The system is mostly run by men and we are changing that in droves but yes the legislature and prosecutors get to decide what is dangerous conduct. How else would it be as they try to protect society from dangerous people who commit crimes that are fairly well defined? I am glad you are awake to the issues but perhaps need a wider perspective. Violently attacking another is not acceptable even as the person attacked can defend themselves without escalating the level of violence. That is the rule and is nearly ancient law.
Just because lines must be drawn by prosecutors does not mean it cannot be done. In fact, juries will decide and frankly- criminal law is not that hard. The people and acts are hard but as areas of law go, it’s not our most complex. One might ask why the other lady had a gun or how she got the gun to use while being attacked. Questions exist yet this is one case.
CNN equated this incident as an attack on abortion -how absurd. Recognizing the injury and killing of an unborn baby is not a threat to abortion rights. Five months is different than three too. Non-voluntary loss is different than deciding to forgo pregnancy during the first three months. Disappointingly, the “legal analyst” on CNN did not know what she was talking about since every prosecutor knows we go to the grand jury so they take the responsibility for the charge due to political or other considerations- like in charging a cop. The grand jury acts on the evidence and law presented by the prosecutor. Even so, that does not mean the person charged should not have been charged. The prosecutor and the grand jury thought she should and those thoughts were based on evidence presented. Unborn children deserve protection and that is independent of a woman’s right to choose. Also, violence that results in death of an unborn child deserves prosecution. The lady who started the violence does not hold “some” responsibility. She holds all of it according to those that heard the evidence and did not charge the shooter.
I marched for abortion rights in 1989, support these rights with my dollars, and have been committed to this cause my whole adult life. Even so- when someone starts a violent attack on another who defends themselves- any injury to another is on the person who started it. If the lady with the gun had shot an innocent by-stander, the first lady might still be held accountable even as then they both might be since recklessness would then be involved on both parts.
Many states have what is called the “felony murder rule” that has been in effect for ions. This rule says that if anyone is killed in the commission of a felony, anyone involved in committing the felony is guilty of felony murder even if they did not pull the trigger or intend anyone to die. This is how all robbers are held accountable when one robber shoots and kills the bank guard. This rule is thought to deter others from going along with schemes that could end in innocent people being killed.
As a former prosecutor I must say- equating any of this to abortion or attack on women is absurd- even if it is Alabama with their recent rejection of Supreme Court case law that will get overturned. The person attacked was a woman and she has to be traumatized from having to shoot another person and to kill that woman’s unborn child to protect herself. Very traumatizing. Maybe the facts are different so the woman charged can tell it to a jury and cross-examine the witnesses. Prosecutors are fairly discerning people as a general rule.
Just because a woman is pregnant does not mean she is not a criminal or a bitch who starts violent shit with her enemy. The woman who shot the other was a woman with rights too and the child had a right to be born. The system has a duty to determine the truth and prosecute accordingly. These lawyers have access to the evidence and make a call. Most prosecutors do the best they can in making that call and they do it all the time.
Since none of us have interviewed the folks involved, we are all second guessing or defending what we do not know but what I do know is that prosecutors generally do the best they can to get dangerous people off the streets and to charge the right person with the right crime. Not perfect for sure but it is our system and it has checks on power. We also know the woman who was attacked was a woman. And we know a baby will not be born.
