A blind man in Florida was just acquitted of murder charges after he shot one of his drinking buddies with an assault rifle.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, John Wayne Rogers was able to walk away a free man from a week-long trial after murdering his friend, due to the “Stand Your Ground” law.
The judge ruled that he was just a blind man acting in self-defense while being attacked at his home.
The site reports:
Prosecutors charged Rogers with first-degree premeditated murder, and he was facing a possible sentence of life in prison.
Witnesses gave conflicting accounts of what happened that day, but defense attorneys described the case in simple terms: Rogers is a blind man who was defending himself from an attack in his home.
“He felt like he had no choice but to shoot him, and he did,” said Assistant Public Defender Tim Caudill.
Rogers is legally blind, having been injured in a work-related accident while testing a fire-suppression system in 2001, said co-defense counsel Stuart Bryson. Seminole County deputies noted in his arrest report that he walks with a cane, but some neighbors contend he can see.
Rogers testified that he shot the gun out of self-defense, but the girlfriend of James T. DeWitt, the man who was killed, says that nothing was provoked for the shooting to happen.
Apparently Rogers also has a history with violence, as he fired 15 rounds from a handgun at his cousin about 4 years ago.
The “Stand Your Ground” law played a big role in the trial of George Zimmerman, who was acquitted for shooting 17-year-old Trayvon Martin dead while on duty for the Neighborhood Watch.
Do you guys think this guy should have been acquitted for murder, or is it another case of injustice?
SOURCE: Orlando Sentinel | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty
