I think you raise some valid points skipper. If nothing else, I think this case just shows how a lot of real life situations CCW holders may face are not black and white situations, but rather are shades of grey. I don't think GZ did everything right here and I won't suggest he did just because he's a fellow CCW holder. On the other hand, I'm not entirely convinced that he's guilty of murder and the harshest sentence the law allows. While I think it was the wrong decision to pursue TM, it's still unclear who initiated the conflict and who escalated the conflict to a lethal or potentially lethal level. Put another way, we know how the conflict ended, but there's conflicting evidence as to who was winning the fight, did the fight ever turn lethal, and so on. As far as the law is concerned, GZ's guilt varies depending on if GZ both initiated the conflict and escalated the conflict (murder), if GZ initiated the conflict but TM escalated it (likely a lesser charge like manslaughter), if TM both initiated the conflict and escalated the conflict (full self defense) and so on. We'll just have to see what the jury finds as far as facts.
My gut reaction here is that a lesser charge (some form of manslaughter) is appropriate, but we'll just have to see where the jury ends up.
