Posted: 9/16/2005 5:32:02 PM EDT
| Vang was convicted on all six counts. Didn't see all the details, it just scrolled accross the bottom of TV screen. |
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Jury Finds Immigrant Guilty of Murdering 6 Hunters Friday, September 16, 2005 HAYWARD, Wis. — A jury on Friday convicted an immigrant truck driver of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of six deer hunters during a confrontation over trespassing, rejecting his claims that he fired in self-defense after one hunter used racial slurs and another shot at him. Chai Soua Vang (search), 36, faces mandatory life in prison. Wisconsin does not have a death penalty. Jurors deliberated about three hours before convicting Vang on six counts of first-degree intentional homicide and three counts of attempted homicide. In addition to the six dead, two hunters were wounded in the shootings Nov. 21 that began when the group of hunters confronted Vang for being on private land. Vang, dressed in a business suit with family members seated behind him, showed no visible emotion as the judge read the verdict. The crime rocked Wisconsin's north woods in part because 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 exposed racial tension between the predominantly white north woods residents and immigrants from the Hmong (search) ethnic group of Southeast Asia. Outside court, one of Vang's friends questioned the all-white 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?" Pofwmyeh Yang said. "I believe only one person can judge, and that's God. But God didn't judge today." Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager (search) said in her closing argument that Vang ambushed some of the victims and chased down one of them. But the defense said the confrontation was all about racial prejudice. Vang's attorney, Steven Kohn, told jurors the prosecution cannot prove who fired the first shot. Vang had testified he started firing only after one of the hunters shot at him first. "In the courtroom, the tie goes to the defendant," Kohn said. Lautenschlager reminded jurors Vang testified he felt two of the victims deserved to die because they called him names. "The physical evidence and the witness statements speak for themselves," she said. Kohn said Friday the hunters' anger at Vang was driven by racial prejudice. "It really is the straw that stirs the drink. It is the catalyst," he said. He told jurors the trial was not about the Hmong community or Wisconsin's hunting culture, but about what happened when specific individuals confronted each other in the woods. The judge had given jurors the option of finding Vang guilty on lesser charges of second-degree murder or attempted murder. Vang testified Thursday that he fired at the group of hunters because he feared for his life. At one point, he pretended to hold a rifle as he told jurors how he gunned down the victims — but he claimed it was only after a shot was fired at him. Vang, a truck driver from St. Paul, Minn., came to the United States more than 20 years ago from a refugee camp in Thailand. He said the shootings happened after one of the white hunters used profanities and racial slurs when angrily confronting him for trespassing in a tree stand used to hunt deer last fall. Two survivors of the shootings testified that only one shot was fired at Vang, and that was after he had already shot the victims. Cross-examined by Lautenschlager, Vang was asked if each victim deserved to die. Vang answered "no" in some cases and "yes" in others. He told jurors he was on the rifle team in high school in California and later served in the National Guard, where he was trained to shoot to kill. He also described himself as an experienced hunter. Wisconsin does not have a death penalty. Vulcan94 Damn! I wasted post #1500 on that POS! |
Is this jackass suggesting that the Hmong are NOT Americans. He is overlooking the fact that a Hmong was in there -- the same one that murdered six Americans. |
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I bet I know why there wasn't one minority-- 98.76% of the population of that county is probably caucasian. 1 minority would probably be over-representation. As a half-Asian, I say that Vang is a big douchebag who is either insane or criminal. Either way, his actions dictate that he not be walking the streets a free man. There were probably some racial slurs used on him, but grow up. And if you trespass or poach, at least be a good sport about it and leave when asked. |
| I don't get the whole "they deserved to die because of racial epithets" thing. If we all started killing each other when racial insults came up, the body count would be in the millions! I had a guy tell me I was a Guiness swilling Mick tonight! Now, I am, so it didn't hurt, but I didn't come back with my AR and take out all the non Micks, of which there were a few. But what lawyer could let that be used as a defense?!! |
No. Wisconsin has Madison. Ya Hey!!!........ Morons. |
Not sure where you live man but that hasn't been my experience. Sad story for sure. |
Well, I've only talked to four of them. 
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Everything coming out of the Hmong community here in Minnesota where Vang is from is saying "RACISM RACISM RACISM" and as a minor afterthought "oh and it was wrong to kill a bunch of people in cold blood, but RACISM lead to this." Sorry, white or Hmong, this guy deserved to fry. |
I guess they have been fully americanized now.  Wonder what they'll be saying when the rest of us have had enough of their bullshit? My experience with them as a doc in a community which got a large influx thanks to that POS Carter is that it is about 50/50. About half look after their families, work, etc. About half are total scum. YMMV. |
I am Asian, and I & all of the Asian friends I know feel this guy deserves the death penalty! Racial slurs doesn't give the guy the right to kill  He deserves to be Bubba's bitch for life.
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That is good to hear. |
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Race doesn't have anything to do with it. You can find sociopathic dicks who don't understand the rules and think they can do whatever they please in any color. My judgment would be the same if he was red-haired, pasty-faced irish, or anything else. If you are out hunting and you come across a hunting stand you don't have to have a particular color brain to figure out that it isn't yours. The last time I took a hunter safety course I do recall being told that any time you go hunting you are responsible for knowing where you are and having permission to be there. If you don't do that then anything that follows is pretty much your fault. |