Hmong Immigrant GUILTY Of Murder
A jury found a Hmong immigrant guilty Friday of murdering six deer hunters and wounding two others during a confrontation over trespassing, rejecting his claims he shot in self-defense after one hunter used racial slurs and another fired at him. 
The two survivors of the shooting had testified the white hunters never shot at Chai Soua Vang before he opened fire on them after they confronted him about trespassing in a tree stand on their private property in some isolated northwestern Wisconsin woods Nov. 21. An all-white jury deliberated about three hours before reaching a verdict of guilty on six counts of first-degree intentional homicide and three counts of attempted homicide. Vang, a 36-year-old truck driver from St. Paul, Minn., faces mandatory life in prison. Wisconsin does not have the death penalty. Vang, dressed in a business suit with family members seated behind him, showed no visible emotion as the judge read the verdict. Outside the court, one of his friends, Pofwmyeh Yang, questioned the jury's makeup and maintained Vang was innocent. "All Caucasian, all American. Why can't there be one Hmong? Why can't there be one minority in there?" Yang said. "I believe only one person can judge, and that's God. But God didn't judge today." Vang's sister, Chou Vang, said the jury's short deliberations were not fair to her brother. "Everyone was white. They do not understand. They will never understand what my brother went through out there," she said. "He was not a dog to sit there and let them shoot at him. He was proud of who he is." Defense lawyer Steven Kohn said the verdict was not a surprise. "We had no illusions. The facts were incredibly difficult from a defense standpoint," he said. While the original jury pool of 450 people included minorities, Kohn said most if not all of them asked not to be on the jury because of a conflict or personal feelings. "They were given the same deference as the Caucasians," he said. Relatives of the victims issued statements that the verdict was welcome but couldn't make up for their loss. "The verdict of guilty will never bring my brother back, but we can start the healing process," said Linda Lavin, the sister of slain hunter Allan Laski. Bruce Crotteau, brother of shooting victim Robert Crotteau, said his brother was a fun-loving guy with a wide circle of friends, and the only thing he deserved the day of the shooting was to continue the family tradition of fall deer hunting. The crime rocked the northwoods, and not just because of its shocking nature - four of the victims were shot in the back and all but one were unarmed, according to testimony. The slayings also occurred during the state's beloved deer hunting season and it exposed racial tension between the predominantly white northwoods and Hmong immigrants to the region. Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager, who headed the prosecution team, called it a "just and fair verdict" and said it should not be taken as reflecting racial animosity on either side. "I would hope that this matter be perceived as it has been, I think, by counsel on both sides - which was a matter between two hunting parties and not something involving race relations," she said. With the fall deer hunt approaching, she was asked if there was concern about racial tensions. "I don't know if it's a real concern or not," she said. "We have not had any significant incidents of concern reported here in Sawyer County, and I would hope that that would be the case throughout the deer hunting season." Testimony from Vang and the two shooting survivors highlighted the six-day trial in Sawyer County, a heavily forested recreation mecca about 100 miles northeast of Minnesota's Twin Cities. The two shooting survivors testified one of them fired at Vang, but only after he was wounded and some of his companions were dying. Vang maintained he was frightened for his life and fired after someone else shot first. Kohn said who fired first was key to the case, and he argued no physical evidence existed to determine that. But Lautenschlager argued Vang gunned down the hunters in cold blood as they either watched in disbelief, were ambushed or were trying to flee. The six victims, all from the Rice Lake area about 50 miles southwest of Hayward, included a father and son and a daughter of one of the survivors. Testimony from witnesses suggested Vang's trespassing nearly ended peacefully. One surviving hunter, Terry Willers, testified Vang apologized and was walking away. The confrontation escalated after Willers called one of the property's owners, Robert Crotteau, on a radio to report the trespasser, Willers testified. Crotteau angrily confronted Vang, who testified the hunter used excessive profanity and racial slurs. Crotteau also threatened to report Vang to the authorities. Vang was walking down a path when he turned and started shooting, witnesses testified. Vang said he began firing only after Willers shot at him. Vang, a father of seven who came to the United States from a refugee camp in Thailand more than 20 years ago, wasn't hit. The youngest victim, Crotteau's 20-year-old son, Joey, was shot four times in the back and side. Three other victims were shot in the back, some multiple times. Jurors - eight women, four men - were picked from Dane County, home of the state Capitol and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, because of publicity about the case and concern of possible anti-Hmong sentiment in the area.
The two survivors of the shooting had testified the white hunters never shot at Chai Soua Vang before he opened fire on them after they confronted him about trespassing in a tree stand on their private property in some isolated northwestern Wisconsin woods Nov. 21. An all-white jury deliberated about three hours before reaching a verdict of guilty on six counts of first-degree intentional homicide and three counts of attempted homicide. Vang, a 36-year-old truck driver from St. Paul, Minn., faces mandatory life in prison. Wisconsin does not have the death penalty. Vang, dressed in a business suit with family members seated behind him, showed no visible emotion as the judge read the verdict. Outside the court, one of his friends, Pofwmyeh Yang, questioned the jury's makeup and maintained Vang was innocent. "All Caucasian, all American. Why can't there be one Hmong? Why can't there be one minority in there?" Yang said. "I believe only one person can judge, and that's God. But God didn't judge today." Vang's sister, Chou Vang, said the jury's short deliberations were not fair to her brother. "Everyone was white. They do not understand. They will never understand what my brother went through out there," she said. "He was not a dog to sit there and let them shoot at him. He was proud of who he is." Defense lawyer Steven Kohn said the verdict was not a surprise. "We had no illusions. The facts were incredibly difficult from a defense standpoint," he said. While the original jury pool of 450 people included minorities, Kohn said most if not all of them asked not to be on the jury because of a conflict or personal feelings. "They were given the same deference as the Caucasians," he said. Relatives of the victims issued statements that the verdict was welcome but couldn't make up for their loss. "The verdict of guilty will never bring my brother back, but we can start the healing process," said Linda Lavin, the sister of slain hunter Allan Laski. Bruce Crotteau, brother of shooting victim Robert Crotteau, said his brother was a fun-loving guy with a wide circle of friends, and the only thing he deserved the day of the shooting was to continue the family tradition of fall deer hunting. The crime rocked the northwoods, and not just because of its shocking nature - four of the victims were shot in the back and all but one were unarmed, according to testimony. The slayings also occurred during the state's beloved deer hunting season and it exposed racial tension between the predominantly white northwoods and Hmong immigrants to the region. Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager, who headed the prosecution team, called it a "just and fair verdict" and said it should not be taken as reflecting racial animosity on either side. "I would hope that this matter be perceived as it has been, I think, by counsel on both sides - which was a matter between two hunting parties and not something involving race relations," she said. With the fall deer hunt approaching, she was asked if there was concern about racial tensions. "I don't know if it's a real concern or not," she said. "We have not had any significant incidents of concern reported here in Sawyer County, and I would hope that that would be the case throughout the deer hunting season." Testimony from Vang and the two shooting survivors highlighted the six-day trial in Sawyer County, a heavily forested recreation mecca about 100 miles northeast of Minnesota's Twin Cities. The two shooting survivors testified one of them fired at Vang, but only after he was wounded and some of his companions were dying. Vang maintained he was frightened for his life and fired after someone else shot first. Kohn said who fired first was key to the case, and he argued no physical evidence existed to determine that. But Lautenschlager argued Vang gunned down the hunters in cold blood as they either watched in disbelief, were ambushed or were trying to flee. The six victims, all from the Rice Lake area about 50 miles southwest of Hayward, included a father and son and a daughter of one of the survivors. Testimony from witnesses suggested Vang's trespassing nearly ended peacefully. One surviving hunter, Terry Willers, testified Vang apologized and was walking away. The confrontation escalated after Willers called one of the property's owners, Robert Crotteau, on a radio to report the trespasser, Willers testified. Crotteau angrily confronted Vang, who testified the hunter used excessive profanity and racial slurs. Crotteau also threatened to report Vang to the authorities. Vang was walking down a path when he turned and started shooting, witnesses testified. Vang said he began firing only after Willers shot at him. Vang, a father of seven who came to the United States from a refugee camp in Thailand more than 20 years ago, wasn't hit. The youngest victim, Crotteau's 20-year-old son, Joey, was shot four times in the back and side. Three other victims were shot in the back, some multiple times. Jurors - eight women, four men - were picked from Dane County, home of the state Capitol and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, because of publicity about the case and concern of possible anti-Hmong sentiment in the area.
posted by CRUEL KEV. at Saturday, September 17, 2005
<< Home