Hunter gets 1 1/2 years for manslaughter

[Ten Bears]

Hunter gets 1 1/2 years for manslaughter
Posted: Friday, Jul 14, 2006 - 11:52:02 pm PDT
By TOM GREENE
Staff writer

ST. MARIES -- A Hayden man who shot and killed another hunter after legal hunting hours was sentenced to at least one and a half years in prison Friday.

1st District Judge Fred Gibler sentenced Raleigh Paul Turley, 24, to one and a half years in prison fixed followed by three and a half years indeterminate for the felony involuntary manslaughter of Casey Lawson, 30, of Tekoa, Wash.

Benewah County Prosecutor Douglas P. Payne said of more than 700 cases and 12 years as a prosecutor "this is the most emotionally difficult case I've dealt with in my career."

"It was a very emotionally-wrenching case. Probably more so than more serious crimes because of the gravity


of the loss," Payne said. "People need to think of that before they pull the trigger: Are they sure?"

Turley fatally shot Lawson on Nov. 27, 2005, at about 4:45 p.m., which was 10 to 15 minutes past legal hunting hours. Lawson was in an open field about 100 yards away when Turley shot at what he reportedly said was a "flash of white." Payne said Lawson was wearing a florescent orange hat, but it was too dark to see it.

Turley had been warned by members of the Lawson family -- who are leasing the land from the Coeur d'Alene tribe -- not to hunt in that area.

"He'd been asked to leave the property two weeks before. Then the day before (Lawson was killed) he was told not to hunt there because they would be hunting the next day," Payne said. "It was highly reckless."

Turley pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in a plea agreement. Payne said Turley has accepted responsibility for Lawson's death and did not attempt to flee the scene so he did not ask Gibler to impose the maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

"In this case that (avoiding responsibility) did not happen. Turley stayed there, offered aid and told the police the truth," Payne said. "He had no criminal record whatsoever."

Turley also received a lifetime suspension of his right to hunt in Idaho and will have to pay $8,000 in restitution. Payne said the Lawson family has asked that part of the restitution go to support hunter safety programs.

"Hunters need to be absolutely certain of what they are aiming a rifle at when they are shooting," Payne said. "For everyone involved, it was an terrible tragedy."

http://www.cdapress.com/articles/2006/07/15/news/news03.txt

Not enough time if you ask me. :BLEEP: :BLEEP:

 

[Cathunt MT]

He might have got off free if it would have been legal shooting light.....
Thats BS he should get life

 

[Ten Bears]

Turley awaits transfer to prison
Could be in Wallace jail for several months

By Ralph Bartholdt
Malt-o-meal, toast, pears and milk.

Ten days after being sentenced for shooting a hunter last year 24-year-old Raleigh Turley is still in the Benewah County Jail awaiting transport to the penitentiary.

He doesn’t take coffee. He reads a lot.

It could be several days before he leaves the jail for another facility, probably in Shoshone County.

It may be tomorrow.

Once he’s in Shoshone County, the wait will continue.

“I’ve had inmates for two or three months, until they get enough room (in Boise), or a transport for them,” said Benewah County Jail Commander Cindy Schultz.

Lunch is chicken alfredo with noodles, supper is soup and sandwiches.

Because he’s a state prisoner, the 24-year old is confined to the maximum security hold at the College Avenue jail taking meals three times per day in the white cell with the strip of block windows that diffuse the sunlight.

His parents and friends regularly stop in to see him.

“He’s had lots of visitors,” the jail commander said.

The state pays Benewah County $40 to house their inmates.

Most state inmates - those destined for the Idaho Department of Correction facility in Boise - are moved from Benewah County to a larger jail in Shoshone County before being transported to prison.

Because Idaho’s prison population has almost doubled in the last 10 years causing overcrowding and requiring inmates be moved to facilities in Minnesota and Texas, it could be a while before space is available in a state penitentiary.

Turnover time, once a state inmate is placed at Shoshone County, is between four and six months said Capt. Rick Smith, Shoshone County jail commander.

“There are a lot of stipulations,” he said. “But, I imagine he could be here up to six months.”

Locked behind bars in the county jail’s max cell - a former Navy brig - Mr. Turley spends his time paging paperbacks and puzzle books.

“He does like to read,” Mrs. Schultz said. “He always has books back there.”

Raleigh Turley pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter for killing Casey Lawson in November while deer hunting near Tensed. He was sentenced July 14 to five years in prison, but could be paroled within 11/2 years.

He will also reimburse the Lawson family $8,000 and lose his hunting privileges for life.

At the sentencing hearing Benewah County Prosecuting Attorney Doug Payne said he considered two factors before making a recommendation to First District Judge Fred Gibler.

One: the 24-year-old took responsibility for the shot that killed Mr. Lawson in a bluegrass field. He went for help. He co-operated with police and he pleaded guilty to the slaying.

Those are the mitigating factors, he said.

“He never lied about it,” Mr. Payne said.

Two: He was told not to hunt the area. He trespassed. He shot after dark.

Those, the aggravating factors.

“It was very reckless conduct,” he said.

Mr. Payne recommended that Turley be sentenced to five years (two years fixed and three indeterminate) with all but six months suspended. He asked that the 24-year-old make a hunter education video and spend 480 hours community service time associated with hunter education, and that Turley pay $8,000 to the victim’s family for costs they accrued since their son’s death.

After sentencing, Nick Lawson, the victim’s father, asked that $3,000 of the restitution be donated to hunter education. The remaining money would be used to pay the helicopter ambulance bill.

When there is room in Shoshone County, Mr. Turley will load into a van and find another cell. And he’ll continue to wait.
http://www.smgazette.com/news/news3.php

 

[Ten Bears]

Wouldn't he be a "poacher" not a "hunter" if he shot after legal hours while trespassing?????

 

[TheTone]

It never is for any sort of hunting/fishing/wildlife violation. We just had a guy sentenced here last week for poaching a deer last fall. They tried him on four violations, but dropped all but one. Among those dropped was possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Hopefully someday judges and prosecuters will start to take these crimes more serious.

 

[shoots-straight]

Nice black eye for hunting!

 

[MattK]

When Dick Cheney shot someone, where were all you guys...I never heard you guys say he he should have served ANY jail time...I never even heard anyone say it was a big deal at all..."it was just an accident" or it's dirty politics is what I saw (with some exceptions.) I guess the fact remains...if you got money, you're offenses aren't nearly as bad as if you don't have money.

 

[Curly]

Dick was not trespassing or hunting in the dark. Dick's kind of accident is was different in almost every way. Wasn't he shooting at a quail and the lawyer guy ended up being behind the quail where he wasn't supposed to have been?

 

[BuzzH]

Curly,

WRONG, its just about the exact same thing.

Dick Cheney was totally wreckless with a firearm and someone was severly injured and he's luck the guy he blasted didnt die.

Also, since Dick Cheney didnt have the PROPER LICENSES wasnt he just a poacher?

The guy in this article just wasnt as lucky as Cheney...the guy he shot by accident died.

Neither deserve slack, but Cheney should have also lost his hunting privileges for life as well, thrown in the clink, and paid a severe fine.

 

[Ten Bears]

I see a big difference in the two events. Cheney was bird hunting with a freind, and from what I've seen on bird hunting accidents; it usually deals with a wreckless shot, but seldom fatal . Usually resulting from a passing shot and poor judgement. From what I've heard about this incident; the guy that got shot was the landowner, and he had kicked the poacher off of his farm 2 weeks before. He was shot and killed with 1 shot, fired from about 100 yards away over an open grass field with a high powered rifle through the heart, typically always fatal . From talking with some local hunter ed teachers that went to the trial I learned: The poacher was laying down in the field and shot the landowner as he walked into the field from the trail leading from his treestand. The poacher knew that the treestand was up that trail, and had been told the day before that the landowner would be hunting there the day before.

Turley had been warned by members of the Lawson family -- who are leasing the land from the Coeur d'Alene tribe -- not to hunt in that area.

"He'd been asked to leave the property two weeks before. Then the day before (Lawson was killed) he was told not to hunt there because they would be hunting the next day,"

Should Cheney have lost his hunting license for a while; probably yes. Should Cheney have gone to jail; probably no.

To even try to compare the 2 incidents is just ridiculous.

 

[Whiskers]

I for one thought Cheney shoulda been charged with something. Did he loose his hunting rights for any time period? NO.
As for this Turley character, it was murder.

 

[Ten Bears]

Cheney was reckless discharge of a gun while hunting resulting in an injury, and they should have suspended his hunting license.

Turley murdered a man because he was told he couldn't hunt there, and got off lite.

 

[Cathunt MT]

I am with Ten bears Cheney should have lost his hunting rights and paid a big fine just like anyone would have.
Turley did get off and it is BS....

 

[Ten Bears]

CHENEY'S HUNTING ACCIDENT
By Michelle Malkin · February 12, 2006 03:53 PM
Fox News is reporting that VP Dick Cheney was involved in a hunting accident yesterday.

Breitbart/AP:

Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot and injured a man during a weekend quail hunting trip in Texas, his spokeswoman said Sunday. Harry Whittington, 78, was "alert and doing fine" after Cheney sprayed Whittington with shotgun pellets on Saturday at the Armstrong Ranch in south Texas, said property owner Katharine Armstrong.
Armstrong said Cheney turned to shoot a bird and accidentally hit Whittington. She said Whittington was taken to Corpus Christi Memorial Hospital by ambulance.

Cheney's spokeswoman, Lea Anne McBride, said the vice president was with Whittington, a lawyer from Austin, Texas, and his wife at the hospital on Sunday afternoon.


I'm very thankful Whittington is doing fine. Unfortunately, this is very bad news for the White House--and not just because of the inevitable late-night jokes that will inundate the airwaves over the next week. The Dems will exploit this accident to smear Cheney as incapable of being trusted, weak of mind, etc. The resignation rumors will fly again. And the biography of a man who has served this country so well and so honorably for so many years will be overshadowed by a single, ill-fated hunting mishap.

***

Reader C.T. writes: "I'd rather hunt with Dick Cheney than ride with Ted Kennedy ." http://michellemalkin.com/archives/004541.htm

 

[BuzzH]

Ten beers,

Its all speculation and you dont know the story on what happened in the incident you posted.

I dont know for sure either, but apparently it wasnt murder or he would have been convicted of that and not manslaughter. Cheney likely wouldnt have even been convicted of manslaughter if his buddy would have been killed by the pellet that lodged in his HEART. When a pellet enters a guys heart and he suffers a heart-attack from it...its a little or serious than an "accident"...and surely could have fatal. Cheney lucked out with his wreckless behavior.

I also suggest you study up on some case history of people that are killed while bird hunting. Lots of people have been killed while bird hunting with shotguns. Shotguns at the range Cheney blasted his buddy from are often times fatal. A shotgun at close range is vicious and usually fatal.

Oh, and since Cheney didnt have the proper licenses to be bird hunting is he a hunter or a poacher?

You're clueless.

 

[Ten Bears]

QUOTE=BuzzH
Its all speculation and you dont know the story on what happened in the incident you posted. Speculation? Like I said I know people who were there and heard the testimony at the hearing. Isn't it "facts" that are presented as testimony, not speculation?

Turley fatally shot Lawson on Nov. 27, 2005, at about 4:45 p.m., which was 10 to 15 minutes past legal hunting hours. Lawson was in an open field about 100 yards away when Turley shot ...

Turley had been warned by members of the Lawson family -- who are leasing the land from the Coeur d'Alene tribe -- not to hunt in that area.

"He'd been asked to leave the property two weeks before. Then the day before (Lawson was killed) he was told not to hunt there because they would be hunting the next day," ....

I dont know for sure either, but apparently it wasnt murder or he would have been convicted of that and not manslaughter.

Turley pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in a plea agreement.

I'm sure when faced with a trial for murder or entering a guilty plea to manslaughter the choice was pretty simple for his defense attorney.
Cheney likely wouldnt have even been convicted of manslaughter if his buddy would have been killed by the pellet that lodged in his HEART. When a pellet enters a guys heart and he suffers a heart-attack from it...its a little or serious than an "accident"...and surely could have fatal.... When did all this pellet lodging and heart attack happen?

In an interview with deputies, Whittington "collaborated Vice President Cheney's statement," according to the release, which concluded, "This was no more than a hunting accident." http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0213061cheney1.html

I also suggest you study up on some case history of people that are killed while bird hunting. Lots of people have been killed while bird hunting with shotguns. Shotguns at the range Cheney blasted his buddy from are often times fatal. All the more reason to believe the shot was lees then deliberate. A shotgun at close range is vicious and usually fatal. Do you have more than your personal opinion to back that up? Remember we are talking about "hunting" related shootings.

Oh, and since Cheney didnt have the proper licenses to be bird hunting is he a hunter or a poacher?

...In addition to the document's release, wildlife officials reported today that while Cheney had purchased a valid non-resident hunting license, he did not obtain a required "upland game bird stamp." As a result, a warning citation--which carries no fine or penalty--will be issued to Cheney, which state officials described as "routine." http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0213061cheney1.html

I guess it would depend on the number of people that had gotten criminal tickets or warning tickets for the same offense before the incident.

You're clueless.
Yes BUZZ, you and MATTy are CLUELESS.

 

[BuzzH]

Ten Beers,

You dont have a clue how the judicial system works.

I'd say the state had a pretty thin murder case on their hands if they offered a plea of involuntary manslaughter. From the article it sounds like there was no way that the state was going to ever get even close to a murder conviction.

Also, if you dont have an upland bird stamp, you're by law poaching birds. You need a bird stamp to hunt birds. Just like you need a fishing license to fish. Pretty simple, and I'd guess any 2nd grader could figure that out.

I realize that you're not the sharpest tool in the shed...but those other responses of yours were truly unbelievable.

Ten beer said,

"When did all this pellet lodging and heart attack happen? "

Shows how much you dont know about the incident. A day or two after Cheney wrecklessly shot his buddy in the face, neck, and upper torso in broad daylight at around 20 yards...a pellet worked its way to his heart causing a heart-attack. The unfortunate recipient of Cheneys wrecklessness spent several days in intensive care.

According to you though, shotguns are harmless.

Like I said, clueless.

 

[Ten Bears]

Nobody said Cheney wasn't wrong (or poaching) for hunting birds with out a bird stamp (bird brain). I'm just saying: I guess they just don't take it to serious in TX if they only issue warning tickets for it.

I'm pretty sure we in ID take shooting after dark (even game animals) and trespassing more serious than that.....

As for the murder trial, I think they already have one big murder trial slated this summer in that county, and are seeking the death penalty in it, and the costs of that trial probably influenced the plea offer in this case with Turley.

According to you though, shotguns are harmless.

No, you BUZZ; stated that they are harmless. I said that in relation to bird huntng accidents they are "seldom fatal" big difference.

 

[Ten Bears]

Hunting should be safe

by Kaisie Brede
As the wife and mother of licensed Idaho hunters it scares me to think there are people like Raleigh Turley in the woods, packing high-powered rifles.

Raleigh Turley will be sentenced Friday for the late November shooting death of Casey Lawson. No matter what sentence Judge Fred Gibler hands down – be it a lengthy jail time, parole, community service, or a combination of all three – Raleigh Turley’s hunting privileges should be taken away and he should never hunt again.

I still remember the look on my husband’s face the night we got the phone call that Casey Lawson had been shot by another hunter.

He answered the phone knowing it was probably his friend, Josh, calling to brag on a successful hunt. He quickly grew pale and quiet, he slowly shook his head and shed a tear. He shed a tear for Casey’s parents, his fiancé, his friend. On hearing of his death, I shed a tear for all those reasons and one more; it could have been my husband, my son, my daughter walking through the field after a day of hunting and shot by such a careless hunter.

Before my hunters head to the woods, I tell them in my most stern voice “Be safe”. Their response… “Always”. It scares me to know that no matter how “safe” they think they might be, there could be Raleigh Turley or someone like him, hunting in the same field or the same woods.

I’m sure Casey thought he was safe walking across the field to meet his friend and hunting partner after spending the day hunting. But Casey wasn’t safe because of another hunter’s total disregard of the law. Raleigh Turley shot after dark, after it was too dark to know what he was shooting, in a field he didn’t have permission to hunt.

Some refer to Casey’s death as a “hunting accident”, I disagree. It was not an accident; Raleigh Turley intended to kill his target when he shot across the field.

When someone breaks the law they should be punished. Raleigh Turley broke the law when he shot and killed Casey Lawson and should be punished so that such senseless deaths might be prevented in the future.

Then maybe, and only maybe, I will be able to believe my hunters when they answer my command to be safe.

- Kaisie Brede is on staff at the Gazette Record.http://cc.msnscache.com/cache.aspx?q=3861000646682&lang=en-US&mkt=en-US&FORM=CVRE

 

[Curly]

Wasn't it a game ranch that released birds for Cheney to hunt? Can't he shoot farm raised birds without a stamp? Maybe Dick was technically "poaching" if that is the law, but minor game violation such as that shouldn't really be refered to as poaching. Maybe the state was willing to give people a break since it was the first year that the stamp had been required.

Here is a question for you guys: Do you think Dick Cheney shoots with -
A) One eye open
B) Both eyes open
C) Both eyes shut

If he was shooting like he should have (w/ both eyes open) how could he have missed seeing his hunting partner? Maybe he was drunk and his eyes were fuzzy?

Anyway, Turley should have gotten a stiffer sentence and Cheney should have gotten some punishment (but afterall, he did shoot a lawyer )