Another occasion for feeling ashamed of the United States. Such occasions are all too abundant.
In Georgia in January 2013 a guy called Rodrigo Diaz, age 23, went to pick up a friend to go rollerskating. He was using his car’s GPS and he accidentally turned into the driveway across the street from his friend’s house. The guy who lived in that house, the wrong house, came outside and shot him through the head.
The shooter plead guilty to a misdemeanor.
Channel 2’s Kerry Kavanaugh was in the courtroom as Philip Sailors plead to the misdemeanor charge for the January 2013 shooting in Lilburn.
Channel 2 Action News broke the news Friday about the plea deal which reduced a murder charge to the misdemeanor charge of involuntary manslaughter and spared the homeowner any jail time.
People Kavanaugh spoke with were surprised that Sailors made no statement and offered no apology to the victim’s family during the hearing.
Diaz’s family are ok with the sentence.
After the hearing, Diaz’s father, Rodrigo Diaz Senior. told Kavanaugh that Sailors could have received a stronger punishment, but he believed that would only end up destroying two families.
His eldest son, David, agreed.
“There is no point for him to be in lifetime in prison. What we get from that? Nothing,” said David Diaz.
During the hearing, Diaz addressed the court saying he still had two questions. He asked why Sailors used a bullet which he claims is particularly lethal.
“I understand that it is a bullet designed to kill, that it explodes the moment it penetrates,” Diaz said through a translator.
He also said it was his son’s dream that his little sister come to the United States. He asked the court if any doors could now be opened for that to happen.
Diaz got no response to either question.
Guns. Gun culture. Stand your ground. Shoot first then find out who your victim is. Your driveway is the same as your bedroom. When in doubt, shoot.