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View Full Version : Woman gets prison term in fatal shooting


DEAD ZONE
May 12th, 2005, 07:46 PM
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArti cle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031782558263&path=%21news&s=1045855934842


BY ALAN COOPER

Lloyd Jamal Whitaker Jr.'s departure on Sept. 29 from the home he had shared with Carolyn Taylor did not go smoothly.He had made several trips to his car with boxes of belongings from the house in the 1300 block of Enfield Avenue.

But Taylor, 33, told police that he had choked her during one of his trips back to the dwelling, and she had locked the door behind him and put a .22-caliber pistol in her pocket.

When Whitaker, 28, kicked in the door and choked her again, she fired a shot downward to get him away from her, she said. The bullet lodged in Whitaker's pelvis, and he bled to death from what appeared at first to be a superficial wound.

Taylor pleaded guilty in January to involuntary manslaughter, and Richmond Circuit Judge Richard D. Taylor sentenced her yesterday to serve three years and four months in prison.

Before she was sentenced, Carolyn Taylor apologized to Whitaker's family and added, "I never meant for him to die. . . . The gun that I had took his life, but I feel that it might have saved my life."
Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Diane Abato told the judge that Taylor could have left the apartment or called police to keep the confrontation from escalating.

"But as so often happens in this city, people arm themselves and think that solves the problem," she said.

Yes she should have called the cops ASSUMING he announced his arrival ahead of time. Yes she should have armed herself in case he did not or the cops were late and No there is nothing and was nothing wrong with defender her own life. This is pure BLAME THE VICTIM CRAP!!!!!

Idnew
May 13th, 2005, 04:56 PM
She should move to Florida and there wouldn't be a problem

Our new law says if we're attacked we can defend ourselves without fear of prosecution.

mtz23
May 22nd, 2005, 08:06 PM
I'm going to play Devil's Advocate here. Obviously, we're all going to be "shooting in the dark" (no pun intended) about this story because we are missing some key elements such as a timeline of events.

He choked her on one of his trips back to the car, right? So she didn't call the cops after that? She just locked the door and armed herself. I get the locking of the door and arming herself, but she STILL neglected to notify the authorities within a resonable timeframe. There are obviously some discrepancies in her story in order for her to make a deal with the DA for manslaughter.

Also, I've seen what a .22 cal bullet does to a person. I'm not a doctor but with a wound that small, people don't bleed out in minutes, there was a neglect in calling someone.

My http://deephousepage.com/smilies/twocents.gif

now, I shall vacate:

http://deephousepage.com/smilies/chase.gif

sinecure
May 22nd, 2005, 11:50 PM
As I see it...

As long as she was in immediate peril of death or GBI [Great Bodily Injury] she was completely justified in using deadly force. When the victim was in the act of choking the defendant, I think that would qualify as "immediate peril."

As to the use of a .22... it all depends on where the bullet went. The article states she fired downward and the bullet lodged in his pelvis. It's possible she put a .22-sized hole in any of the large blood-carrying vessels, and his thoracic cavity rapidly filled with blood, shutting off his air.

I attended an autopsy where a man was shot in the shoulder with a little .22 short. The bullet went in from the front, hit the scapula [shoulder blade] where it deformed, it then bounced an inch or so to the side and nicked the sub-clavicular artery. He was unconscious in seconds, died within a couple of minutes. Bullets especially .22 bullets] can do some really strange things in a body.

LocalAreaLeech
April 5th, 2006, 03:09 AM
And as far as neglect - did it say he bleed out in that house?

Second of all - if she had been in shock, or was a abuse victim, or didn't want to "cause a scene" - those are all reasons why she might of not called the cops.

Second of all - if someone starts to get phsical with me, and I try to distance myself, and they come back (like she said what happend in her locking herself away from him) and they break that, I will attack. They are violating me in that and I feel it is just self defense.

Also - she might of accepted the plea if she felt guilty for killing him - if she shot downward that says to me she wasn't try to kill him - just scare him away.

But I agree - more facts are needed.