An 84-year-old Novato man who shot his stepson has been cleared of criminal charges, ending nearly five years of litigation.
The Marin County District Attorney’s Office dismissed its case against William Thomas Bradley, founder of the contracting company W. Bradley Electric, as it was about to head to trial.
The prosecution withdrew the case because Bradley’s legal team showed that the shooting was in self-defense, said Douglas Horngrad, an attorney for Bradley. Horngrad said Bradley never should have been charged.
“Bill Bradley was innocent,” he said. “Bill has been an upstanding member of this community for his whole life. With this dismissal, Bill gets his good name back.”
Seems to be a case where the prosecution forced the defendant to prove they were innocent, rather than the prosecution having to prove they were guilty.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the five year long battle only to have the prosecution drop the case on the eve of trial sounds like "punishment by process" (i.e. prosecutorial misconduct).