare robbery case brings cries of racism? Totally bizarre case. Your thoughts?

Question

By JULIANA BARBASSA, Associated Press Writer
44 minutes ago

LAKEPORT, Calif. - Three young black men break into a white man's home in rural Northern California. The homeowner shoots two of them to death — but it's the surviving black man who is charged with murder.

In a case that has brought cries of racism from civil rights groups, Renato Hughes Jr., 22, was charged by prosecutors in this overwhelmingly white county under a rarely invoked legal doctrine that could make him responsible for the bloodshed.

"It was pandemonium" inside the house that night, District Attorney Jon Hopkins said. Hughes was responsible for "setting the whole thing in motion by his actions and the actions of his accomplices."

Prosecutors said homeowner Shannon Edmonds opened fire Dec. 7 after three young men rampaged through the Clearlake house demanding marijuana and brutally beat his stepson. Rashad Williams, 21, and Christian Foster, 22, were shot in the back. Hughes fled.

My thoughts? I don't know nearly enough about California laws. If the surviving person orchestrated this entire mess I could understand why the court wants to charge him with murder. Albeit the other two men committed this act of their own volition. This is not a case of racisim. It's a case of a man defending his family and what's rightly his.

You're right Katie. It's a shame but you know what's even more shameful? It's shameful to bring race into a situation when a man is trying to protect his home and his family from a home invasion.

Answer 1

They'll charge him initially with first degree murder and it'll be reduced to felony murder or something to that extent. The homeowner, however, had every right to defend his home as spelled out in the Consitution and the laws of this country.

Answer 2

Well, I don't know nearly enough about California law to say whether or not I think the charge will stick. But, as for whether or not racism is at work here, I don't know. In order to form an opinion about that, I would have to know more information. (i.e. whether or not there have been similar incidents in which black perpetrators were charged while white perpetrators were NOT charged- and whether or not such incidents fell under the same prosecutors.) Either that or somehow get inside the prosecutors' brains. LOL! It would help to know the entire histories of the prosecutors involved.

It's certainly possible that racism is involved. But I think what's really important to consider is whether or not that possibility should be taken into account. Unless someone can produce information which indicates that the prosecutors have shown racial bias in the past, my opinion is that there should be no question of whether or not racism is involved.

I agree with you that it's a shame race is being made an issue. For crying out loud, someone was victimized. People broke into a man's home, and violence ensued.

Does Hughes have a lawyer yet? If people are so antsy pantsy about the possibility of racism, why don't they plead with his lawyer to request a change of venue? The man deserves to be prosecuted for SOMETHING. I'm not sure that I'm sold on murder... After all, I believe that consenting adults, who aren't being threatened or forced in any way, should only be held accountable for their own actions.

Answer 3

It is a shame but the problem is anytime a case such as this in which even one member is white and the other is black people will claim racism was involved. I see time and time again where if a white man shoots a black man even in self defense groups claim race played an issue but reverse it and those same groups wont say anything.

It could be CA courts are trying to be alot stricter on these types of crimes to detour more criminals or the media is blowing it out of proportion or it could be race is playing a issue here.

Honestly I believe the court system as a whole needs to be revamped. Do away with appeals and bring in stricter penalties. If sentenced to death it should happen within a year not 20-40 years down the road. Penalty should fit the crime. IE rape=castration, thieft=missing fingers/hand, murder=death.

Answer 4

If the robbers were white then it would not have been racist. The only thing I don't understand is that a robber is being convetied for the murder of his accomplises when he wasn't the one to pull the trigger. No one should be persucted for the killing of the two other people but the surviving robber should be tried for attemped murder of the man's son. I also thing that when they say stuff like this or anything that involved a white and a black person they shouldn't say what color they are. Becuase people are just going to automaticly assume the white person is racist. The only why we should know if the person is black or white is if it's important to the news like in Jena 6. Everything else is stupid.

Answer 5

I like the cause and effect aspect of the charge. If the robbery wasn't orchestrated in the first place, the killings would not have happened. I think there should be more responsibility like this.

Racism is a deplorable practice, but cries of racism where there is none only seeks to diminish the torridness of the act of racism. Sadly, its become the mantra of many minority groups that always cry racism when there is none.

Its like the "little by who cried wolf" syndrome.

Answer 6

I don't think race has anything to do with it. If you and a few other people do a robbery and in the process people get killed you will be charged with murder becuase of the simple fact that you were there. You don't even have to be the one who did it. It's messed up, but its the law. Secondly, the woman was protecting her family. Any body who says they would not do the same thing it probably. Come on they broke into her house.

Answer 7

Honestly, I don't think they can fairly charge him with that unless there was a video camera present. The only people that would be able to explain what happened would obviously be biased because of the outcomes they want, even if they aren't conciously aware of it. Though I do believe that Shannon Edmonds did do the right thing, so he shouldn't get any of the back fire from the civil rights groups, but it doesn't seem like it's going to turn out that way.

Answer 8

Is shameful that people are trying to make this a racial case. Those men broke into a house and beat up a person. The father had every right to shoot them, he was protecting his house. What did they expect? For him to treat them to coffee and cake? Any person would've done the same and race has no role in this case.

Answer 9

Racism is a common cry today when criminals are caught.
Many states have recently passed laws protecting the homeowner or car owner from prosecution if they shoot and or kill an intruder. This is good.

I wonder if the intruders had been white-would there have been a cry of racism?

Answer 10

Exactly.And this wouldn't be a sensational case if not for the Marxist brainwashing of our culture.Victims are viewed as perps because the plan is to destroy Western Culture by fomenting racial unrest.And clearly the mainstream media are a controlled force in this mess.