And a community, and a country?

Shot him to death in the back but he goes free???

nt

I don’t know what to do with my outrage

Shooting someone in the back is literally impossible to call self defense. At least in my state.

and turned their back momentarily to reach for a nearby axe, there might be a case.

But that would be the exception that proves the rule.
In my state, shooting someone in the back gets you in trouble even if it's inside your own home.
You'll still need to have a really good explanation for the judge on how it worked out that way.
Not impossible but unlikely.

In this case. Why are you stretching with a what if unrelated to the case.

Or selection of those prosecutors doomed this trial.

Not the most professional and strategic way to sway a jury. Skip to 8:00 badgering or 9:46 unhinged

Was the kid armed ?

“My heart goes out to them, but 14-year-old kid should not be roaming the streets of Columbia or South Carolina with semiautomatic pistol loaded and ready to fire,” he said.

I don't condone shooting the person in the back, but I'm sure the jury knows a lot more than I do.

We weren't there and didn't hear everything they heard during the trial.

by the people of one of the most deeply racist states. Chow will probably be held up as a hero by the gun mob the way they do with Rittenhouse.

Here is a link to a more complete CNN article for people like me who knew nothing of the back story. https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/01/us/south-carolina-murder-trial-cyrus-carmack-belton

From it you can see that he was running away, was shot in the back, and multiple witnesses said they did not see him pointing a gun at anyone. There was a sentence saying the gun was dropped.

Obviously the 14 year old should not have been carrying a gun. It would have been reasonable to call the police and file a report. If the store had surveillance cameras, this could have been one of many stories where images led to police identifying and charging the kid appropriately.

I understand how the storekeeper might have felt threatened when the boy was in the store, as soon as he was running away, anger probably replaced fear.

will now be brought.

If they find for the victim, then maybe the damages will be such that it destroys the shooter’s future. And I doubt he will be able to keep his business going even now. Even without a civil suit.

This is so sad.