DETROIT (AP) — After two days of jury selection, lawyers are poised to give opening statements in the trial of a Detroit-area man who opened his front door and shot an unarmed woman, killing her.
Theodore Wafer, an airport employee with no criminal record, is charged with second-degree murder. Wafer says he heard pounding at the door and fired his shotgun in self-defense in the death of 19-year-old Renisha McBride last November.
Opening statements are expected Wednesday. The judge and attorneys screened dozens of potential jurors before settling on seven men and seven women, including two alternates. Four are black.
Prospective jurors were asked their views on race. The victim was black, while Wafer is white.
McBride was drunk and had crashed her car a half-mile away, 3 ½ hours before the shooting.
The defense will attempt to prove to the court that unarmed Black women seeking help have it coming if they knock on a fragile White man’s door.
Someone incomprehensible banging at your door in the early hours of the morning is disconcerting. It requires only slamming the door in their face and verbally yelling “go away”, it doesn’t require a blast from a shotgun to send the same message. Literally and sadly, this was overkill.
Does Michigan have Stand Your Ground? If so, all he has to do is say he felt threatened and he is home free!
If this guy had just called 911 and left the door closed he wouldn’t be on trial for murder and looking at a life sentence, and the woman would be alive. His mistake was in not understanding that guns do not keep you safe. Guns punch holes in flesh. Untrained people who grab a gun because they’re frightened or angry are very often too rattled to judge the situation accurately or make good choices. That makes this kind of thing nearly inevitable.
You didn’t include that she was maybe drunk and possibly in shock from a car crash. Extenuating indeed.