Wisconsin CCW Holder First to be Convicted of Homicide

A jury convicted Philip K. Green, 40, of reckless homicide.  Green had a CCW permit, and called the police after the shooting.   Green knew the man he shot, and had gone to two bars with him and two others.  This is the first homicide conviction for a Wisconsin resident with a CCW permit.  The permit system has been in place for over 2 years, with over 200,000 permits issued.  If we assume an average of 100,000 permits per year, then the rate of convictions for CCW holders in Wisconsin becomes .5/100,000 with this conviction.  That is about 1/10th of the national average, about the same as Minnesota's rate for permit holders.   60% of the murders committed in Wisconsin occur in Milwaukee, which has a little over 10% of the population of the state.  From jsonline.com:

Green and the two other men out that night had said they all met at one bar, then rode together to a second tavern before going to a strip club. Green, who is much older than others in the group, said he didn't want to go, and preferred to be dropped at his car. That's when Banks, 26, seemed to take offense, stopped the car, and pulled Green from the back seat and began beating him.

"I felt threatened for my life from what's going on," Green told the jury.

He said Banks, 26, had hit him, knocked him to the ground, kicked him and pulled his jacket up over his head. He said he felt handicapped and put his hand on his holstered gun for fear Banks would take it. Then as he returned to his feet, Green said, he just "put it up and shot."

There does not seem to be any contention that Banks was the aggressor.  The  reckless homicide charge seems to be based on the contention that Banks had stopped beating on Green when Green shot.  Banks was driving the car, Green and two other people were passengers. 

In his closing argument, Assistant District Attorney Grant Huebner told jurors Green "wasn't protecting his life, he was firing back in anger." Even though Banks was the aggressor, Huebner said, it was unreasonable for Green to use deadly force in what was clearly "a fist fight."

I do not know what the defense said, but many "fist fights" end up with a person killed or brain injured.  The idea that a person should put up with a beating, and risk their life, has long been discredited.  

©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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