Jury acquits pastor

[fishbob]

Jury acquits pastor:
Preacher found not guilty on all counts in fatal Big Lake church shootings.

http://www.adn.com/front/story/4267614p-4278352c.html (may require registration)

snips from Anchorage Daily News (October 28, 2003)
PALMER -- The Big Lake preacher who shot and killed two men he caught burglarizing his church was acquitted of all charges Monday. A jury of five men and seven women deliberated a day and half before finding the Rev. Phillip Mielke, 44, not guilty on four counts of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.

Mielke could have faced up to 20 years in prison for shooting Christopher Palmer, 31, and Francis Jones, 23, at Big Lake Community Chapel in the early-morning hours of April 24. Palmer died at the scene; Jones escaped but died of gunshot wounds a few hours later at the home of a friend. Mielke encountered both men about 5 a.m. in a narrow, dark hallway after he went to check on noises he heard through an intercom system he had set up between the church and his home. He fired twice at the men, hitting both in the back, and then kept shooting as one fled the church.

Palmer's family appeared upset after the verdict was read Monday afternoon. His sister stormed out of the courtroom, and his stepfather had to be held back by relatives as he tried to lunge at Mielke as the pastor walked out of the courthouse. Later, family members and friends huddled in the parking lot praying.

Palmer's mother said the verdict meant little to her. It won't bring back her son or Jones. But she said she objects to the jury's excusing what she sees as vigilantism. Her son was wrong to break into the church, but so was the pastor wrong to go armed into the building. A religious woman, she said she thought Satan took over inside the chapel that morning.

The shooting provoked strong opinions among residents in Big Lake and around Alaska. Many people supported Mielke, arguing in e-mails and letters to the newspaper that Jones and Palmer got what they deserved for breaking into the church. Both had criminal histories, and both were found to have drugs in their systems at the time of the shootings. Troopers also found a loaded .357-caliber handgun in the church basement with DNA from Palmer and possibly Jones on it.

A preacher with a 44 mag, Satan, meth head burglars, lots of praying - but not by the preacher. Could this have happened in your part of the world? Or is this just one of what we like to call "one of those Alaska things"?

It was not said aloud, but in the background you could sense the feeling that "they just needed killing". (Can't remember the standup comic this is from).

 

[Malachi151]

That could happen anywhere in the South.

 

[a_unique_person]

Jury acquits pastor:
Preacher found not guilty on all counts in fatal Big Lake church shootings.

http://www.adn.com/front/story/4267614p-4278352c.html (may require registration)



A preacher with a 44 mag, Satan, meth head burglars, lots of praying - but not by the preacher. Could this have happened in your part of the world? Or is this just one of what we like to call "one of those Alaska things"?

It was not said aloud, but in the background you could sense the feeling that "they just needed killing". (Can't remember the standup comic this is from).

That's what Jesus would have done.

 

[LFTKBS]

"Her son was wrong to break into the church, but so was the pastor wrong to go armed into the building."

Uh, I think he was authorized to be there, unlike her tweaker son. Why shouldn't he have been armed? So that he could have been the victim? To hell with that.

 

[fishbob]

Does it remind anyone else of a Jerry Springer episode?

 

[a_unique_person]

"Her son was wrong to break into the church, but so was the pastor wrong to go armed into the building."

Uh, I think he was authorized to be there, unlike her tweaker son. Why shouldn't he have been armed? So that he could have been the victim? To hell with that.

He could have called the cops. They usually respond pretty quickly to that sort of call.

 

[Malachi151]

I have no problem with the shooting, but its the dialog thats crazy.

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

He could have called the cops. They usually respond pretty quickly to that sort of call.

And they could have not broken into the church. Life is full of options. I have no problem with what occured.

 

[a_unique_person]

And they could have not broken into the church. Life is full of options. I have no problem with what occured.

I agree, they should not have gone into the church. However, they did, but I don't believe that following them in their was the right action for him. Better to call the cops and wait. I don't know what it's like where you live, but if I report some noise in the park across the street, they might get their in a couple of hours at night. If I report an assault, they turn up in a matter of minutes.

 

[zakur]

I usually have no problem at all with homeowners shooting intruders . . . Hell, I'd do the same myself. But this part gives me pause:

He fired twice at the men, hitting both in the back, and then kept shooting as one fled the church.

 

[Jude]

If I report an assault, they turn up in a matter of minutes.

A matter of minutes too late, perhaps. I'm not comfortable gambling with my well being, thank you.

 

[Skeptic]

I don't see the problem. He was burglarized, and used his gun to defend against the intruders. Maybe being a priest help the acquittal because the jury assumed that a priest would not be likely to do something like that unless he really felt his life was in danger. But tht's besides the main point, really.

 

[a_unique_person]

A matter of minutes too late, perhaps. I'm not comfortable gambling with my well being, thank you.

He went to them, they didn't go to him. They burgled an empty church, so he went and tried to accost them for doing so. He shot one who was running away.

Once he realised the church was being burgled, all he had to do was make the call, sit back, and wait, at no risk to himself.

 

[Jude]

You said assault, not burglary, AUP.

 

[RPG Advocate]

Mielke encountered both men about 5 a.m. in a narrow, dark hallway after he went to check on noises he heard through an intercom system he had set up between the church and his home. He fired twice at the men, hitting both in the back, and then kept shooting as one fled the church.

(emphasis mine)

If this account is the truth, then it sounds like one shooting was justified, and the other was questionable. The right to use lethal force lasts only as long as one's life is in danger. As soon as the one robber began to flee, his right to continue shooting at him ended.

That said, given the substantial mitigating circumstances, 10 years in prison would be a huge injustice.

If I was on the jury, I would probably try and get the jury to nullify on the manslaughter count of which he's guilty, and convict on one negligant homicide count. That would most likely result in a light jail term, a fine, and/or probation, which I believe is appropriate.

 

[Jon_in_london]

If I was on the jury, I would probably try and get the jury to nullify on the manslaughter count of which he's guilty, and convict on one negligant homicide count. That would most likely result in a light jail term, a fine, and/or probation, which I believe is appropriate.

I agree with this.

Firing while the guy was running away isnt self defence or even protecting your property. However, I always maintain that you should be able to respond with lethal force to anyone who has broken into your property for no other reason than that you dont know what their intent is and its reasonable to assume the worst. Turns out they had a firearm, so its just as well he fired first.

 

[mummymonkey]

For some odd reason I find the word burglarize funny. Not often heard in this country.
I find the death penalty for breaking and entering to be a little harsh.

 

[Jon_in_london]

Burglar, burgle or burgled is the correct usage.

Burglarization, burglarizationism and a burglarizationist are all Americanizationistisms.

 

[Ed]

Burglar, burgle or burgled is the correct usage.

Burglarization, burglarizationism and a burglarizationist are all Americanizationistisms.

hamburglar, too.

 

[a_unique_person]

You said assault, not burglary, AUP.

They were assaults not against me, but threatened, not actual assaults between groups of youths. Actual threats were being made, and people were made to feel terrified. In each case, the police turned up in time to defuse the situation and send the protagonists on their way before any physical harm was done.

In both cases, if the groups of youths had been armed, I think that things would have only been made much worse.