JUSTICE!-Gun club, 3 others charged in boy's Uzi death

[Shemtov]

so i bet y'all remember the the "child death" threads.......so on the bright side justice has been in one of them
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/boy_shoot...a4lSp27.oDW7oF

Three men, including a small-town police chief, were indicted Thursday on involuntary manslaughter counts in the gun-fair death of an 8-year-old who accidentally shot himself in the head with an Uzi that a prosecutor said he never should have been allowed to handle.
The club where the fair was held also was charged. The fair had promised shooters would have certified instructors in an advertisement, but District Attorney William Bennett said the child, Christopher Bizilj, was supervised by an uncertified 15-year-old boy.
Christopher, of Ashford, Conn., lost control of the 9mm micro submachine gun as it recoiled while he was firing at a pumpkin Oct. 26 at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo at the Westfield Sportsman's Club in western Massachusetts.
Pelham Police Chief Edward Fleury was charged because he owns the sponsor of the gun fair, COP Firearms & Training. Two men who brought the automatic weapon to the show, Carl Guiffre of Hartford, Conn., and Domenico Spano, of New Milford, Conn., also were indicted.
An involuntary manslaughter conviction carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence and $1,000 fine. The term could be five years or less for someone with no prior convictions.
Fleury and the club also were indicted on four counts each of furnishing a machine gun to a minor. A conviction on each count is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, up to $10,000 in fines and the loss of a firearms license for at least 10 years.
Bennett said prosecutors know of at least four children, including Christopher, who fired automatic weapons at the fair. He added that Fleury had wrongly assured Guiffre and Spano that it was legal for children to use the Uzi under Massachusetts law.
"A Micro Uzi is made by and for the Israeli Armed Forces and is intended to meet the operational needs of Israeli Special Forces," Bennett said, noting that the weapon has a rate of fire of 20 to 25 rounds per second. "It is not a hunting weapon."
Thomas Drechsler, an attorney for the club, said it continues to extend its "deepest sympathy" to the Bizilj family, but denies any wrongdoing. He said neither the club nor any member gave the Uzi to Christopher or any children, and weren't in the immediate area when the accident happened.
"The club is disappointed by the indictment," he said. "The club's intention is to plead not guilty and the club denies they participated in any criminal act."
Fleury, Guiffre and Spano did not immediately return calls for comment.
The machine gun shoot drew hundreds of people to the sporting club's 375-acre compound. An advertisement said it would include machine gun demonstrations and rentals and free handgun lessons.
"It's all legal & fun — No permits or licenses required!!!!" reads the ad, posted on the club's Web site.
"You will be accompanied to the firing line with a Certified Instructor to guide you. But You Are In Control — "FULL AUTO ROCK & ROLL," the ad said.
The ad also said children under 16 would be admitted free, and both adults and children were offered free .22-caliber pistol and rifle shooting.
Christopher's father was 10 feet behind him and reaching for his camera when the child fired the weapon.
Bennett said Charles Bizilj (pronounced bah-SEAL') had selected the compact weapon for his 4-foot-3, 66-pound son to fire after he was assured it was safe. He had thought the Uzi's small size made it safer, but the opposite was true, the prosecutor said.
"Although it might appear a heavier or longer weapon would be more dangerous, the small size of the weapon together with the rapid rate of fire made it more likely that an 8-year-old would lose control and the muzzle of the weapon would come close to his face, which is what happened here," he said.
The father was not charged because he was a layman and based his decision on information from others who should have known it was too dangerous, Bennett said. The 15-year-old boy who was supervising Christopher with the Uzi also will not be charged, he added.
Christopher's family did not immediately return a call seeking comment. His father has said his son had experience firing handguns and rifles but the gun show was his first time with an automatic weapon.
Fleury, the police chief, has been on sick leave since the boy's death, according to Kim Leahey, administrative aide for the Pelham Board of Selectmen. Leahey said the board would have no statement on the indictment until it consults its attorneys.
Fleury is one of two full time officers in Pelham. In a statement issued shortly after the accident, the board said Fleury's company was a "purely personal pursuit" and not subject to their approval.

h
hope they all rot in jail

[Addendum]

They haven't had the trial yet.

[SuperMonkey]

Yeah. 8-year olds shouldn't use Uzis.

-- FunBob

[thedeadite]

No one (with the possible exception of military) should use Uzis.
Seriously, what's the point?

[Gilpesh]

Originally Posted by thedeadite

Seriously, what's the point?

You won't be asking that when the rage virus outbreak happens.

[OctaviusINC]

They could rot in jail all they want.

The 8 year old still pulled the trigger and shot himself WITH a 15 year old watching him. I had more sense in me at 8 AND 15 to NOT handle a firearm or be near one and certainly not fire one.

[thedeadite]

Originally Posted by Gilpesh

You won't be asking that when the rage virus outbreak happens.

You may be right.

[SuperMonkey]

Originally Posted by thedeadite

No one (with the possible exception of military) should use Uzis.
Seriously, what's the point?

How do you think the revolution would have went down if people had that attitude back then?

-- FunBob

[amazingfantasy15]

Originally Posted by SuperMonkey

How do you think the revolution would have went down if people had that attitude back then?

-- FunBob

Revolution?

[SuBe]

Originally Posted by SuperMonkey

How do you think the revolution would have went down if people had that attitude back then?

-- FunBob

Easy answer, it wouldn't. If only the British had Firearms, and the Colonists only had Sling Shots, the Revolution would have fizzled out rather quickly.

[Addendum]

I can see the need of a law-abiding citizen owning a hunting rifle, a shotgun, and/or a handgun.

I don't see the need of owning a submachine gun or a fully automatic

[zenile]

As sad as this is, its ridiculous to try to charge anyone with a crime here. We've got terrorrists hijacking planes, dealers selling drugs in schools, drive by shootings, and we want to waste tax payer dollars on a dad who exercised poor judgement. The dad has suffered enough, and not every tragedy is a crime.

[Anubis]

As I recall, the colonists didn't have Uzis.

[SuperMonkey]

^Please read my last post and answer that. I know there weren't automatics in 1775, but if the British had taken the more "dangerous" weaponry (ie, cannons, explosives) from the colonial armies, we wouldn't have had a chance in hell.

-- FunBob

[Anubis]

Yeah, and my ancestors would have still been slaves! Wait a minute....

[SuBe]

Originally Posted by SuperMonkey

^Please read my last post and answer that. I know there weren't automatics in 1775, but if the British had taken the more "dangerous" weaponry (ie, cannons, explosives) from the colonial armies, we wouldn't have had a chance in hell.

-- FunBob

Thus, when our Government become Fully Tyrranical and we have need for another Revolution, we'll be fighting with Sling Shots and Pitch Forks while the Government has all the Guns. Can't wait.

[SuperMonkey]

Anubis, your ancestors never would have been freed under the British Empire.

-- FunBob

[SuperMonkey]

Originally Posted by SupermanBeyond

Thus, when our Government become Fully Tyrranical and we have need for another Revolution, we'll be fighting with Sling Shots and Pitch Forks while the Government has all the Guns. Can't wait.

Exactly my point. (although I'm not sure if you're serious or not )

-- FunBob

[Anubis]

I know, which kinda makes the whole pro revolutionary war thing rather moot. We were f**ked either way.

[SuperMonkey]

You didn't get it. I said never. You were eventually freed under the US Government.

-- FunBob

[SuBe]

Originally Posted by SuperMonkey

Exactly my point. (although I'm not sure if you're serious or not )

-- FunBob

I'm 100% serious. It's going to happen one of these days. It might be in a hundred years, but it will happen if the Government doesn't stop taking away Liberty in the name of Safty and security. Oppression is a terrible thing, and eventually this country will be there, if it doesn't get off the track it currently on.

[SuperMonkey]

^Not on my watch.

*polishes pitchfork*

-- FunBob

[PemLam]

Originally Posted by SuperMonkey

^Not on my watch.

*polishes pitchfork*

-- FunBob

Suuurrreeee it's your pitchfork you're polishing.

[Anubis]

Originally Posted by SuperMonkey

You didn't get it. I said never. You were eventually freed under the US Government.

-- FunBob

Yeah, and they would have been freed under British rule in 1833. What's your point?

[SuperMonkey]

I doubt that would have happened if the various revolutions occuring around that time didn't.

-- FunBob