Manslaughter Conviction for Lessard
Plutarch
The Associated Press
Published May 24, 2003
GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. - A jury convicted Brett Lessard,
a former state senator's son, of second-degree manslaughter
Friday but cleared him of more serious charges.
The Itasca County jury acquitted Brett Lessard on charges
of second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter for
the death of Angela Aho, of Cohasset, in Lessard's Grand
Rapids home April 17, 2002.
"I think it's a very fair verdict and speaks the truth about what
happened," said Lessard's attorney, Joe Friedberg. Lessard
"reacted to it with relief."
Friedberg said they had a standing offer to the Itasca County
Attorney's Office to plead guilty to second-degree manslaughter
and avoid a trial, which wound up lasting three days.
He said the other two more-serious counts Lessard faced were
"excessive."
Minnesota sentencing guidelines call for a four-year prison
sentence for Lessard, 25, because he doesn't have a prior
criminal record. With good behavior, he could be out in slightly
more than two years.
Lessard was posing for photographs that Aho was planning to
use for a college photography class. As he posed for a dramatic
shot with Aho focusing the camera directly down the barrel, the
gun went off. The bullet struck Aho in the eye, killing her almost
instantly.
Lessard is the son of former Sen. Bob Lessard of International
Falls, a longtime champion of gun-owners rights and outdoor
issues who served from 1976 through 2002.
Aho's family has declined to speak with the media about the case.
Aho's closest friend, Shyla Wilson, said she was somewhat
disappointed with the verdict but glad Lessard will probably
serve some prison time.
"I don't know what was going on in his head at the time or what
he was thinking," Wilson said. "I just don't want to see him ever
hold a weapon again."
In his closing argument Thursday, Friedberg criticized prosecutors
for trying Lessard for second-degree murder. He said Lessard
was guilty of "aggravated stupidity" but never intended to pull the
trigger.
But prosecutor Todd Webb told jurors Lessard acted recklessly
by pointing his loaded gun at the victim, and noted he had been
drinking that night.
The only proof of intent necessary for conviction, Webb said,
laid in the act of pulling out a loaded gun and pointing it at someone,
a clear violation of gun safety rules. Because Lessard was a handgun
expert, and had taken three National Rifle Association safety courses,
Lessard knew his actions were wrong, Webb said.
The nine-woman, three-man jury couldn't reach a decision after six
hours of deliberations Thursday. It went back to work Friday morning
and returned its verdict around mid-afternoon.
_____________________________
From: Jeffrey C. Dege (jd...@jdege.visi.com)
Subject: How the British maximize crime
Newsgroups: mn.politics
Date: 2002-08-01 14:26:06 PST
. . .
"When guns are outlawed, only outlaws have guns."
_____________________________
From: Jeffrey C. Dege (jd...@jdege.visi.com)
Subject: Re: Need help with a gun
Newsgroups: mn.politics
Date: 2000/03/16
. . .
And even this obscures things. Because the problem isn't with blacks,
it's with the urban poor. Rates for middle-class blacks in the suburbs
are little different than for their white counterparts, rates for inner
city poor hispanics and asians are nearly as bad as for the blacks.
If we could gather the statistics in a more focused way, I'd not be
surprised that a large proportion of homicides for "white males" were
inner city minorities other than blacks, and that if we could filter out
the middle class suburban blacks, the homicide rate for the poor inner
city youth would be even more horrific than it is.
_____________________________
From: Jeffrey C. Dege (jd...@jdege.visi.com)
Subject: Re: Odds of getting a CCW in Minneapolis
Newsgroups: mn.general
Date: 2002-01-31 06:50:33 PST
Jefferson was given his first gun at age ten, as was usual for his time.
In a 1785 letter to his fifteen-year-old nephew, Peter Carr he wrote:
"A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercise,
I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it
gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played
with the ball and others of that nature are too violent for the body
and
stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be the constant
companion of your walks."
In his 1818 "Report of the Commissioners of the University of Virginia":
"the manual exercise, military maneuvers, and tactics generally, should
be the frequent exercise of the students, in their hours of
recreation."
_____________________________
Jeff
>The Associated Press
>
>Published May 24, 2003
>
>GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. - A jury convicted Brett Lessard,
>a former state senator's son, of second-degree manslaughter
>Friday but cleared him of more serious charges.
>
>The Itasca County jury acquitted Brett Lessard on charges
>of second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter for
>the death of Angela Aho, of Cohasset, in Lessard's Grand
>Rapids home April 17, 2002.
>
From what I read, and heard about this case I thought he should have been found
guilty of first-degree manslaughter at a minimum.
>"I think it's a very fair verdict and speaks the truth about what
>happened," said Lessard's attorney, Joe Friedberg. Lessard
>"reacted to it with relief."
>
Typical lawyer speak.
>Friedberg said they had a standing offer to the Itasca County
>Attorney's Office to plead guilty to second-degree manslaughter
>and avoid a trial, which wound up lasting three days.
>
>He said the other two more-serious counts Lessard faced were
>"excessive."
>
Bullshit.
>Minnesota sentencing guidelines call for a four-year prison
>sentence for Lessard, 25, because he doesn't have a prior
>criminal record. With good behavior, he could be out in slightly
>more than two years.
>
Not enough!
>Lessard was posing for photographs that Aho was planning to
>use for a college photography class. As he posed for a dramatic
>shot with Aho focusing the camera directly down the barrel, the
>gun went off. The bullet struck Aho in the eye, killing her almost
>instantly.
>
Stupid. Not to mention negligent behavior.
>Lessard is the son of former Sen. Bob Lessard of International
>Falls, a longtime champion of gun-owners rights and outdoor
>issues who served from 1976 through 2002.
>
>Aho's family has declined to speak with the media about the case.
>
>Aho's closest friend, Shyla Wilson, said she was somewhat
>disappointed with the verdict but glad Lessard will probably
>serve some prison time.
>
>"I don't know what was going on in his head at the time or what
>he was thinking," Wilson said. "I just don't want to see him ever
>hold a weapon again."
>
He wasn't thinking, that was the problem. Lessard is the type of person that
gives all anti-gun people ammunition...no pun intended. He is the type of
person that I don't want having access to a gun.
>In his closing argument Thursday, Friedberg criticized prosecutors
>for trying Lessard for second-degree murder. He said Lessard
>was guilty of "aggravated stupidity" but never intended to pull the
>trigger.
>
Blame everyone, and everything except the person holding the gun. His lawyer
tried blaming the gun...saying that Glock makes an unsafe handgun. Don't tell
that to the thousands of police around the country that use them everyday in
the line of duty.
>But prosecutor Todd Webb told jurors Lessard acted recklessly
>by pointing his loaded gun at the victim, and noted he had been
>drinking that night.
>
2 stupid mistakes. I wouldn't point an UNLOADED gun at anyone. I don't even
want to talk about the stupidity of drinking and handling a gun, or car, or...
>The only proof of intent necessary for conviction, Webb said,
>laid in the act of pulling out a loaded gun and pointing it at someone,
>a clear violation of gun safety rules.
Because Lessard was a handgun
>expert, and had taken three National Rifle Association safety courses,
>Lessard knew his actions were wrong, Webb said.
>
I don't believe that Lessard was/is a handgun expert, except maybe in his own
mind.
>The nine-woman, three-man jury couldn't reach a decision after six
>hours of deliberations Thursday. It went back to work Friday morning
>and returned its verdict around mid-afternoon.
>
Sounds like they wanted to get home early for the weekend?
Jeff C.
S Sheldon
"Plutarch" <"dancer46(nospam)"@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:3ED10B79...@earthlink.net...
>
> Lessard was posing for photographs that Aho was planning to
> use for a college photography class. As he posed for a dramatic
> shot with Aho focusing the camera directly down the barrel, the
> gun went off. The bullet struck Aho in the eye, killing her almost
> instantly.
Unfucking unbelivabable!
In addition to jail time, the entire family should be castrated as a
punishment for excessive stupidity to keep them out of the gene pool.