Verdict in Murder Trial

As a foreign national who has been living here for almost six years, I’ve interpreted the Feb. 4 verdict in the murder trial of a Simi Valley auto shop owner this way: In this country it is OK to grab a gun, open the front door and kill somebody standing in the next yard if you “thought” this person was going to burgle your house and felt scared.

Instead of acquitting the defendant of all the charges, a Ventura County jury should have convicted Edward Drake of at least voluntary manslaughter because there was a great amount of negligence involved in his actions.

Using deadly force is never justified to defend property but may be if one is in fear of imminent death or great bodily injury.

Leonard Coppola, the teenage victim of this fatal shooting, was no threat to Drake. He was unarmed and was simply trying to open the gate at night. Actually, Drake was the one who opened the door and exposed himself to the person he believed to be a burglar when he could have stayed inside more safely and still had time to call police or check who was there before firing a gun.

When one can get away with this kind of killing, why should we bother to pay traffic tickets? Why is this society too tolerant with people who insist on their gun rights but can’t take care of responsibilities that accompany them? Are their rights more important than a life lost through no fault of the victim?

Although I was born in a country with no jury system, I have a respect for the purpose of such a system in this country. But I sometimes question whether Americans are really taking advantage of it. Until they get a jury summons, many people are indifferent and reluctant to make constant efforts to be impartial in their everyday life. How many of us are always trying to educate ourselves about laws anyway? Under such circumstances, can we really make right judgments as jurors?

Americans need to reexamine guns, the judicial system and this verdict. I’m urging this because I do love this country and its people with all my heart.

MEGUMI TOKUMURA, Fullerton