Travis Rudolph... SYG defense thrown out
- Thread starter PANole1
- Start date
Time to try to reach a plea agreement and spend the majority, if not all, the rest of his life in prison.
What a waste.
And yes, I know a jury can still acquit him. Just hard to buy a self defense claim when it appears they were driving away.
What a waste.
And yes, I know a jury can still acquit him. Just hard to buy a self defense claim when it appears they were driving away.
Once he retreated, went and got his gun, came back out to the threat and started shooting he lost the SYG defense.
That really sux for him but while reading the article it states that he fired 39 shots 10 of which killed the guy from behind as they were driving away. There is no way that is self-defense. Its just sad to see
Yup. He'd have a better insanity case than self-defense.
Yep. Sometimes you have to take the emotions out of them being former players and realize they screwed up and in this case,he took a life that he didn't need to.
I know he was a Nole and has a good story when he befriended the elementary school kid… but I have no remorse for him. He took a life and deserves what he gets.
Putting athletes on a pedestal has always been ridiculous to me. People look less harshly on a beloved athlete who committed murder verses a random john who did it.
Putting athletes on a pedestal has always been ridiculous to me. People look less harshly on a beloved athlete who committed murder verses a random john who did it.
They threatened his life to start with and told him they would be back to finish him. Not all black and white. I believe he probably feared for his own life. The right choice would've been to dial 911 instead of fire!
Not saying what TR did was right or just, but don't go to someone's house after midnight with 3 other dudes - and a gun - and expect things to end fine.
Well..........as a former trial consultant, I hope he has a good attorney because that case is winnable at trial. 4 guys, one gun, showing up at midnight with a vendetta and attacking him and his brother is a clear provocation. Everything that happens after that moment can be clearly put on those 4 attackers shoulders. In the heat of adrenalin filled altercation, a lot of stuff can and does happen. Most people understand that intuitively. A strong case can be built on that.
I do wonder how most would react in the same situation. It's easy to read about the case and say how you should act "logically". I can honestly say I don't know when my brain would kick in to say those 4 guys that just threatened your life (and at least one had a gun) are no longer a threat everything is just copasedic now. With handguns emptying the entire clip happens almost always. It's kind of like Joe B and others saying all you have the do is "shoot 'em in the leg".
This isn't the movies it's real life and unless you have had military trsining and exercised it in combat, whose to say when your adrenaline and lizard brain turns off and you go back to looking at things "rationally"? 4 people shoes my up with all Brent the kill you does not generally portend to a rational situation unfolding.
Im not defending Rudolph's actions but I am saying I am not naive enough to say what I may perceive as rational or a threat in that same situation.
There are plenty of "experts" who can be brought in to trial that will introduce the idea of fight, freeze or flight as a well known reaction to a threat. Fight-flight-freeze isn’t a conscious decision. It’s an automatic reaction, so you can’t control it. Add that into some well used legal theories that in the act of a felony you own everything that happens as and after that felony is in progress.
Him going into his house and grabbing a rifle, then going back outside and shooting 30+ rounds (this is the number I read) as someone drives away is going to be hard to explain away. I will never say never when a case goes before a jury but those are pretty damning facts, even if they threatened him. Just a stupid reaction and a horrible situation.
3 dudes show up at midnight knocking on his door, one of them texted “he’s a dead man walking” prior to showing up, and one of them has a gun… I’m sorry but if I’m on that jury, I see that as a threat
You think them driving away from his residence after he retreated into the home without being pursued is a threat?
Not as cut and dry as some are making it. Yes, its terrible someone lost their life. But if they dont show up at his door uninvited everyone would still be alive. If that girl was in danger she could’ve called the police instead of her brother. I’m not taking up for Travis but if it was a Joe Blow I would feel the same way. Yes they were retreating when he fired but there is a scenario where they could have stayed home. If I’m a jury I’m factoring in this dude doesn’t have a record, he is college educated, he was at his own home, he was attacked, they had a gun, the brother text about “a dead man walking”, and whatever else they communicated during the fight. I couldn’t convict this dude for a life sentence or whatever the maximum penalty. They showed up with intent to do harm. They should be charged with something too.
The verbal threats, the text message, the gun found nearby - who's to say the threat was over when they drove away? I do disagree with ASA Cox when she states “It is completely unreasonable and illogical to think a threat existed." We just don't know. There is definitely some misinformation going on when none of the bullets fired hit the windshield and only hit the deceased man in the back.
It's still a compelling case to follow. I can see both sides of the argument.
It's still a compelling case to follow. I can see both sides of the argument.
Its not just showing up at this door but attacking him and his brother.
He can win this case but he's going to need a great lawyer.
I can imagine myself filled with fear, shooting at these guys to make sure they never come back, not thinking about anything else. Just saying.
Exactly. A good lawyer can have him walk. I used to live in Sanford, Fl at one point. Recall a case where a much worse offender got off on a SYG defense although Travis can’t use it in his case. A convincing lawyer can work wonders. Travis Rudolph has a chance with the right team.
Yep, he was found innocent exactly what it should of been
Yep hard to claim self-defense when you have to change clips midway through to continue shooting
Young men + women + violence = good chance of things ending badly. To the extent booze or drugs were involved, then the chances for a felonious outcome were dramatically enhanced.
OJ walked. Smollet is free on bail. The legal system is way less than perfect. But Travis will need Kreskin to avoid doing hard time. Tragic/horrible story.
Smollet is free because of fame. OJ the same.
I'm sorry, but if someone comes to me with a gun and threatens MY life, I'll do the same thing he did, and take my time after.
Some of us are just different I guess...
Isn't it bad when a judge writes -
The material facts of the case, Gillen wrote, "clearly and convincingly cause this Court to find that, given all the circumstances at the time Defendant began shooting, the appearance of continuing danger was not so real that a reasonably cautious and prudent person under the same circumstances would have believed that the danger could be avoided only through the use of deadly force."
The material facts of the case, Gillen wrote, "clearly and convincingly cause this Court to find that, given all the circumstances at the time Defendant began shooting, the appearance of continuing danger was not so real that a reasonably cautious and prudent person under the same circumstances would have believed that the danger could be avoided only through the use of deadly force."
That’s all wonderful, isn’t it. But it doesn’t seem to be applied fairly. Down where in the Tampa area an elderly ex-cop (coincidence? I think not) was at the movies and was mad that a young, father of a 4 year old, was texting during the PREVIEWS , ie, not the feature film, and asked him to stop. The younger man told him to chill out, the movie hadn’t started yet. Old ex-cop goes out of the theater to his car, grabs a piece, and confronts the guy, who throws popcorn in the old geezer’s face. Bam! The popcorn throwing, texting guy Is dead with a fatherless 4 year old at home, while ex cop old fart gets acquitted of all charges. Sounds fair to me.
Life ain’t fair. Law ain’t fair. It absolutely sucks, but naive people don’t grasp it. Embrace the suck and do the best you can.
You can pretty much shoot first and ask questions later in FL. The Curtis Reeves acquittal in N Tampa proved that to me without a doubt. Any confrontation is basically validation to pull your gun out and shoot someone.
It wasn’t quite like this but you have the basics right. I was angry for days after this. A 70 y/o former cop sitting with his able bodied 40 something y/o son allegedly “feared for his life” that a guy was going to literally beat him to death in a movie theater with dozens of other people all around because the guy stood up and threw popcorn at him. And that inexplicably rose to the level of reasonable stand your ground. It’s nauseating but when you allow people to walk around with guns on their hips like it’s the Wild West this is what you get.
