Question:
Hmong Immigrant Receives Life in Prison By ROBERT IMRIE, Associated Press Writer
Wed Nov 9, 5:32 AM ET
The judge who sentenced a Hmong immigrant to life in prison for killing six deer hunters said the man was a time bomb ready to go off at the slightest provocation.
Judge Norman Yackel ordered Chai Soua Vang, 37, to serve six life prison terms, one after the other, guaranteeing he would never be freed from prison. Wisconsin does not have a death penalty.
Vang, a truck driver from St. Paul, Minn., was convicted on six counts of first-degree intentional homicide and three counts of attempted homicide in the Nov. 21 slayings.
Vang's attorney, Steve Kohn, said he would appeal but declined to elaborate.
The slayings occurred during the state's beloved deer hunting season and exposed racial tension between the predominantly white north woods residents and immigrants from the Hmong ethnic group of Southeast Asia.
Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager sought the maximum sentence for Vang, a father of seven children. She argued Vang would kill again unless he was locked up for the rest of his life, given his explosive temperament and lack of true remorse or regret.
Vang addressed the victims' families in court Tuesday but did not apologize.
I understand your anger, your frustration, your grief, Vang said.
He called Tuesday the happiest day of his life, saying he would no longer have to deal with child support and mortgage payments.
I wish I can change things, but I cannot, he said.
According to trial testimony, Vang said he got lost, went into a tree stand on the private land and was asked by another hunter, Terry Willers, to leave. Vang said he apologized and started walking away.
Other companions of Willers arrived, and there was an angry verbal confrontation and threats to report Vang to game wardens for trespassing.
Vang testified he fired in self-defense after one hunter angrily shouted profanities at him and used racial slurs before another fired at him.
Willers and the other wounded hunter, Lauren Hesebeck, said no one in their group pointed a gun at Vang before he opened fire.
Willers and Hesebeck indicated only one shot was fired at Vang — by Hesebeck, who was already wounded and some of his friends lay mortally wounded on the ground.
Vang was convicted of killing Robert Crotteau, his son Joey Crotteau, Denny Drew, Allan Laski, Jessica Willers and Mark Roidt. All were relatives and friends who gathered to hunt from the Crotteaus' cabin near Exeland.
Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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Answer:
Your post did not mention that Vang is an ex-marine. It is crucial to know Vang's past in order to judge his mentality. He deserves what he was sentenced. You don't just shoot and kill six people for throwing profanity and racial slurs at you.
I've been following this case for some time now, and I'm relieved he's found guilty for his crimes.
Edit:
He called Tuesday the happiest day of his life, saying he would no longer have to deal with child support and mortgage payments. - Vang
If I too were fed up with the way my life is going, and I knew that there is no death penalty for murder in the state that I committed the crime in then I would have done the same. It's just another way out of a tiresome life. (extreme sarcasm)
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Vang addressed the victims' families in court Tuesday but did not apologize.
He called Tuesday the happiest day of his life, saying he would no longer have to deal with child support and mortgage payments.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/mellow.gif)
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^ o_o;;
I heard about this some time ago, sucks for him. See what racism does... :[
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He had it coming, good riddance. He'll probably get killed in prison though
People have had it worse than this guy did and didn't end up killing half a dozen unarmed people (minus one with a gun) Doesn't matter what race you are, murder is murder and there's never a justification for it.
Answer:
Your post did not mention that Vang is an ex-marine. It is crucial to know Vang's past in order to judge his mentality. He deserves what he was sentenced. You don't just shoot and kill six people for throwing profanity and racial slurs at you.
I've been following this case for some time now, and I'm relieved he's found guilty for his crimes.
Edit:
He called Tuesday the happiest day of his life, saying he would no longer have to deal with child support and mortgage payments. - Vang
If I too were fed up with the way my life is going, and I knew that there is no death penalty for murder in the state that I committed the crime in then I would have done the same. It's just another way out of a tiresome life. (extreme sarcasm)
who knows what really happened there that day but i did hear that hunters do somtimes shoot at each other if someone is in their game area and if they dont leave the shoot a warning shot at them (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sleep.gif) i think thats stupid. I'm glad my dad doesn't hunt anymore ...
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Now see, this guy doesn't deserve a second chance. He deserves whatever comes his way in prison. Hopefully a 300 lbs lonely roomate seeking companion named Bubba.
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who knows what really happened there that day but i did hear that hunters do somtimes shoot at each other if someone is in their game area and if they dont leave the shoot a warning shot at them (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sleep.gif) i think thats stupid. I'm glad my dad doesn't hunt anymore ...
I really doubt it -- that's assault with a deadly weapon, or something similar. I don't know how disputes are handled regarding public areas, but this wasn't a public area, but private property.
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6 life sentences......?? Kinda redundant......wat is he a cat with extra lives? Anyways..he deserves the life imprisonment. The thing that got me was that.....if it was in self defense.....why did he gun them down? Like, why did he chase after some of his victims? Some were unarmed.
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he got what he deserved. I mean it was so obvious it was going to be life in prison or death penalty. Anyway, killing 6 people no matter if they were being rascist or not is the issue. He shot 8 people, 6 of them died.
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I remember watching the trial on TV, well part of it.
6 life sentences......?? Kinda redundant......wat is he a cat with extra lives?
My thoughts exactly, but I guess they do this to satisfy the families of the people who died because of Vang's actions.
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i remember my mom gossiping bout this to one of my aunts...
killing 6 people is really harsh and mean! he deserve it!
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i heard about this, this case started a while back
he deserves being sentence to death
i mean although the other guys started it, he shouldn't had killed them
