Hunter: Men I killed in self-defense deserved to die for their disrespect
Chai Soua Vang testifies Thursday about the deadly confrontation he had with a hunting party in 2004.
By Emanuella Grinberg
Court TV
HAYWARD, Wis. — A Minnesota man expressed little remorse for his victims as he took the stand Thursday and explained to a courtroom of family members why he shot and killed six deer hunters and injured two others.
"I did what I had to do to defend myself," murder defendant Chai Soua Vang told jurors when asked why he opened fire on eight people, only one of whom was armed. "I had to do what was necessary to stay alive."
At the end of his testimony, Vang's children, siblings and elderly mother were permitted to linger with him as he said what could be his final farewells as a free man.
In an emotional scene, the women in the family sobbed along with the defendant as he bowed in prayer, acknowledging each of them as he held back his own tears.
Outside the courthouse, Vang's daughter, Chia, read a statement on the behalf of her grandmother.
"I too am baffled and shocked by the events of November 21, 2004," the young woman said, voice trembling, as 13 family and friends stood behind her. "All of this could have been avoided if we just learn to respect each other."
What a friggin asshole.
I wish they would put his whole family in jail.
DOES THE RACE CARD HAVE TO GET PLAYED EVERY TIME, IN VIRTUALLY EVERY SITUATION??
If someone in my family did something like this guy did, l'd tell the jury to hang him.