A Milwaukee man who suspected his 13-year-old neighbor of breaking into his home and stealing weapons was convicted Wednesday of fatally shooting the boy as the teen’s mother looked on. Now, jurors will decide whether the 76-year-old defendant was mentally ill at the time.
A jury deliberated for about an hour before findingJohnHenrySpoonerguilty of first-degree intentional homicide. Surveillance video from his own security cameras showed him confronting Darius Simmons in May 2012, pointing a gun at him from about 6 feet away and shooting him in the chest.
Spoonerhad entered two pleas to the homicide charge: not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. That set up the trial to be conducted in two phases: the first to determine whether he was guilty of the homicide, and if so, a second to determine whether he was mentally competent at the time.
With the first phase complete, the second began with testimony from a psychiatrist hired by the defense. Dr. Basil Jackson said his examination ofSpoonerrevealed a man with anger issues who periodically dissociated from reality.
Spooner’sdaughter once brought home a kitten that he didn’t want so he took it into the basement and killed it, Jackson said.Spooneralso used to choke and beat his late wife, the doctor testified.
The violence showsSpooneroccasionally loses the ability to control his anger — as during the moments that he shot Darius, Jackson said.
“There was an eruption, a loss of control. And at that moment he was not able — at that moment — to make a judgment,” Jackson said. “It’s like he was on autopilot.”
Spooner’sdefense attorney, Franklyn Gimbel, never denied that his client shot Darius. Instead, he argued thatSpoonerdid not mean for the gunshot to be fatal.
“This is not a case of whodunit,” Gimbel said. “It’s not a question of whether the behaviors ofJohnSpoonercaused the death of the young man — but what motivated it and what went on in his mind at the time is the crucial question.”
During the second phase of the trial, the burden of proof shifts to the defense, which only has to prove “clear and convincing evidence,” instead of the stricter standard of “beyond a reasonable doubt.” In addition, a verdict requires agreement from only 10 jurors, not unanimity from all 12.
Spooner’ssurveillance video provides a clear view of what happened.Spooneremerges from his house and confronts the teen, who is retrieving his family’s garbage cart from the street.Spoonerpoints a gun at Darius, who moves back a few steps.Spoonerthen exchanges words with Darius’ mother, who’s standing on her porch out of view of the camera, andSpoonerbriefly points the gun in her direction. Moments later,Spoonerpoints the gun back at the boy standing a couple of feet in front of him. He fires, hitting Darius in the chest.
The teen stumbles and runs away, andSpoonerfires a second shot that misses. He appears to attempt a third shot, but the gun jams.
Darius’ mother, Patricia Larry, testified that she chased her son to where he collapsed in the street. She cradled him in her arms as he …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
