Word: goetz
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Like several of the jurors, Serpe judged Goetz in the light of his previous mugging. "I was undecided at first, but one thing that changed my mind was the judge's instructions that what is reasonable can be related to past experiences. Bernhard Goetz had some violence in his past experiences. What is reasonable for him might not be reasonable...
...central issue in the seven-week trial was not just whether Goetz feared that the four youths were about to rob him but also what a "reasonable man" would do in his own defense. Only one of the four victims, Canty, actually approached Goetz and asked him for money. All four had police records, but Goetz could not know that. Two of them carried screwdrivers because they were planning to break into some video machines, but Goetz could not know that either. He could only look at them -- he said that Canty was smiling and had "shiny eyes" -- and guess...
Assistant District Attorney Gregory Waples strenuously argued that a reasonable man would avoid a confrontation, or at least would show his gun before firing it. Goetz, said Waples, was full of "blind, self-righteous, volcanic fury." Far from acting reasonably, he had attempted a "cold-blooded execution...
...only principal who testified fully was Canty, neatly attired in a suit. He did admit that he had a police record for theft and was in a drug- rehabilitation program, but he said nobody had harassed or threatened Goetz at all. He had just politely asked, "Mister, can I have $5?" Defense Lawyer Barry Slotnick called Canty a "liar...
Like other jurors, she found herself able to disbelieve a key part of Goetz's taped confession, in which he stated he had approached Cabey and said, "You don't look so bad, here's another," and then fired again. "Did that really happen, or did he just think he said that?" Serpe wondered. "He was so agitated . . . He just wasn't being rational...