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Suffolk native beaten in Charlottesville found not guilty of assaulting white supremacist

Unitedwestand13

Unitedwestand13

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A black man brutally beaten at last year's white supremacist "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia - and who was later charged with assaulting a white nationalist - was acquitted Friday.

DeAndre Harris, 20, a Suffolk native and former special education instructional assistant, was found not guilty by Charlottesville General District Court Judge Robert Downer on a misdemeanor charge of assault and battery against Harold Crews, a North Carolina attorney and state chairman of The League of the South. If Harris had been convicted, he would have faced up to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine.

The acquittal is a relief for Harris, who was viciously beaten inside a parking garage next to the city's police department on Aug. 12, 2017. He suffered a spinal injury and head lacerations that required 10 stitches.
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https://pilotonline.com/news/nation-world/virginia/article_d490e994-2940-11e8-875c-a31f3715af5e.html

Well that is the end of that particular dispute.
 
This line is particularly insightful. From the article:

[FONT=&quot]But in the end, the judge declared Harris not guilty because he said Harris didn't intend to hit Crews and only swung a flashlight at him believing Crews was attacking his friend with a flagpole.
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What kind of nonsense reasoning is that? He didn't intend to hit him, but he swung a flashlight in self defense and only accidentally hit him? No, he meant to hit him.[/FONT]
 
phattonez said:
Why was this not tried in front of a jury?
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He may of waived a jurry trial hoping to find the best outcome. We've seen a few police officers opt for this option when they get charged.
 
Chillfolks said:
He may of waived a jurry trial hoping to find the best outcome. We've seen a few police officers opt for this option when they get charged.
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I'm woefully uninformed on this. How does that work? Does it depend on the defendant? Does the prosecution get to contest that?
 
phattonez said:
I'm woefully uninformed on this. How does that work? Does it depend on the defendant? Does the prosecution get to contest that?
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I am by no means a lawyer but my understanding is a defendant has the right to either have a jury or a bench (judge)trial. You go jury if you think you can get sympathy and bench if you are arguing a technicality in general.

I'm sure someone with more experience will explain how I've screwed that concept all up.
 
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