commentary by Patrick H. Moore
In a decision that is going to anger some observers and please others, Theodore Wafer, 55, a resident of suburban Dearborn Heights, near the Detroit, Michigan border, was convicted of second-degree murder on Thursday for shooting 19-year-old Renaisha McBride through his screen door at approximately 4:30 am, after she arrived unexpectedly at his house and reportedly woke him from a sound sleep.
Ed White of the Associated Press reports:
No one knows exactly how the deceased Ms. McBride got to Mr. Wafer’s house after crashing her car about half a mile away at around 1:00 am. Based on the autopsy findings, she was extremely drunk when she crashed her vehicle and was still intoxicated when she arrived at Mr. Wafer’s house three-and-one-half-hours later.
During the trial, several witnesses called by prosecutors described encountering Ms. McBride after she crashed her car and before she arrived at Mr. Wafer’s house. The witnesses apparently suspected she had been drinking, but she walked away from the crash site before an ambulance arrived to treat what was likely a head injury.
Witnesses also stated that Ms. McBride talked about just wanting to go home — a key point repeatedly emphasized by prosecutors and reiterated by prosecutor Patrick Muscat during his closing arguments:
“She ended up in the morgue with bullets in her head and in her brain because the defendant picked up this shotgun, released this safety, raised it at her, pulled the trigger and blew her face off,” Muscat told jurors, holding the gun.
During his testimony, Mr. Wafer, an airport maintenance employee who lives alone, stated that he was woken up at about 4:30 am by an “unbelievably” loud pounding at his front and side doors.
Based on the noise he claims he heard, which if he’s telling the truth, would have been extremely startling, Mr. Wafer testified that he thought there could have been more than one person outside his modest 1,100-square-foot home. Wafer said he pulled the trigger “to defend myself. It was them or me.”
His attorney, Cheryl Carpenter, argued vigorously on her client’s behalf. “He armed himself. He was getting attacked,” she told jurors. “Put yourselves in his shoes at 4:30 in the morning.”
Although I admire Ms. Carpenter’s zeal in defending her client, she probably should have qualified the “getting attacked” statement to “(h)e THOUGHT he was getting attacked”.
Mr. Wafer may not have helped his cause by stating on the witness stand, “I wasn’t going to cower in my house.” This is not to say that he should necessarily have cowered in his house, but on the other hand the “not going to cower” statement could be seen as unduly macho and/or inflammatory.
The prosecutor Muscat pointed out that Wafer could have stayed safely in his locked home and called 911 instead of confronting McBride:
“He had so many other options. … We wouldn’t be here if he had called police first.”
The jury appears to have gone over the trial evidence carefully, spending about eight hours over the course of two days, before delivering their verdict which convicted Wafer of second-degree murder, manslaughter and a gun-related charge.
In any trial of this nature, feelings are going to run high, and Wayne County Judge Dana Hathaway decided to squash any excessive emotionality in advance, stating in no uncertain terms that she would lock people up for any outbursts. This advice was taken to heart and the courtroom was silent after the verdict was read.
Later, Ms. McBride’s mother, Monica McBride, cried and clasped her hands in a semblance of prayer. She gave long hugs to prosecutors as the courtroom emptied.
The victim’s father, Walter Simmons, said to reporters:
“We learned he was a cold-blooded killer. People have a right to bear their arms and everything else, but you have to do it with reason and responsibility. Not just murder somebody when it’s not justified.”
This is apparently what the jurors also thought considering that a unanimous decision was reached.
Although racial “talk-talk” had been anticipated by some because Mr. Wafer is white and the deceased was black, the race angle was hardly mentioned at the trial.
“It’s about people with guns who don’t use the right judgment before they pick them up,” said Ms. McBride’s aunt, Bernita Spinks, outside the courthouse.
Mr. Wafer, who had been free on bond, as is the custom in these matters, was remanded into custody after the verdict. He will be sentenced on August 25th.
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Under Michigan law, Mr. Wafer faces up to life in prison, but Michigan appears to be one of a handful of states where judges have broad discretion in a case of this nature. This is not a 15-to-life state for second-degree murder convictions. In fact, it appears that the judge could give Mr. Wafer a much shorter sentence, which is what some commenters anticipate. Of course, the judge will presumably have to factor the manslaughter and the gun-related charge into the sentencing calculus.
Based on that, it might be tough to get the sentence under 15 years.
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What concerns me more than the ultimate sentence is the fact it “didn’t have to be this way.” Too many members of our society are running scared, fearful of home invasion, some with good reason, and are ready to shoot at the slightest provocation.
We’ll probably never know for sure how loud the pounding on the defendant’s front and side doors really was, or how much impetus Mr. Wafer really had for reacting in the lethal manner that led to his conviction.
But I don’t feel the need to judge him further. Judgment was initiated by the prosecution and the jury and will be finalized by the judge. And just so nobody thinks otherwise: There are no winners here…
Therefore, let me simply conclude with these sobering words:
“So fundamental, never relent/
Quick on the trigger, so hot for the scent/
We all were going down to the Hunter’s Ground.”