A friend in crisis

[Theocrass]

A friend of a friend (and an acquaintance of myself) is in some trouble.

Eddie Casillas is a young man who is in jail facing a homicide case. He has been in jail for about 7 months. The details of the case you are about to read may not turn out to be completely accurate....but this is what I have at this moment.

Eddie is a big kid. Well over 6 feet and 250 lbs. He was always a good natured kid. Never saw him mad. Never saw him act in anger. And he had good reason to be mad at me....I frequently threw him out of my math class...and I ended up flunking him.

Story is that 7 months ago, Eddie witnessed an individual physically abuse a female. Eddie stepped in to prevent what he was witnessing. Apparently an argument ensued. This individual was an older man...and may have been a gang member. I will give you more accurate details when I have them. Anyway, in the fight that ensued.....the bigger man won. And Eddie was the bigger man. In case I didn't mention it...Eddie is BIG. So anyway...the other guy dies.


And Eddie finds himself in the joint facing homicide charges.

Now this is the deal....In America, the country you live in...homicide isn't one thing...it can be a bunch of things....1st degree murder, 2nd degree murder, or manslaughter. It can even be self-defense. What it is sometimes depends on how much money you have. Some would say it depends on the color of your skin. I don't believe that...but I know money has something to do with it. So Eddie doesn't have a bunch of money. So instead of being out on bail and facing a manslaughter charge....Eddie is sitting in a prison cell maybe facing 1st degree murder charges.

What difference does it make what he is charged with? Manslaughter means Eddie will be back out in a reasonable period of time. 1st degree murder means Eddie's life is over.

Why should you care? Frankly, I can't answer that. Help us if you want. Go on with you life if you don't.

By the way, Eddie had a history...of standing up for his friends. I have spoken with a number of them who can tell stories of Eddie helping them out of difficult situations. There are not too many people who wouldn't back down if Eddie asked you to "step away." Maybe he tried to help one time too many

Thoughts? That's everything my friend wrote on the matter.

[Tobias]

I am not gonna lie, on the face of it it sounds like a horrible situation, but on the other, part of me says its less then half the story.


the entire part of this which has merit is this part.

Story is that 7 months ago, Eddie witnessed an individual physically abuse a female. Eddie stepped in to prevent what he was witnessing. Apparently an argument ensued. This individual was an older man...and may have been a gang member. I will give you more accurate details when I have them. Anyway, in the fight that ensued.....the bigger man won. And Eddie was the bigger man. In case I didn't mention it...Eddie is BIG. So anyway...the other guy dies.

he steps into prevent abuse, good for him.

then the other part.

the other guy dies.


how? did he get punched and fall down a flight of stairs? beaten to death, stabbed? did he get knocked unconscious and then then eddie continued to beat him?

(by the way I assume thats a fake name since Eddie Casillas is a base player for the gypsies and a google search turns up no criminal record.)

anyway, if thats the truth, I hope he gets a light sentence. but this story feels very, very sugar coated.

[Mike1984]

Well, you can kill a guy with a punch if you hit them hard enough. And I can certainly buy that the US justice system would fuck him over, too, because if you get a shit lawyer, they can make you come across a lot worse than you really are.

[Theocrass]

I am not gonna lie, on the face of it it sounds like a horrible situation, but on the other, part of me says its less then half the story.


the entire part of this which has merit is this part.



he steps into prevent abuse, good for him.

then the other part.

the other guy dies.


how? did he get punched and fall down a flight of stairs? beaten to death, stabbed? did he get knocked unconscious and then then eddie continued to beat him?

(by the way I assume thats a fake name since Eddie Casillas is a base player for the gypsies and a google search turns up no criminal record.)

anyway, if thats the truth, I hope he gets a light sentence. but this story feels very, very sugar coated.

Yeah, I'm inclined to believe he hit the guy a little too hard. Eddie is a big, friendly guy, but just like in that statement I have to emphasize how large he is.

There's also the matter of the other guy. I've seen abuse in public before. It can get pretty nasty.

[Tobias]

Well, you can kill a guy with a punch if you hit them hard enough. And I can certainly buy that the US justice system would fuck him over, too, because if you get a shit lawyer, they can make you come across a lot worse than you really are.

oh you certainly can, I just couldn't help but notice the lack of that kind of information. if it was favorable, I feel like it would have been included. if he hits a guy and it turns out he had some kind of previous injury or condition that kills him, we have a name for that, manslaughter. in other words, killing someone but only intending to injure. which is basically the charge you see for when two people square off and it turns out one of them has a really powerful right hook and the other a glass jaw.

the fact that they gave him murder without even letting him plea down to manslaughter to me says he took some kind of action (beating him while unconscious, using a weapon, choking, things like that) that the prosecution is pretty sure they can use to justify murder one.


(note this is pure armchair law and I could so very easily be wrong, he just asked for thoughts)

[Theocrass]

Well, I'm glad for your input, nonetheless.

[Tobias]

Yeah, I'm inclined to believe he hit the guy a little too hard. Eddie is a big, friendly guy, but just like in that statement I have to emphasize how large he is.

There's also the matter of the other guy. I've seen abuse in public before. It can get pretty nasty.

what are those things at the bottom?

[Theocrass]

I honestly have no idea.

[Mike1984]

oh you certainly can, I just couldn't help but notice the lack of that kind of information. if it was favorable, I feel like it would have been included. if he hits a guy and it turns out he had some kind of previous injury or condition that kills him, we have a name for that, manslaughter. in other words, killing someone but only intending to injure. which is basically the charge you see for when two people square off and it turns out one of them has a really powerful right hook and the other a glass jaw.

the fact that they gave him murder without even letting him plea down to manslaughter to me says he took some kind of action (beating him while unconscious, using a weapon, choking, things like that) that the prosecution is pretty sure they can use to justify murder one.


(note this is pure armchair law and I could so very easily be wrong, he just asked for thoughts)

Or, alternately, he has a shitty lawyer who failed miserably to do his job properly and a hard-ass prosecutor who decided to go for it....

[Tobias]

well its possible, I mean, the guy sounds like he is of color and poor, and the system eats that kind of person for lunch. you are right about the corruption, if he had enough money he would be out on bail right now nearly regardless of what he had done to the victim.

still seems like a hard sell though. be a lot easier if I could dig out a news report or case notes but I cant find anything.

[Theocrass]

I just learned today, and that was through a friend.

Still, here in Los Angeles, these cases are a dime a dozen.

[Mike1984]

well its possible, I mean, the guy sounds like he is of color and poor, and the system eats that kind of person for lunch. you are right about the corruption, if he had enough money he would be out on bail right now nearly regardless of what he had done to the victim.

Exactly.

still seems like a hard sell though. be a lot easier if I could dig out a news report or case notes but I cant find anything.

Well, without the information you're right that we don't know, but last time I checked people were innocent until proven guilty, not the other way around. Whilst you might be right, I doubt it's a simple open-and-shut case like you seem to be implying. If it were, then I don't see why anyone would be bothering to complain about it. A bit of temporary public sympathy from a board full of people who he doesn't know doesn't count for jack when he's on Death Row (or in prison for life).

[Tobias]

It is innocent until proven guilty, thus a trial. To me it sounded like however a fair trial wasn't expected. And no, I do not believe it is an open and shut case. That said, I am inclined to believe at some point Eddie did something that the DA believes they could get a murder wrap for, and as far as I can tell, whether or not he meant to, we already know Eddie killed the guy. at least, that's what I gather from "somehow, the guy ended up dead"

Defense of a third party? possible, and a valid legal defense. But, a man is dead.

[In-N-Out Double-Double & Animal Fries]

Hm...

from what I've heard, using your bare hands can be considered assault with a lethal weapon (wtf) and well, if he killed a man like that, I wouldn't be surprised that that was chucked on. But, frankly, unless we know more and someone on Beast's lair has a good understanding of law, we can't really do anything helpful for your friend

[eddyak]

Do they have the testimony of the girl that guy tried to rape?

[Theocrass]

^^^ Every time I've seen abuse in public, it's been a banger. They are vicious brutes, the lot of them.

^^ Not really look for help, just for input.

^ AFAIK, it wasn't rape, more like battery. But I don't know anything about the case in question. Most likely, she was his wife or girlfriend, in which case she won't be talking no matter what he did to her.

[Tobias]

worth noting that mike is right about innocent until proven guilty, so probably the victim is also only accused of abusing the girl.


naturally I think he probably was some low life gangster being an ass, but if were going to talk about presumption of innocence it also applies to him as well.

[Mike1984]

Well, no, not quite. If he was on trial, then he would most certainly have to be presumed innocent, but when we're talking about the trial of a person who is accused of killing him, that is no longer the case.

[Tobias]

not in this situation. we arent putting eddie on trial, nor do we have any say over his fate.

so, if you say, that we, when discussing our thoughts on the situations, should give the same weight of law, in other words that Eddie is innocent until proven guilty, then we have to give the same to the victim.

[Theocrass]

Doesn't the fact that he was outright abusing a woman prove him guilty of something?