BF2S Forums John White should be getting a medal not a prison sentence

Riverhead police say this all started with an Internet prank sent from the MySpace page of White's son, 20-year-old Aaron. Under his screen name, a threatening message was sent to a teenage girl who was a close friend of Daniel Cicciaro.

The night Cicciaro was killed, he was at a party with the girl when they spotted Aaron White. According to court testimony, Cicciaro became angry and White was asked to leave. Aaron White testified that after he left the party, Cicciaro and a male friend called him on his cell phone, saying to him, "Get back to this party you n****r."

Aaron White says he then went home and received more calls from Cicciaro and his friends, telling him they were coming to his house to kill him. He then woke his father, who grabbed his handgun and waited for the boys to arrive.

Police say that around 11 p.m., Cicciaro and four friends arrived at White's house. John and Aaron White walked out of their house, both holding guns, and had a heated exchange with Cicciaro and his friends. John White asked the boys to leave.

Then, police say, John White shot Cicciaro at point-blank range. Cicciaro died in the emergency room that night.

But the rape threat that sparked the confrontation between Daniel Cicciaro and Aaron White was not real. Under testimony, Aaron White's friend Michael Longo admitted he logged on to Aaron's MySpace page and sent the threat to the girl as a joke.

Daniel Cicciaro's mother, Joanne Cicciaro, says her son was trying to protect the girl. "The thing is, that night, Daniel believed Aaron threatened to rape a girl that was like his little sister," Cicciaro said.

During the trial, which lasted three weeks and ended Tuesday, John White broke down in tears. He testified, "I didn't mean to shoot this young man. This young man was another child of God."

White's attorneys say that racism lies at the heart of the confrontation and that John White feared Cicciaro and his friends were going to kill his son.

"You had this group of white men who felt that they were going to defend this young white woman from a black man who said these things about her, and they felt justified to do so because of his race," said defense attorney Fred Brewington.

But Daniel Cicciaro's father, also named Daniel, says he doesn't believe White's story. "He had 20 minutes to gather his thoughts, to call the police to defuse the situation, to find out why they were coming over, and he didn't take any of the precautionary steps" he said.

"The Whites, none of them, ever called 9-1-1, even after he shot Daniel, but he did call their attorney," Joanne Cicciaro added.

“John White did not lock his doors. He did not call 911. He did not go outside and try to defuse a volatile situation.” Then, he added: “Instead, he armed his 19-year-old son with a loaded shotgun. He armed himself with an illegal .32-caliber handgun. And he confronted these unarmed boys.”

Last edited by Dilbert_X (2010-07-09 00:03:36)

Dilbert_X wrote:

Riverhead police say this all started with an Internet prank sent from the MySpace page of White's son, 20-year-old Aaron. Under his screen name, a threatening message was sent to a teenage girl who was a close friend of Daniel Cicciaro.

The night Cicciaro was killed, he was at a party with the girl when they spotted Aaron White. According to court testimony, Cicciaro became angry and White was asked to leave. Aaron White testified that after he left the party, Cicciaro and a male friend called him on his cell phone, saying to him, "Get back to this party you n****r."

Aaron White says he then went home and received more calls from Cicciaro and his friends, telling him they were coming to his house to kill him. He then woke his father, who grabbed his handgun and waited for the boys to arrive.

Police say that around 11 p.m., Cicciaro and four friends arrived at White's house. John and Aaron White walked out of their house, both holding guns, and had a heated exchange with Cicciaro and his friends. John White asked the boys to leave.

Then, police say, John White shot Cicciaro at point-blank range. Cicciaro died in the emergency room that night.

But the rape threat that sparked the confrontation between Daniel Cicciaro and Aaron White was not real. Under testimony, Aaron White's friend Michael Longo admitted he logged on to Aaron's MySpace page and sent the threat to the girl as a joke.

Daniel Cicciaro's mother, Joanne Cicciaro, says her son was trying to protect the girl. "The thing is, that night, Daniel believed Aaron threatened to rape a girl that was like his little sister," Cicciaro said.

During the trial, which lasted three weeks and ended Tuesday, John White broke down in tears. He testified, "I didn't mean to shoot this young man. This young man was another child of God."

White's attorneys say that racism lies at the heart of the confrontation and that John White feared Cicciaro and his friends were going to kill his son.

"You had this group of white men who felt that they were going to defend this young white woman from a black man who said these things about her, and they felt justified to do so because of his race," said defense attorney Fred Brewington.

But Daniel Cicciaro's father, also named Daniel, says he doesn't believe White's story. "He had 20 minutes to gather his thoughts, to call the police to defuse the situation, to find out why they were coming over, and he didn't take any of the precautionary steps" he said.

"The Whites, none of them, ever called 9-1-1, even after he shot Daniel, but he did call their attorney," Joanne Cicciaro added.

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/law/12/2 … index.html

Seems a bit more complex than a home invasion, loading up an illegal firearm and waiting 20 minutes.

“John White did not lock his doors. He did not call 911. He did not go outside and try to defuse a volatile situation.” Then, he added: “Instead, he armed his 19-year-old son with a loaded shotgun. He armed himself with an illegal .32-caliber handgun. And he confronted these unarmed boys.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/28/nyregion/28shoot.html

Reciprocity wrote:

Please don't be offended, please don't think I'm some kind of anti-social, vigilante nutjob.  I have no problem with letting people I know into my home.  I just can't think of a single rational explanation for someone, known or otherwise, being in my house without my permission.

Last edited by Spark (2010-07-09 01:56:27)

Jaekus wrote:

It does come down to intent. I guess the prosecution would have a hard time proving intent to kill under the circumstances.

Yeah, it's just all a bit fucked up really.

Last edited by Dilbert_X (2010-07-09 02:04:36)

globefish23 wrote:

I'm wondering why some of you suddenly say that he should have gone into his house and called the police.
They where on his driveway, which AFAIK belongs to his house, so it's already trespassing.
When some farmer in Arizona says that he will shoot on sight any "illegal immigrant" on his land, he's a hero.

Anyway, if his fatal shot was the only one, with no warning shot before, then the manslaughter charge is justified. After all, a human died through his action.
Another question is why he shot him in the face and not somewhere else less dangerous, like his legs.

Dilbert_X wrote:

Reciprocity wrote:

Please don't be offended, please don't think I'm some kind of anti-social, vigilante nutjob.  I have no problem with letting people I know into my home.  I just can't think of a single rational explanation for someone, known or otherwise, being in my house without my permission.

Suspected gas leak while you're out, for example?

mikkel wrote:

That's pretty extreme. Are you saying that you are likely to kill people who enter your home uninvited and pose a threat that you can't otherwise disarm, or is trespassing in itself a capital offense in your corner of the world?