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A Terrible Choice That Was Made

eye95

Well-known member
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Jan 6, 2010
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13,524
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Fairborn, Ohio, USA
What a tragedy. The kid did what he had to do, but he and his mother will have to live with that knowledge for the rest of their lives. The man may be dead, but the damage he did will live on.

BTW, I had to comment on how this appeared on the main index:

A Terrible Choice That Was Made
by OC for ME
Today, 07:43 AM

What terrible choice did you make this morning at 7:43??
 

OC for ME

Regular Member
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Jan 6, 2010
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White Oak Plantation
What a tragedy. The kid did what he had to do, but he and his mother will have to live with that knowledge for the rest of their lives. The man may be dead, but the damage he did will live on.

BTW, I had to comment on how this appeared on the main index:



What terrible choice did you make this morning at 7:43??
I see what you did there.;)
 

davidmcbeth

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Jan 14, 2012
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earth's crust
Deputies say that's when their teenage son Channing saw his father strangling his mother. At that point investigators say, the boy had apparently had enough, he grabbed a gun, pointed it in the direction of Thorpe and pulled the trigger several times.


seems to be justified .... maybe more later ...
 

skidmark

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Valhalla
Deputies say that's when their teenage son Channing saw his father strangling his mother. At that point investigators say, the boy had apparently had enough, he grabbed a gun, pointed it in the direction of Thorpe and pulled the trigger several times.


seems to be justified .... maybe more later ...

"Having enough" never excuses homicide. (IIRC only cops are "justified" in killing folks, but I might have that sideways.)

Protecting the life of an innocent third party is excusable homicide. But it sounds like there is not a lot of energy about to be expended looking into just how "innocent" mom was.

As long as everybody lets the kid believe he was a hero things will be allright. Let's just hope he can live up to being called a hero.

stay safe.
 

EMNofSeattle

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Aug 7, 2012
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S. Kitsap, Washington state
"Having enough" never excuses homicide. (IIRC only cops are "justified" in killing folks, but I might have that sideways.)

Protecting the life of an innocent third party is excusable homicide. But it sounds like there is not a lot of energy about to be expended looking into just how "innocent" mom was.

As long as everybody lets the kid believe he was a hero things will be allright. Let's just hope he can live up to being called a hero.

stay safe.

Did the kid say "I just had enough" or was that the words of a journalist trying to write the story, I didn't see that in quotations.

I would be willing to consider hands around the throat is "deadly force". The past history of the mother doesn't matter, either.

BUUUUTTT look at this.

I think the kid is literally outside the law. With the facts of the case I don't think he can at all be prosecuted.
take a look at the Florida statutes
782.02 Justifiable use of deadly force.—The use of deadly force is justifiable when a person is resisting any attempt to murder such person or to commit any felony upon him or her or upon or in any dwelling house in which such person shall be.

There appears to be no provision for third party defense

Excusable doesn't fit the definition either
782.03 Excusable homicide.—Homicide is excusable when committed by accident and misfortune in doing any lawful act by lawful means with usual ordinary caution, and without any unlawful intent, or by accident and misfortune in the heat of passion, upon any sudden and sufficient provocation, or upon a sudden combat, without any dangerous weapon being used and not done in a cruel or unusual manner.

The whole chapter on homicide is located here I don't see anything that quite describes what the kid did. I'm not quoting the murder statutes because that would make this post incredibly long, but you can read them in the link and I think he doesn't meet the definition for murder or manslaughter, nor does he meet justifiable or excusable.

but it's a simple solution if his acts aren't defined as criminal by statute, he cannot be prosecuted for them.
 

OC for ME

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12,452
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White Oak Plantation
"Having enough" never excuses homicide. (IIRC only cops are "justified" in killing folks, but I might have that sideways.)

Protecting the life of an innocent third party is excusable homicide. But it sounds like there is not a lot of energy about to be expended looking into just how "innocent" mom was.

As long as everybody lets the kid believe he was a hero things will be alright. Let's just hope he can live up to being called a hero.

stay safe.
Hero? Interesting. He may or may not feel like a hero after killing his father. Only time will tell. Some may call him a hero. Me, I call him a victim, who likely thought that he had run out of options.

It all started at a bonfire where family and friends were hanging out at the home of Christopher and Jill Thorpe. Just before 10 p.m. the Thorpes went inside their home where an argument began.

The verbal confrontation soon turned physical as fists began to fly investigators say.

"He [Christopher Thorpe] was beating her; [he] kept punching her," said Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Public Information Debbie Carter. "Then they went from the living room to master bed room where he kept beating her."


Deputies say that's when their teenage son Channing saw his father strangling his mother. At that point investigators say, the boy had apparently had enough, he grabbed a gun, pointed it in the direction of Thorpe and pulled the trigger several times.
Now, me not being there may taint my views. But, knowing what I know about how LE usually words "official" statements to the press, a few items can be inferred by the above.

It seems to me that "the boy" told his story to the investigators and the investigators formulated a statement in response to a question, or as a opening statement to the press. there is no mention of a arrest. There is only mention of:
The investigation continues and all information will be turned over the State Attorney's Office to see if any charges are warranted.
Only time will tell.
 

OC for ME

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White Oak Plantation
There are so many factors in a case like this and we don't have all the details and might never have all the details.

Did the guy (who was shot) make it a habit of beating the mother?
Did he beat the child?
What else was going on there?
1. DV (spousal abuse, child abuse) is not usually a one off incident, just a guess on my part, not enough historical information regarding this "family."
2. That I do not know, but angry people who beat their spouse are not likely to exclude their kids when they get angry, this is just a guess on my part, and generally speaking.
3. The dirty laundry may or may not be made known, if the kid does not get charged with a crime. If the kid does get charged with a crime then the dirty laundry will be made known, in a courtroom at a minimum, in the pursuit of his defense.
 
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