Saturday, December 2, 2017

A Tale of Two Deaths

You may have heard about the death of Kate Steinle and the results of the trial of her killer. What you probably haven't heard of, is the death of Rosemary Billquist.

Rosemary was killed by someone hunting after legal hours, by a handgun, at about 200 yards. Her killer has cooperated with the police, and is being charged with 2nd degree manslaughter. It's important to note that he hasn't been tried yet - his date is in January.

What are the commonalities? Both victims were women. Both victims were killed by handguns. Both died in the hands of loved ones. Both were shot in circumstances that they considered safe. The killers were both male.

What are the differences? The states are different and on opposite coasts. One killer was a legal citizen, the other was a criminal, illegal immigrant. One killer used a legally owned firearm, the other was committing felony possession of a stolen firearm. One killer has been acquitted of all but one charge, the other has yet to be tried. One killer is a brown Mexican male, the other is a white American male.

Again, I want to stress, that Jadlowski hasn't been tried yet. Regardless, this is going to be an interesting case because of the precedent set by the Zarate trial and outcome. If Jadlowski is found guilty - especially of manslaughter - what will that say of our legal system? If Jadlowski is found not guilty of all but one charge, will that be fair and equal justice?

It's also going to be very interesting in watching how Jadlowski conducts himself in court, what story he goes with, the case prosecutors make, and the defense the defenders make.

Another important note, from what I've read so far, Jadlowski has so far cooperated with the police and tried to administer aid to Rosemary. Zarate on the other hand, ran like the coward he is, and lied about his actions, changing his story several times.

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