Please support a clemency request for Richard and email it to the outlook.com address. Thank you.
Dave - 12 years ago
Center of mass three times ??? What is this ? Viet Nam, Iraq ? How about the extremities ?
Donna - 12 years ago
Corey - 3 weeks ago "The guy was striking his DAD with a bat, when he was originally in the wrong by taking the parking spot! This is at most, a crime of passion... However, I feel as though self defense was the fact here. "
I normally don't entertain arguing on the internet but this is warranted. Call me what you may, Idiot, moron blah blah blah or whatever choice words you used. I stand behind my opinion, and he is still in jail so I guess I am not the only one that feels this way......
My comment was about CROOKED cops, not all cops, so please re-read my post before you spew nonsense on the web about cops doing legitimate things when they speed, talk on their phone, or flash their badge to avoid waiting in line. Every time it happens, it is NOT because they are trying to get to a crime, so you can sit in your fantasy world alone on that one pal. I have literally experienced CROOKED cops doing this so the can pull right into the police station and punch out the clock. I have friends and family in law enforcement, and yes, I am talking about them too. They ADMIT to doing these things when it has nothing to do with an investigation, and they are not alone.
Self defense is defense of oneself. He was not being attacked, his dad was. As Six pointed out before me, the situation could have been easily avoided if his "police training" had kicked in from the get go. If he had INITIALLY said, " I am a police officer, your car is parked illegally, can you please move before it is ticketed......" Not send his dad out to say, "Move your car", then get blown off by the guy, then have his old man dad AGAIN try to handle the situation himself and proceed to place a sticker on the car, then have the man flip out on his father, then try to defuse the situation, then help his father and his brother jump the man, then shoot him three times in the chest, then say, " I am a cop.....my training kicked in...." Are you kidding me? His father, bother, or whomever would not have been outside in the first place if his "police training" kicked in. Police ALWAYS try to keep innocent bystanders far away from the scene, because they never know how much a situation would escalate. He would have sent them inside to keep them out of harms way. But NOOOOO, let's have our family jump the guy and never once say he was a cop. Crime of passion is still a crime, if I am not mistaking.
But hey, forums exist for people to disagree and state their opinions, and that opinion is mine, if not mine alone. He acted like a civilian during the ENTIRE situation, then wanted to get pardoned because he was a cop. I do not agree with that. REAL cops do not handle themselves that. HE gives real cops a bad reputation. Call me what you want, but it does not change my opinion...or my right to have one.
Have a good life.
Corey - 12 years ago
Mike, I realize that Donna left her message quite some time ago... I would have to be blind to not see the posting time frame to the immediate right of her name. No, as I stated in my post, I am not, in fact, a cop. I am a member of the military outside of the law enforcement field. As I also said, not all cops are perfect. Yes, some do have the little man complex. A professional department WILL hold those people accountable though if the general public can single out a cop for a specific item enough times. I say 'enough times' because these guys put people away for a living, so naturally people are going to hate on them. Be real, Mike.
David - 12 years ago
View from Canada. Our prosecutors and judges are not elected but appointed. They exercise their duties according to their conscience and the law.
In the USA, where these people are elected, it is in their personal interest to manipulate the public into thinking that they are doing the best job to "protect" them from the "evils", real or made up, of whomever they decide to prosecute.
No part of our police/sheriffs groups are elected either.
Democracy, (voting for officials) sounds like a good idea, but as long as the first motivation is to get re-elected, these miscarriages of justice will continue to punish innocent people.
These powerful people should be appointed for long term by other professionals. They should not be required to do their jobs with the constant thought of ...."I must win the popularity contest in the next election, or I will loose my job."
bill - 12 years ago
What an appalling and insensitive story. How dare CNN dredge up this horror for Mr. Campbell's brother and family. It is painfully obvious that Mr. Campbell was murdered in cold blood and that he only brought a bat into the equation because he was being beaten by three large men, including a police officer who was trained to fight. It is absolutely outrageous that a group of adults did everything they possibly could to provoke poor Mr. Campbell and then had the audacity to physically attack him him when he became justifiably angry. Three grown men, including a trained police officer, attacking you over a parking spot? The backstory of the parking space alone indicates what petty, vindicitive and childish buffoons the DiGuglielmo people are. As for Mr. Campbell, who wouldn't try to defend themselves under such a circumstance? It is DiGuglielmo - a trained police officer - and his family who were so maliciously racist and petty they killed a man to indulge their own brutality. He didn't even express remorse.
Shame on CNN. The story isn't about a miscarriage of justice. It's about how Mr. Campbell's brother and family are coping with this tragedy. The story is about how Mr. Campbell's noble brother was able to summon a miraculous, extraordinary graciousness and beauty in forgiving a crime most people could never begin to forgive. Shame on CNN.
Thomas Abrams - 12 years ago
Article 35 of the New york state Penal Law is the Law for the use of force. Police officers are highly trained in the use of force. They are also highly trained how to handle stressful situations. I find it hard to believe that a man with a bat which would be considered a deadly weapon able to cause serious bodily injury or death. This would allow someone to use deadly physical force to stop an illegal act. Holding a steel baseball bat and threatening and or using it to hit someone is considered deadly physical force and which even though off duty, as a trained police officer, allows deadly physical force to be used to stop the illegal act. He should be let out of Jail.
As a member of the USAF, what do I fight.... and how does Janine Pirro sleep at night.
Jay - 12 years ago
What a sickening miscarriage of justice. This is exactly like the Duke Lacrosse case, where you had an overzealous (white) DA with political ambitions, trumping up charges against white "assailants", creating racial overtones that didn't exist, in an attempt to curry favor with the black community so he can get elected.
I used to admire Janine Pirro, now I think she is total worthless scum. She helped railroad this guy, trumping up a bs racial element, for what is clearly a self-defense case.
The only difference between Diguglielmo and the Duke Lacrosse kids, is that the Duke kids were privileged enough to have good legal defense, and the fact that that incident happened on a major campus gave it a media spotlight.
What a horrible story. My prayers to Diguglielmo and his family. God bless the man. What this story says about our justice system makes me very sad to be an American.
Sandra - 12 years ago
For all of you that try to ignore the fact that racism exist, shut up! The judge didn't need anything but the facts in this case. All the rest is obvious. It was then(racism), and even more now.
Jamal - 12 years ago
I would like to point out that Campbell had an extensive criminal record that included assault and drug use. Don't know why this was left out of the trial, seems pretty relevant.
mike - 12 years ago
Corey, Donna left that 5 weeks ago, you are talking to yourself. And Corey you kind of seem like a self righteous prick cop yourself. Cops just weren't smart enough to be criminals. they are good at following rules, sometimes. they have Napoleonic complexes. They are not just sad, they are dangerous. Deep down every small town cop wants to get even for some childhood abuse or other, get even, and really feel some value with that badge and gun. Admittedly, there are a few good ones but they are anomalies. They speed, set people up, hate as a group, as a "club." and dream of some kind of Third Reich state it seems. i'm so sick of people treating cops like they are holier than the rest. EArn it, and i'll respect them.
tom - 12 years ago
no Barry, i'm as white as they come, and i see the racism. tell me that would have happened with one of their white friends. yea, look me in the eye and tell me that. see what i mean. but you all act like you know what happened. fists, bats, who cares. people hate each unless it's Christmas and then they are high enough to fake it. why can't we all just get along.
Lewis Marlman - 12 years ago
It is extremely bothersome to me that every time a black person is killed or injured during the commission of crime in this country, the black community immediately responds in outrage, claiming racial bias. This seems to be another example. If the situation had been reversed, there would have been no protest and the shooting would have been deemed an act of self defense--end of story.
In my opinion, many judges at all levels of our justice system succumb to pressure whenever the black community rises up and plays the race card. While I have no doubt that racial bias did exist in the past and it was terribly wrong, you cannot make up for past injustice by reversing the injustice in the present. As grade school children, we learn that two wrongs do not make a right.
Corey - 12 years ago
Donna, let me just start out by saying you are a complete moron... It sounds as though you do not know anything about they way law enforcement works. When a police officer turns on their flashers to get through an intersection, it is not always to just "run a red light". More than 75% of a police officer's calls are calls that do not require them to go lights and siren, or "code". Some require them to get to a location ASAP, but 'fly under the radar' so to say. (This comment also covers your speeding on the highway ignorance"). Responding lights and siren is not the most logical way to go about this. Sometimes, a cop will flash a badge to position him or herself in a line for clandestine purpose. If they are trying to keep an eye or ear on someone, would they do that from the back of the line? I don't think so. Also, cops talk on their cellphones to collaborate with one another believe it or not. Scanner technology is out there, and the well versed criminal will pay attention to police movement. They also will use cellphones to ask questions in normal English, just like you would do at your 9 to 5. I will admit, not every cop will abide by the rules, but by you thinking this is every officer of the law, just proves your ignorance. The fact that he shot the gentleman 3 times in the chest may be up for dispute. He said his "training kicked in." When someone is striking an unarmed person with a metal bat repeatedly, they may, and probably do have the intent to completely render that person useless. He grabbed the gun that was in the store, and laid the guy down. I feel as if the simple brandishing of the weapon could have stopped the situation. If not, a single shot to the chest would have done the trick, rather than 3. What can you say though. The guy was striking his DAD with a bat, when he was originally in the wrong by taking the parking spot! This is at most, a crime of passion... However, I feel as though self defense was the fact here. LEOs are taught to draw a weapon to deter, but if you shoot, shoot to kill... Not to incapacitate.
Donna, you are the type of complaining worthless individual that gives their opinion without knowing what they are talking about. This is the same type of person that will complain about the way a police officer will do things one second, but the very next will be on the phone with a dispatcher complaining about how an officer didn't get to your house fast enough when you called in a complaint for the guy that just sped down your quaint residential street. If you don't appreciate the way law enforcement officers act, then don't utilize them. FYI, I am not a police officer, but most of my nuclear family IS. ...I'll say it again... IDIOT!
Al, you are absolutely correct about the district attorney in this case. Spot on, sir.
jimbo - 12 years ago
They wanted to beat the shit out of someone. they really loved that parking spot. they really loved it. prob. a nice guy, according to his brother, dealing with profoundly angry fucks. we live in the old west. 3 guys come at you, and try and beat you after they just put some stupid sticker that won't come off on your car. they all deserve to be beaten with a baseball bat. let him do the 20 years and think about the concept of hatred, and rage. let him try and evolve in prison where it's safe for other people. racist fucking country.
Barry - 12 years ago
Every time there is a disagreement (physical harm or not) between a black and a white, there is an outcry of racism...this is despicable - it's always the blacks calling the whites racists...whites don't do that to the blacks.
This off-duty policeman protected his father who had already been hit twice with a bat and was about to get his head ripped off with the 3rd hit...the two business owners that saw it were harassed by police until they changed their stories, yet, in an interview with CNN, their stories were identical.
I don't remember the name of the gentleman back in California a number of years ago who really did get beaten - and it was by white police officers if my memory serves me right. That was a case where it looks like it was racially motivated. The one we're discussing didn't have time to be racially motivated...think about it - there were a few seconds from the time the 3 men let the 4th man up from the ground (he hadn't been hit, just held down so he could not hit any of them) until he was shot...there was not time for there to be any racial consideration. It wasn't like this young man had been in this same parking lot repeatedly. It sounds like it was the first time.
Some of my best friends are different races - I have black, white, asian, hispanic friends. If I were in the same situation with my dad about to get the life beat out of him, I wouldn't care what race the perpetrator was (would you? really? would you NOT use any form of force available to you to stop you own father from being killed or maimed because it might look "racial"? how ignorant is that?), I would do whatever was necessary to save my father, whether the individual was my same color or another color.
By the way, when are we going to live as each other's friends, no matter the color of our/your / my skin??? It's 2012, people, not 1960 ... I bet that a lot of you will try to determine the color of my skin by the way I write - as if I'm supposed to write or speak a certain way because of my color...does intelligence have anything to do with any of this?
And one last thing, the D.A. was, to me. very obviously politically motivated. How SICK for a person of high ranking to allow such injustice to occur for the purpose of election. She should be removed from office - what' wrong with the people in her district?
Jamal - 12 years ago
If someone pulled a bat on me or my family, you'd bet there would have been two in the chest and one in the head before he even had a chance to finish his first swing. Obviously this is a case of self defense.
Eddie Martin - 12 years ago
This vote goes down racial lines. If the shooter was black and the young man killed was white, the voting results would be reversed. This is a first.
tad - 12 years ago
I've seen this small town angry racism over and over again. I lived in Dobbs Ferry, i remember it well. it's all over westchester, it's all over this country. the guy wanted to park for christ's sake. and he walked into a hornet's nest. was that his fault. tell me these overly prideful brothers - don't frequently act on this hate and rage. as an outsider, you feel it as soon as you enter the town. of course it's racially motivated. that's the elephant in the room. they feel injustice has been done to them over and over and over, and they are the real Americans and fuck the immigrants. anger has been building. listen, my family arrived in 1623, and that doesn't make me anymore American. cops are cops, they are crude and primitive and angry racist thugs, most of the time. i wish it weren't the case. Do they do more harm than good? it's a toss up.
Jim Twig - 12 years ago
Why are District/Prosecuting Attorneys allowed to commit crimes such as this and never, ever pay a price for their criminal activity? We hear about them lying, hiding evidence, coercion, and other unethical behavior, and they are never punished. Why is this? It is bad enough that the only people who can punish lawyers are other lawyers -- how often is a lawyer disbarred? The Prosecuting Attorney should be in prison for what she did, the police who grilled the witness until he changed his testimony should be in prison.
When will we start expecting public officials who enforce the law, to obey the law? Until the prosecuting attorney is above reproach, we will not be surprised when one commits crimes such as this. Instead of being charged, tried, and sent to prison, she was rewarded with a promotion and higher pay. Maybe that is why breaking the law and unethical behavior is so attractive.
George Bush - 12 years ago
The guy is innocent and should be home with his family. I hope he gets there. Prison's need more room for the creeps like child molesters that really belong there.
lf - 12 years ago
i agree if there wasnt a bat there wouldnt have been a gun. just another stupid jig
Donna - 12 years ago
I am glad he got punished. I can't stand cops that think they are above the very same law that enforce on everyone else. These are the same cops that you see turning on their flashers just because they want to run red lights, flashing their badges to get in front of really long lines, speeding on the highway when they are not even in pursuit, talking on their cell phones while they drive and shooting people three times in the chest. I don't buy his story...you mean to tell me he left his fragile, sick dad outside getting struck multiple times with a baseball bat to go inside and get a gun? You mean to tell me first instinct is to go get a gun? Tackling that clown never came to mind huh? I don't condone the boxer guy's behavior not one bit, but he did not have to die that day. I do think this cop committed a crime and tried to hide behind his badge when things got rough. He even said, "I thought they would just let me go because I am a cop....." Think again buddy. This should be a message to crooked cops everywhere...Lead by example and practice what you enforce. You are NOT above the laws of this land.
Six - 12 years ago
Why do so many people think this was injustice? He was an off duty police officer that went to help his father out at a deli. When someone parked "illegally" in front of the deli, HE, not his father, should have went out, IDENTIFIED himself as a police officer, and asked him to move his vehicle or it would be towed. Let's say for the sake of argument that the boxer wanted to still be a DIQUE and not move his vehicle......HE should have called for back up. If a police officer calls for back up, the police will report IMMEDIATELY. He was not some civilian calling 911 for an illegally parked car. I find it hard to believe that back up would not have arrived on the scene within minutes.
The moment the guy started swinging and fighting, the officer should have subdued him. They get plenty of police training on how to subdue a subject...having his family members jump in and start fighting is no where in the police training manual. Any police officer knows better than to have any civilian interfere with an arrest. He should have ordered them to stand back or go inside or whatever. HE put his family in danger by not following his "police training". So now this guy....not realizing that one of his attackers is a police officer, is swinging a bat and he gets three shots to the chest by a man. A man who never identified himself AS a police officer, but automatically wants to be pardoned because he IS a police officer. I am sorry, but I have a problem with that.
The entire time he handled this like a civilian, had an all out street fight, but shot him because "my police training kicked in"??? I call shenanigans. Where was his "police training" when the incident started?? No one is talking about that. I GET IT....the boxer was going to hit his father with a baseball bat, he was protecting his father...I GET IT. But the point is, his father, brother, uncle, whomever should not have even been outside in the FIRST place. He should have handled the situation like a cop from the beginning. So no, I don't think that he should have been released simply because he was a cop. If anything, he should have been punished more harshly because he is a cop. He KNOWS better. He did not handle himself correctly that day. He did not handle himself like a cop who's job is to protect EVERYONE and keep the situation as safe for by standers as possible. And now a man is dead. I really think this whole thing could have been avoided. But that's only my opinion.
Al - 12 years ago
It appears to me that Jeannine Pirro, as District Attorney was motivated by political ambition when she was presented with this explosive situation. She was running for reelection as District Attorney, and her future ambitions would lead her to the States Attorney's General office. This ultimately was in her sights, and she was aiming for it. What better way to add to her credentials, and celebrity status than by convicting a NYC cop who resided in Westchester County. How else do you explain her charging first degree murder that same night, before all the evidence was in? She was going to convict this NYC cop at all costs, and she succeeded. To say this was a miscarriage of justice is an understatement.
Adi - 12 years ago
Why every time there is an issue that involves Afro- Americans and white people has to degenerate into a racial problem? Do you think the verdict would have been the same if Campbell was white? What if Richie was charged with murder based on racism just to avoid other issues that could have come up with the Afro-American community?I thought we were in 2012 not 1700s
Rudi - 12 years ago
The US justice system is a joke. When witness statements are suppressed and witnesses are pressured to change their story to comply with what the DA wants to hear the thing needs to be thrown out. An innocent man has been in prison for 11 years and it continues. Of course as soon as it is called racism it takes on a new dimension and the hell with justice. The same racism theme worked for OJ and let a double murderer free. In this case it imprisoned a good and descent man trying to protect the life of his father.
Kelvin - 12 years ago
couldnt have said it better Fran and Ryan....
Fran - 12 years ago
This should not be about race. There are WAY too many other situations that ARE about race...this is NOT.
The young man with the bat should not have taken it out of the car. When are we going to make people accountable for their actions.
I am not telling you that the owners of the deli are not racist. I don't know and don't care.
The moment that the young man got the bat, he changed the tone of the situation. They family from the deli HELD him down...they didn't beat him only after he came at them.
I think the testosterone got the best of him. He should have walked away and gotten the police.
Sue them...work it out in court...don't loose your life...but again...the young man with the bat, didn't think about the possible outcomes before he got the bat.
And ...it is for every action, the is an equal or opposite reaction to what you do.....people have to THINK about what they do.
Be accountable for what you choose to do!
Ryan - 12 years ago
You know if the victim was told to move is car based on the law provide on a sign located in the same parking lot, he should have! But when victim gets mad cuz the owner of the store puts a sticker on his car and the victim starts punching and swinging bats trying to hurt/kill people, i would have done the same to protect my father. The justice system is most defiantly corrupted in this case, causing a man trying to protect someone he loved to get 20 to life. There are numerous witnesses stating it was a son saving his father and after the constant harassment from the police the witnesses change their story. He shouldnt be in jail....
Fran - 12 years ago
How can we continue to move forward when we even the justice system creates scandal between people. Right is right and wrong is wrong. I have a son...if someone hit me with a bat, he would at ALL cost do whatever he had to, to protect me.
People need to understand that for every action, there is an equal or greater reaction to what they do.
How can you think that someone would not respond?
STOP making excuses for other! The brother shouldn't even be saying what happened....he WAS NOT THERE!
I am sorry that for the loss of both families.
THINK before you do something that you can't take back. I am sure this young man didn't think that he would loose his life that day. So getting his bat out of his car....OLD...He could have walked away and gotten the police...If there was no bat, there would not have been a gun gotten.
I hope that this police officer gets out soon.
I as well hope that the District Attorney who tried the case is in another propfession...she si SCARY! The type of SCARY that our society DOESN'T need! Where is she now? We all need to know? Why is she (and her office) not being investigated if in fact she with held information?
Why was the older gentleman not pursued to testify by the District Attorney? Was the DA trying to make a name for herself? What is that about?
Roy - 12 years ago
A man parking where it was legal to park, and three men deciding they didn't want him to park there. So they took the law into there own hands. The man who was parking legally, winds up dead, at the hands of one of his attackers. Enough said.
Charles J.Watkins - 12 years ago
He could have shot him in the leg,did he ask him
To put the bat down.
terry - 12 years ago
it's not only blacks that go thru that with white cops, other races do too. I have been thru that several times and I have seen the racism first hand from white cops, they always try to intimidate you and when you retaliate you end up being the bad one. Kudos to Mrs Pirro on that verdict. He should have gotten two twenty year terms.
Joseph - 12 years ago
At no time did I hear the shooter apologize or wish that the shooting never happened. Interestingly even the father is talking about his son not being there. It sucks for loosing life in such a situation where it was not warranted. I think everyone was out to prove he is the "man" and I for my opinion the shooter should lot in jail ... thats where he belong.
Shirley Emery - 12 years ago
Justice was not served and our justice system sucks. Self defence and in prison for 20 years to life. How can anyone believe in the justice system after hearing this and this is not the only person that is in prison that does not deserve to be there.
Davie Jones - 12 years ago
When he swung the bat at the man was when the law was broken. Until then it was a difference of opinion of who was right or wrong. When he continued to swing the bat it became assault with intent to do bodily injury. When he focused on hitting him in the head with the bat, it became attempted murder unless the victim dies. At which point if you were the one being beat would you want someone else to intervene? When he pulled the bat and swung it, he was in the wrong and relative or not someone had to intervene with force to stop a wrong of extreme intent. He got the bolt and nut justice America tents to had out! I never have trusted the injustice broken system and never will! After all it is run by man!
Aisha Du bois - 12 years ago
Racially based killings of black men by police on or off duty.
It has become a staple of US culture throughout its history.
A bat vs a gun. Hmmm! Which one had the deadly impact?
A police man should be trained to take down a suspect without killing him.
The historic racial categories were all present. Policemen are not judge, jury and executioner.
C
treveis - 12 years ago
This man is innocent of all charges, he was protecting his father from further harm by a person that was beating him with a baseball bat. Pirro did have another agenda, she later became a judge and then most recently had a TV courtroom show, where she bragged of her conviction rate as being 100% . I wonder how many others are in prison because of her win at all cost policy while she was the D.A.
Patricia Pisciotti - 12 years ago
The entire justice system needs a revamping. Why does the judicial system continue to protect the criminal at the expense of the law abiding citizens? Protect the abuser at the expense of the victim, even in the cases of violence against our children? This happens daily in this country. One should not be punished for defendeng him/herself or a family member when our laws fail to do so. We are expected to be abused and do nothing, have our lives threatened and do nothing. So many violent offenders get off when it is clear they are guilty. Yes, innocent until proven guilty, but WE HAVE A RIGHT TO DEFEND OURSELVES. It is clear this man was defending his father and himself. Set him free. This is a travesty.
dt brown - 12 years ago
Re. Lilman's comments below arguing this was an Italian conspiracy: the DA is Italian. Apparently she didn't get the msg from Mafia central. Talk about ethnic typecasting . . .
BWJ - 12 years ago
This is absolutely a miscarriage of justice How can that DA live with herself after hearing of the 2 witness that spoke up for the defendant. And what kind of police state do we have when the police harass a witness to change his story. If there was a question of the 2 witnesses lying why could they not be given a lie detector tests and if passed make sure their testimony was a part of the trial. Thanks CNN for exposing the imperfections of our society and hopefully we can learn from them. As much as I thought the O.J Simpson Trial was a miscarriage of justice this one was also.
It is telling that the prosecuting DA would not answer questions--if she didn't have something to hide. The jury should have heard the 2 defense witnesses and the story of police harassing the one witness.
LNKCM - 12 years ago
This is a huge miscarriage of justice. I definitely think this was self defense. When a baseball bat was brought into play, things were brought to a whole new level. I think we will never know what truly happened that night, but we are on an innocent until proven guilty justice system, and from what it seems, it was the reverse for this man. He was guilty until he could prove himself innocent. However, when you see someone take out a baseball bat and threaten to use it on anyone, instinct kicks in. Save a life now and think about what you've done/ask questions later. Knowing what they know now, they should re evaluate the verdict in this case. I'm pretty sure it would have a very outcome.
Ishmael Reed - 12 years ago
woodruf should join the defense, so sympathetic she was to white men who swore up and down ," O, no Judy, we didn't use no racial epithets." Gupta is naive as usual. this white nationalist piece proves once again that there is very little difference between the attitude toward blacks held by Cnn management is no different from that held by julius streicher,
publisher of Der Sturmer.
JRM - 12 years ago
What an amazing story. It is a terrible thing that someone has lost a life in this altercation. However, this is not about what Ritchie or Chaz's family said happened, this is about the justice system. This proves that the system was able to get the conviction they wanted, not about taking the time to research all the facts and present them in a fair matter. No one knows what a jury would have said had they known 100% of the data, but it should have been presented to a jury properly the first time. The worst part is that the prosecution should be on trial for their behavior, but they simply walk away and plead the 5th with zero repercussions!
Ideacanon - 12 years ago
Why won't CNN use its influence to push legal support for DiGuglielmo freedom!? This was a good (legal) shooting. The man had a bat and expressed the intent to harm DiGuglielmo's father (he struck him with the bat), the bat is evidence that the suspect had the ability. The bat, having made contact with Mr. DiGuglielmo, was under 21 feet from Mr. DiGuglielmo; therefore, when young DiGuglielmo approached with the gun he had the legal right (human right) to neutralize the threat (the suspect with the bat or the bat). Any gun training, cop and DA knows this was a justified shooting.
CNN should put the energy they exert in the freedom of far off countries and exert it in freeing this man.
P.S. I'm an African Muslim and I recognize that the black suspect was in the wrong and his own actions equated to his justified death.
As a retired Court Reporter, I was not surprised about the story. Often, prosecutors are geared toward winning, forgetting that they, also, have a sworn oath to the TRUTH as well as performing their duties. It is a narrow road walked and more than a few times, in my career, I've seen that path strayed, if not completely left for other pastures.... a judgeship, perhaps?
Van Harrell - 12 years ago
The D.A.....Should be up on Charges for supressing evidence...
Mo - 12 years ago
If I seen a man trying to hit my father with a baseball bat, I would've shot him also, regardless of race. A metal bat to an elderly mans head Is definitely deadly. So I believe what occurred was self defense. Let the man free! Another downfall of our justice system.
Dino Ortiz - 12 years ago
With all due respect for the family of the victim in this unfortunate act,it seems to me that the man found guilty was trying to protect his dad, what was he suppose to do, wait till his father got beat to death with a baseball bat? I don't think so.Politics had a lot to do with this case,Pirro I bet had a hidden agenda.With all said and done the guy did commit a crime but not murder. let the guy go. TIME SERVED!!!!
SEATTLE - 12 years ago
Did the guy have a BAT? YES. Did the guy USE the bat? YES!!!
Any of you who voted that this is JUSTICE, be happy. Because you most likely have NEVER been close to a situation that this poor guy was in. Watching your father survive a heart attack renews your worry that "Dad is going to die some day....I wish I could keep that from happening". That is what his son did. Are you going to call 911 and ask for a COP? Might as well ask for a hearse. Your dad is going to have his brains splattered in the parking lot.
This was over a PARKING SPACE! The a**HOLE was a BOXER! Get some exercise and park away from a guy's business if you aren't going to spend money there! Was the BOXER tested for STEROIDS?!!!! Anyone ever heard of "athletes" using them, and having "'Roid-Rage"? C'mon people, we are finding out more and more that the police have tactics that regular old citizens don't understand. They are the evidence gatherers. The DA is in charge of maniupulating it. (Just like mainstream PRESS!)....."I'm done.....I've had enough!" Wait here while I go get my bat!
COLORADO - 12 years ago
First, you should know how long it would have taken the pd to get to the deli and second why couldn't Campbell go and wash off the sticker and keep it movin. We see today they don't even put a sticker on your vehicle, they just tow it! I believe if the panel would have known there was a change in testimony it would have altered there decision. If not one all! Why did they dismiss charges on the dad and the brother-in-law?
Lilman562 - 12 years ago
Good ol Boy Ritchie got exactly what he deserved. First off, why did Ritchie allow his ailing father to go outside and start anything with another man. Shouldn't he or the brother in law have gone outside to politely ask the gentleman to move his car. There is definitely a way to communicate things in order to get a positive response. And immediately after Mr. Campell did not remove his vehicle or wandered across the street anyway, should he not have contacted one of his good ol boys from the pd and had Mr. Campell cited or towed.
Secondly, after all the training that he received, why had he not called the boys? How long is a 911 call gonna take. No witness called the cops? And three shots to the chest? Really? Why not one shot?
Its only my opinion and im sure it really doesnt matter but it sounds to me like the New York italian machismo display backfired and a lot of people are pissed. They ran into a boxer who wanted to grab a pizza real quick and get out of there. And when they stickered his brand new corvette that he worked hard for in the sanitation job the he held, he was a bit pissed. And when foul mouth pops came over there talking trash he lit him up not caring about Ritchie or his brother in law. And when they all jumped on him and were a little more than he felt he could handle he grabbed the bat and started to back himself out of the situation. Mind you, his nice car was still on the property and he can protect it as well. Would they have let him drive off without scratching it or denting it or breaking a window.? Probably not... Ritchie should have thrown down with him by himself and it would have been over.... Take that mouthful.
JEWLS - 12 years ago
Wow... It amazed me how things are going wrong in this worl... I don't know about you all but I group up knowing things that in your concious was wrong like liying, stelling, bulling or killing (that's wrong no matter what) If you did such thing you got to pay the consequesces of your actions thats life and for those that go out with out having a justice system god's justice is even worse for each individual... Who knows what really happens there, but for the report presented in CNN and there was three man that put this guy on the groung so why having to pulled a gun is my question. Couldn't the three of them handle one single man? this doesn't make much sence, I think they were racial circuntances reasonds behind that hate if this guy is in jail is nobody's fault but his dad's because he thought him "HATE" wake up people if you keep sowing hate in the heart of your kids they will end up in jail or kill but this is your decision and nobody else only you can change this from happening again... The way I see all this comments this will keep going but for those that have a reasoning and want better for your kids please stop the HATE we are all the same no matter the color of your skin or the social class you have, just teach your kids to have respect for others and everything else will come into place. My opinion is that both of them made wrong choices Charles could had just got in the car and leave from the moment he felt being mistreated( I wish people will gently tell you things sometimes instead they ask you things with an attitude and this makes a lot of difference) and Richard Jr shoul had never pulled a gun specially when they were three people against one, there was no need for that noe Charles is dead and Richard in Jail the way this should had ended when you make wrong choices in life.
Americanhypocrite - 12 years ago
WAS JUSTICE SERVED FOR EMMITT TILL?
Tiffany - 12 years ago
If Someone was coming at ANYONE I love with bat ( in a threatening way) and I had a gun, you c an bet your ass I would shoot them. No question.
Kitk - 12 years ago
From the story I read he was justified in shooting; it was in defense of another facing death. Anyone who is a user of firearms and is educated in their use, especially those who carry open/or concealed would have been duty bound to defend such actions. Possibly the only thing he could have done if he had time was to yell "stop or I'll shoot" but these things are split second and he fired. It seems he had no choice. I might have done the same. It is unfortunate for all involved. Truly tragic, yet, those two witnesses were coerced then as far as I am concerned it is a mistrial or something to that extant. It was not a fair trial.
Donna - 12 years ago
The problem here is, Richie handled this like a CIVILIAN with a gun, not an officer of the law. He was not acting in "self defense" because Charles was never swinging the bat at HIM. When the Charles punched him, he should have immediately arrested him for assault and called for back up. Period. He never identified himself as a police office, and he certainly did not handle this like a police officer. I don't think this has anything to do with race, and he did not handle himself like an officer of the law. He thought he could get away with KILLING someone just because he was an off duty police officer. Had he identified himself as a police officer at the very beginning, had HE showed his badge and instructed him to move his vehicle, or proceeded to write him a ticket for illegal parking, and handled the situation in accordance with the LAW, it would have escalated this far. I am sorry, but he DESERVES to be in jail.
Rob B - 12 years ago
Absolutely disgusting that this miscarraige of justice has not been fixed. God bless Richie and his family
james o - 12 years ago
off
james o - 12 years ago
eric, you dont know that they didnt beat charles up , why did it take three guys for one man. Also, if you look at my last post and first post, i didnt even say that race had anything to do with this case!! My commentary on race was directed toward the gentleman that called me that word. like i said, eric still didnt even ACKNOWLEDGE the guy that called me that.....and my comments are race driven. PLEASE RESPOND TO THIS POINT...my comments are race driveng but in my first post i stated that race doesnt have anything to do with this case and the guy hauled of an called me that. Like i said, he is in prison, and he's going to be there until 2019 no matter what you think, if your so sympathetic why dont you put a few bucks in his commissary account, lol.
Eric - 12 years ago
Furthermore, You're trying to explain that in the heat of the moment, seeing his father getting beaten with a bat, and possibly attempted murder, you'd have the presence of mind to shoot him in the leg? No one does, he's a cop, he was trained to do what cops are trained to do. You shoot them in the leg if they are at a stand still, and he advances. When someone's in the act of something, you aim for the most mass. Also, considering another mans life was at stake, let alone it being his father, he did his duty to Protect and Serve. So the fact that you sit there and tell us that Richard is in the wrong because he took a life, protecting the life of another, is beyond me. Your comments are entirely race driven.
Chris Bruno - 12 years ago
What Rich did was what he was trained to do. If someone big, small, black, or white pulls a weapon, yes the baseball bat was a weapon and hits my father with it, I will do the same thing Rich did. The fact that it all started over a parking space is not even relevant. God bless the entire DiGuglielmo family. As for the initial aggressor with a bat, he got what he deserved, plain and simple.
It is only because of a corrupt prosecutor with political aspirations who ran her courtroom for ratings instead of justice that Rich is in prison. She screwed up her personal life and is now too dirty to even be a politician.
Eric - 12 years ago
Did I ever comment on your word "Empathy"? No. So nice try. Try fixing the other hundred mistakes.
Eric - 12 years ago
First glance, We're, and Here. not Where and Hear.
I don't think a seven figure "man" would make those mistakes.
I didn't see his comment because I didn't read ALL comments. So yeah, I wasn't going to say anything about it. But the fact you need to rage out, and say "I make seven figures, fuck you." And "don't drop the soap, bitch" proves you're an ignorant little child.
Maybe you should see how you're acting, maybe you won't get called things you don't want to be called..
james o - 12 years ago
you know empathy is a word right, you probably thought i screwed up sympathy, look up the definition of that word ERIC, lol.
james o - 12 years ago
Eric, yeah when i look back at that message i did have grammatical errors because i was typing so fast, i had to catch a flight. You know, you call me ignorant but dont say a word about the guy that called me a nigger right after my first post. So im the problem in the world and the guy whose throwing out racial slurs doesnt even warrant a comment. Your whole post was about my net worth, it must have really affected you. Oh by the way, check out e-verify, guess what folks,RICHIE HAS A CRIMINAL RECORD WITH ASSAULT IN HIS PAST, AND SO DOES HIS DAD !!!. Since everyone wants to talk about Charles past.You know whats sad, you know the most important witness thats missing in this tragedy, CHARLES CAMPBELL. He's not here to tell his side, where supposed to take those other guys word as fact. People are on this site assasinating charles character, a guy who is not even hear to defend himself or tell his side of the story, COWARDS.
Eric - 12 years ago
james you are ignorant and your pointless race driven post proves it.
If you're such a successful "young black man" why is it you have so many gramatical errors?
I believe you're what's wrong with the world today, take your ignorance elsewhere. Maybe do your "seven figure" job.
P.S. The fact you need to brag about your so called job when no one asked proves you dont have said job
Eric - 12 years ago
james you are ignorant and your pointless race driven post proves it.
If you're such a successful "young black man" why is it you have so many gramatical errors?
I believe you're what's wrong with the world today, take your ignorance elsewhere. Maybe do your "seven figure" job.
P.S. The fact you need to brag about your so called job when no one asked proves you dont have said job
D st paul - 12 years ago
He was protecting his father and once again a black thing turns a court room justice system into a circus. The sticker was what the police told him to do and the shooting was what his job trained him to do.if the colors of the players were reversed there would have been no jail time and he would have been promoted to detective
Carter - 12 years ago
Charles Campbell had a rap sheet a mile long of agressive & violent prior crimes. His decision to utilize a metal bat as a lethal weapon is just one more example of his anger, violence & criminal decision-making. The pure politics of this tragedy & the corruption within the former DA's office to push her own political agenda has made me lose complete faith in our justice system. The DA's office has essentially stripped all police officers of their legal oath to uphold justice & to protect our citizens from criminals. I simply can not understand what the appellate court was thinking here. The witnesses at scene clearly claim justification on Richie's behalf. I pray that someone will right this pure example of political injustice. I'm sick & tired of hearing Charles' friends & family talk about what a happy person he was. Clearly they are not aware of his violent rap sheet of aggressive, prior crimes. Charles, on his own, in his own violent actions, escalated this confrontation into one of lethal violence.
Jlw - 12 years ago
A great injustice has been committed. A bat is a deadly weapon. It was self defense. Politics has destroyed this man's life.
RK - 12 years ago
I can't tell who was at fault and I'm not sure if the New York Supreme Court can either. It's very easy to sit in an office and second guess what bits of testimony may or may not have influenced a jury, but in the end it's not real - you plain just don't know. The man deserves a retrial, but that costs public money so the courts will try to avoid it if they can.
james okonkwo - 12 years ago
"Why do people always bring up the race card?" BUT ON THIS VERY FUCKING WEBSITE YOU SEE WHITES CALLING BLACKS NIGGERS YOU FUCKING IDIOTS!!! So racism occurs on this website but you want me to believe it doesnt occur in this world, laughing my ass off. My view is that i feel like this situation could have been de-escalated without charles being killed. "No way i cant think of one way this could have been resolved witthout him putting three holes in his chest, not one way!" Now you know thats a lie. We all need to have empathy. Honestly, i can see richie's point of view like he hit my dad with a bat and he's recovering from a heart attack, but i just dont feel like he needed to turn into judge jury an executioner. All i ask is that you look at it through charles eyes too, how do you know for a fact that all they did was restrain him and hold him down. You really think he went and got a bat because someone tried to stop the fight, BE HONEST. The truth is i dont know what happened , maybe charles did go nuts, but YOU DONT KNOW WHAT HAPPENED EITHER, im just big enough to say so. "Well there were witnesses!" BE HONEST, like some of those guys werent neighbors who probably grew up with them, patronized their family business everyday, and were willing to say anything to get Richie off. The only thing i really hate about these comments is that they make it out like they know for a fact that the digugliemo's are PERFECT SIANTS and Mr. Charles Campbell is INHERITENTLY EVILL!!! "I would have done the same thing", then your ass would be locked up too. Its funny that people claim race probably had nothing to do with the incident itself, but they are quick to say race had something to do with the jurors decision, even though race wasnt mentioned at the trial. And by the way, dont you ever call me ignorant. Im a young black man with a college degree thats worth over seven figures no rap or sports, FUCK YOU. I bet Richie sits in his cell counting bricks going thruogh every option he could have taken to stop it besides killing him. I bet its hard for a cop in prison. Well ultimately we can go back and forth forever, but well eventually leave our laptops and cotinue our lives. Hell be locked up at least until 2019!!! Dont drop the soap bitch, HA HA.
Real facts - 12 years ago
Understandable that Richie's friends and family want him out. But CNN clearly did no checking of their facts. There was a long history of violence by the deli owner in that parking lot including the father cursing at children whose parents parked there to pick up a pizza across the street and tearing the shirt off a man who complained about his car being stickered. Richie himself had been arrested for assault after losing his temper at a party in Yonkers. Because he was a new cop the charges got pled down so he could keep his job. After richie shot Charles Campbell a nurse shopping at the deli tried to help him and asked richie to get towels. He refused to help " that piece of shit" and the father told her "get out of here, you didn't see anything" ( she testified to this at the trial"). Speaking of the trial, it's clear the CNN reporter did not bother to read the transcript before drinking the diguglielmo kook aid. The dozen witnesses who saw what happened , had no bias or reason to lie, bravely testified, and all said the bat was being used defensively and not being swung as Campbell backed up the length of the parking lot to get away from crazy Richard sr. Who kept coming after him. Cambpell was at the sidewalk when he was shot and killed. CNN how about equal time for a reality check.
oscar - 12 years ago
My mom told me ones words dont brake bonds why he had a bad in his hand why he dint get in his car and left hi was out of number and swing to elderly person iam a cristian ill never will swing a bad to a person older them me or any bady my actitud as a good cristian at first will never be violence so thats the first flag the he can be violence, one blow i get that tow blow you wan to cost some damage to me look like self defence.
silly argument - 12 years ago
I'm not trying to put anyone down but, for all of you fighting about this nonsense, you need to stop. How can you say who was right or who was wrong? CNN's job is to write a good story. They did it. It's clearly biased, inflammatory, and stirs emotions. However, without having been there and not having seen what happened, you can't make an informed decision as to whom is the guilty party. Motive is what this case is all about and there doesn't seem to be any clear cut way to prove that based on what's written in this article. Personally, I think this whole situation could have been avoided if the guy had just moved his car. It's tragic that it ended up with so many lives ruined.
P.S. @OmakaRocks... I might suggest you study up on human anatomy. As a flight nurse/paramedic and a SWAT/ERT medic for 20 years, I can tell you that a shot below the waist not only goes contrary to training, it's more difficult to fix. You can lose 6 units of blood from a pelvic fracture. That's half your available supply and more than enough to kill you. Intestinal or bladder shots contaminate the abdominopelvic cavity with feces and urine so you get to die nice and slowly in lots of pain instead of fast. Also, the whole reason you're trained to aim for the chest is because it's BIG. You lessen your chance of missing and hitting some innocent bystander. Shooting at something moving while you're moving is not as easy as the movies make it look. I myself have never shot anyone and I plan to keep it that way. This is also why I completely support tasers. It's much easier to fix an electrocuted person than someone with a hole in them.
Eric - 12 years ago
I'm appalled at people thinking he deserves to be in jail for this. This is nothing more than an act of self defense. Plain and simple. People, such as Joey, to say that he should be in jail...what facts do you have that say he should? Again, like I said to James, were you there? Were you a witness? Did you hear them say "Die Nigger Die"? (There's no point in shying away from the word, we're adults, it's not used for discrimination here)
Also, DID YOU READ THE STORY?! Why is this such a difficult thing? Are there too many words? Honestly. "But who among you, would not retreat to some form of protection if You were being brutally attack by three (3) black men? "
I'm going to assume that you just mean if roles were switched, such as instead of 3 white men in this story vs. 1 black male it was 3 black men and 1 white male. Exactly where did it say the three (3) WHITE males, BRUTALLY attacked him, prompting him to get his bat? The elder and Cambell were in a shouting match, and Richard stepped in between them. At that point, CAMBELL, assaulted Richard by punching him in the face...notice the point in the story where he said it felt like getting hit by a hammer.
Witnesses heard racist remarks, but none (ZERO), testified. Nobody KNOWS what was said, and neither do you. So do NOT assume that "Die Nigger Die" was said because there were racist remarks.
I swear when I read these comments it's like those children's shows that try and give two sides of the same story: One kid describes what happened, and someone who knows NOTHING gives a horrible gruesome rendition of what they THINK happened. Honestly, the only one I can think of, (this gets off topic but it serves a point) the 90's kid show, Hey Arnold. There is an episode where one of the kids is framed for pulling a fire alarm. One kid describes what they heard, saw, and there are cut scenes to show how it happened in their eyes. Then there's the kid who describes it, (like joey), with the most dark and sinister tones, where cut scenes are of darkness, lightning and thunder, and an evil scientist laugh. Joey's comment, and others, remind me of the dark, knowledge-less kid who just wants to see someone put away.
Eric - 12 years ago
James Okonkwo,
"Also , SOMEONE PLEASE RESPOND TO THIS POINT, if charles was hitting his dad so hard with a bat that you could hear it thirty yards away as one witness attest, why did he not have any broken bones or serious injuries.."
Did you actually read the story? Or do you just assume that, because it was a white cop, it's an act of Racism and Rage?
Let me clue you in on a key piece of information here...from the story...
"But instead of getting in the Corvette and driving away, Campbell went to the trunk and pulled out a metal baseball bat. He struck the elder DiGuglielmo twice, shattering his kneecap and then cracking his wrist."
Notice, how it states...SHATTERING his kneecap, and CRACKING his wrist. You can ask any doctor, or any sane human being, that a shattered or cracked bone, is a broken bone and a serious injury.
And exactly how do you know that he went to the police station instead of the hospital? Were you there? Are you a witness? No, absolutely not. FYI, hospitals aren't some unholy ground that police officers can't walk in to. Chances are, while they were at the hospital, police questioned them and when they got out of the hospital.
Before you actually try and comment on something, read what it is you're trying to comment about. You have made yourself look like a jackass for trying to say that this was an act of rage and not self defense/protection
George - 12 years ago
Justice ServedYOU ARE A MORON!!!!! You are right, Campbells will be with out a son that didnt deserve to live on this earth when he decided to take the unjustified law into his own hands and try to hurt another human being. Because of morons like you, the district attorney and Campbells family members, the rest of the world looks at United States as bunch of imbeciles. People like you bring this country to its knees.
Justice Served - 12 years ago
A man died over a d*m parking space. Yes its MURDER, the Campbell is without their son for life then the Digugliemo should be without their son for life. The Digugliemo family still does not value Mr. Campbell's life, then they will be reminded every time they visit their son in PRISON not the cemetary. Justice was served.
George - 12 years ago
I am disgusted reading some of these comments. Some of you folks have issues, mental that is. I dont care what happened prior to the guy pulling a bat out of his car, the fact that he went to the car and came back with a bat shows intent to hurt another human being. He should have called the police if he felt like he was assaulted. The fact that he came back with a weapon shows intent to hurt someone and him swinging that weapon gives every right for the victims family member to react in every way possible in order protect the person that is so close to them. Some of you say "well why didnt he just shoot him in the legs or shoulder or thigh"? Are you kidding me? If your father was in a process of possibly being seconds away from becoming a victim of a murder, would it be right for any one to tell you that you need to stop and think about how to properly defend your family member. NO!!!! NO!!!! NO!!!! Richie had every right to do what he did and I would have done the same thing. THIS IS THE REASON WHY THIS COUNTRY WILL HAVE ANOTHER RACE WAR SOON BECAUSE WHITES ARE NOW BECOMING THE MINORITIES AND OFTEN THE TARGETS BS Discrimination. I am middle eastern dissent and I can tell you god honest truth, when I was younger I often used the color of my skin as an excuse and cried the race card every chance I got in order to justify my mistakes and blame the consequences on others.
BTW...... I thought the "victims" brother was a complete moron and should never have been put on public airways.
yleegm - 12 years ago
James Okonkwo, Your comments are that of a typical uninformed and ignorant person. You make judgments regarding the appropriate use of deadly force based on what you've seen on TV and Movies. Do you also believe that there are Super Heroes in this World? That's correct, they only exist in the fantasy the world. It's a fantasy to believe that a person and even a trained police officer could pick and choose exactly where to shoot a person during a dynamic, highly stressed, and evolving situation. If you've ever been involved in a car wreck, why weren't you able to avoid it? You got trained during Driver's Ed and have been driving all you life, haven't you ? That's right, it's not the same when you are under high stress. Your judgment, performance, decision, fine motor skills all fail or diminish during high stress situations. Police officers are trained to shoot the "Center of Mass," the biggest area of the human body. Human bodies move dynamically during these situations. You could only hope to hit the center mass during these situations. If you tried to shoot other body parts like a leg or an arm, you'll likely miss and kill innocent bystanders. And even if you do hit those parts by some small miracle you'll probably get your head caved in by the baseball bat. Bullets don't stop body parts from working without them affecting the heart and/or the central nervous system. They are not magic. The are very small metal objects that penetrate the body. The off duty officer did exactly what he was trained to do - Stop the threat of his father getting his head being caved in by a metal bat wielding subject by firing the pistol. It's a miscarriage of justice that the District Attorney was more interested in convicting the off duty officer for political reasons knowing that this was a justified shooting. Review studies of the Force Science Institute (Dr. Bill Lewinski's studies regarding of dynamics of force response to threat) before you perpetuate the myths regarding how a person could and should respond during these types of incidents.
David wall - 12 years ago
This story should terrify everyone who has any common sense and who might find himself needing to use a lawfully owned firearm in defense of himself or a loved one. "Justice"? Nothing resembling justice was served here! In fact the treatment of the NYPD Officer reflects hideous INjustice.
A boxers's HANDS are considered "deadly weapons"; why no consideration of this fact, and the fact that he — the boxer — threw the first blow? A baseball bat (wooden or aluminum) is a DEADLY WEAPON when wielded in an attack on another person. There was not the slightest justification for this boxer's using a deadly weapon in an attack on the Officer's father. The boxer was completely wrong from beginning. He was asked to move his vehicle — justifiably, not as harassment — yet for some insane reason he refused.
Anyone suggesting that the Officer, under this incredible stress and in this situation, could "shoot the felon in the leg" or "in the arm" or "in the shoulder" knows NOTHING about what happens in combat situations when one needs to use a firearm. It is difficult enough to hit a moving, aggressive felon in the "kill zone"; almost 100% impossible to hit him in a smaller, fast-moving body target.
With the apparent attitude of this boxer and his potential for both doing harm and FLYING INTO AN AGGRESSIVE RAGE OVER NOTHING, while arming himself and attacking another human being, it is obvious that sooner or later his mindless, impulse-dominated inclinations would cause serious trouble. When it came he had miscalculated and — I think properly — was stopped decisively in his tracks when stopping him became a necessity to protect innocent life.
Anonymous - 12 years ago
User ehowardbailey wrote: - 3 minutes ago
"Sorry nigger tried to kill the old man."
And that mentality is why DiGuglielmo was convicted. Just as White was convicted for shooting a teen on his property, this man was convicted.
Why didn't they call the police?
Willie Gibson - 12 years ago
This guy has been railroaded to jail.There is noway I whould have not done the same thing other than shoot him in the head one time.The third swing of the bat could have killed his father thats why he fired untill he was positve that his father could not be struck again.
ehowardbailey - 12 years ago
Sorry nigger tried to kill the old man.
james okonkwo - 12 years ago
Richie killed him out of anger. He got punched in the face , do you think he was happy after that? Then he saw his father get hit with a bat, supposedly, this is the point where he snapped and decided he was not going to just defend his father, but murder charles. Were talking about a seasoned law enforcement officer that has countless hours of markmanship training. He could have easily shot him i.n the leg,thigh, groin , or how about the shoulder that he was swinging the bat with. Why did he have to shot him THREE TIMES IN THE CHEST, because he was in a murderous rage. Also , SOMEONE PLEASE RESPOND TO THIS POINT, if charles was hitting his dad so hard with a bat that you could hear it thirty yards away as one witness attest, why did he not have any broken bones or serious injuries, "how do you know", BECAUSE THEY WENT TO THE POLICE STATION AFTER THE SHOOTING AND NOT THE HOSPITAL !!! Doesnt sound like deadly force to me , i doubt he even hit him with the bat. As far as race i dont know or care if it had anything to do with it. How can the DA be racially motivated and shes white in a majority white district, what would she have got outta that. I find it funny that people label this a miscarriage of justice but casey anthony gettin off, rodney king getting by three cops with billy clubs ( remember...lethal force), and the newlywed gentlemen being shot forty odd times by NYPD was not, SMH!!!
TestforEcho - 12 years ago
Correction, Mr. Campbell (not Williams)
TestforEcho - 12 years ago
Abdolutely a tragedy. A tragedy that someone has lost their life and a tragedy for DiGuglielmo and his family. Clearly, this should have been at most a mansalughter case, not murder. DiGuglielmo would be out with time served if he was convicted of manslaughter. I agree with many of you, he should have shot at his leg and if Williams didn't stop, shoot his other leg, until he was stopped with the bat. However, this is all really difficult to determine with watching a couple of segments from CNN on the subject.
niecy48 - 12 years ago
You mentioned how black people get away with murder. You know it's not true.
It's okay for a white man barge into someone home a snatched a black boy out of his bed while sleeping and brutally killed the innocent child by cutting off his private parts and stuffed it into his mouth; after the court verdict, the white men who killed the little boy admitted on cameras they killed him.
Who I am talking about is Emmett Till.
In the Richard DiGuglielmo case, the judge did not allow them to mention it was racially motivated.
Lea Oliver - 12 years ago
Wrong is wrong, right is right! Through Jesus Christ, justice will prevail. This story affected me deeply, why? because I'm sick of people using the race card for convience. I believe Richie should be given another trial, for if I had been in that situation I would have done the same thing. I pray for both families but I pray mighty for Richie and his family because we all know that Mr. Campbell had issues due to prior offenses. It is sad that someone died, but I am praying to "God" who has all power to release Richie so he and his family can find peace and happiness for the remainder of their lives.
Dreamer - 12 years ago
I understand and have many of the same sentiments and passions as other commenters, however, DiGuglielmo Jr. went to prison because he did not act in self defense. His life was never threatened. His action were reckless especially as a sworn protector of the law and he killed a man. I don't believe the DA should have charged him with murder under the circumstances, but legally, there was little choice. As far as race playing a roll, I can only say that if it were a substantiated factor in the crime, it would have found it's way into the trial and appellate reviews. I feel for both families and believe that if his defense team would seek a lesser charge, DiGuglielmo Jr. will be a free man.
Joey - 12 years ago
Richie should be in jail. Yes, police officers are trained to shoot center mass; they are also trained to fire a warning shot, IF possible. Now the question is this: What was said to this innocent patron when he raced back to his car to see the vandilism that was being done to his car? What was said to this young man to make things turn violent? I'm sure some words were exchanged initially. But who among you, would not retreat to some form of protection if You were being brutally attack by three (3) black men? Well this young man did the same thing; he retreated to his protection. Richie's father, have suggested or would have you to believe that the (fight) 3 againt 1 was over. Please, that police officer would have never left his father out there unless he too was rushing to get a weapon. I suppose 3 against 1 wasn't enough. And furthermore, you all are forgetting that other witnesses heard racist overtones being yelled during the time of the shooting. Die N-word die! Is that the way the police are trained? Take off the blinders people. Just because he's a white man doesn't mean that he was right. Someone died over a 2 -3 minute parking spot. That's the real travesty.
Larry Fisher - 12 years ago
This is a yet another sad story of injustice turned upside down. I heard it said on CNN that Richard DiGuglielmo has lost faith in our justice system. He should know that he is not alone. It appears to me that racism has taken on an inverted position. I am embarrassed for our great nations justice system that at one time, every citizen believed once believed in. It's obvious that it's failing. I see people who can murder their own child and go free and become a celebrity and I see what I deem to be justified homicide by self-defense and due to the political racist pressure, our justice system yet failed us again. God have mercy on our country.
Larry Fisher
Fort Mill, SC
El Patron - 12 years ago
I have to say that most african americans when they brake the law and get caught in the process therefore end up hurt or killed of course this happends because they are black and everybody is a racist.... that ain't right!. u know what I'm saying??? I have a friend that got killed by a black guy. this guy stole a van, was running from the police, ran a stop sign, and killed my friend that was on his way work............ he was not charge with Murder he got charge with manslaughter whyyyy????? because it was not with the intent on killing my friend but his intent was to run from the police and in the process well he killed a person.... that is complete Bull *&^^%%it. In this case, the son was protecting his father from this guy that had a weapon in his hand. It was self-defense the intent of the person was to stop the guy with the bat.... he should have gotten at the most a voluntary manslaugher charge. Oh well, all I can say I would have done the same, protect my family that is it.
niecy48 - 12 years ago
I meant to say: A man has died...
niecy 48 - 12 years ago
A man is died. The journalist did not acknowledge the fact a man was shot to death.
There were three men against one man.
Richard DiGuglielmo is still alive.
My tipping point is the three men could have held the victim down like they did earlier in the fight.
Richard DiGuglielmo is not above the law and justice was served.
Richard DiGuglielmo did not have shoot him and it was racially motivated. If they go to court again, the federal court needs to allow how the incident was racially motivated.
J.C. - 12 years ago
William appears racially motivated himself. In a split second when Richard DiGuglielmo's father's life was in danger, his cop's instinct kicked in. That's what he was trained for. Besides, a wounded angry man could be more dangerous and more deadly. William, if you were in Richard DiGuglielmo's shoes, could you have only shot an angry aggressor's left hand holding a metal baseball bat swinging at your father when you only had 2 seconds to react?
william - 3 minutes ago
I Don't Care what u say the cop could have aimed for the legs if all he was really trying to do was stop Campbell all he had to do was shoot for the legs not the chest the killing was racially motivated cops to often aim to kill when all that is needed is maiming.
Please support a clemency request for Richard and email it to the outlook.com address. Thank you.
Center of mass three times ??? What is this ? Viet Nam, Iraq ? How about the extremities ?
Corey - 3 weeks ago "The guy was striking his DAD with a bat, when he was originally in the wrong by taking the parking spot! This is at most, a crime of passion... However, I feel as though self defense was the fact here. "
I normally don't entertain arguing on the internet but this is warranted. Call me what you may, Idiot, moron blah blah blah or whatever choice words you used. I stand behind my opinion, and he is still in jail so I guess I am not the only one that feels this way......
My comment was about CROOKED cops, not all cops, so please re-read my post before you spew nonsense on the web about cops doing legitimate things when they speed, talk on their phone, or flash their badge to avoid waiting in line. Every time it happens, it is NOT because they are trying to get to a crime, so you can sit in your fantasy world alone on that one pal. I have literally experienced CROOKED cops doing this so the can pull right into the police station and punch out the clock. I have friends and family in law enforcement, and yes, I am talking about them too. They ADMIT to doing these things when it has nothing to do with an investigation, and they are not alone.
Self defense is defense of oneself. He was not being attacked, his dad was. As Six pointed out before me, the situation could have been easily avoided if his "police training" had kicked in from the get go. If he had INITIALLY said, " I am a police officer, your car is parked illegally, can you please move before it is ticketed......" Not send his dad out to say, "Move your car", then get blown off by the guy, then have his old man dad AGAIN try to handle the situation himself and proceed to place a sticker on the car, then have the man flip out on his father, then try to defuse the situation, then help his father and his brother jump the man, then shoot him three times in the chest, then say, " I am a cop.....my training kicked in...." Are you kidding me? His father, bother, or whomever would not have been outside in the first place if his "police training" kicked in. Police ALWAYS try to keep innocent bystanders far away from the scene, because they never know how much a situation would escalate. He would have sent them inside to keep them out of harms way. But NOOOOO, let's have our family jump the guy and never once say he was a cop. Crime of passion is still a crime, if I am not mistaking.
But hey, forums exist for people to disagree and state their opinions, and that opinion is mine, if not mine alone. He acted like a civilian during the ENTIRE situation, then wanted to get pardoned because he was a cop. I do not agree with that. REAL cops do not handle themselves that. HE gives real cops a bad reputation. Call me what you want, but it does not change my opinion...or my right to have one.
Have a good life.
Mike, I realize that Donna left her message quite some time ago... I would have to be blind to not see the posting time frame to the immediate right of her name. No, as I stated in my post, I am not, in fact, a cop. I am a member of the military outside of the law enforcement field. As I also said, not all cops are perfect. Yes, some do have the little man complex. A professional department WILL hold those people accountable though if the general public can single out a cop for a specific item enough times. I say 'enough times' because these guys put people away for a living, so naturally people are going to hate on them. Be real, Mike.
View from Canada. Our prosecutors and judges are not elected but appointed. They exercise their duties according to their conscience and the law.
In the USA, where these people are elected, it is in their personal interest to manipulate the public into thinking that they are doing the best job to "protect" them from the "evils", real or made up, of whomever they decide to prosecute.
No part of our police/sheriffs groups are elected either.
Democracy, (voting for officials) sounds like a good idea, but as long as the first motivation is to get re-elected, these miscarriages of justice will continue to punish innocent people.
These powerful people should be appointed for long term by other professionals. They should not be required to do their jobs with the constant thought of ...."I must win the popularity contest in the next election, or I will loose my job."
What an appalling and insensitive story. How dare CNN dredge up this horror for Mr. Campbell's brother and family. It is painfully obvious that Mr. Campbell was murdered in cold blood and that he only brought a bat into the equation because he was being beaten by three large men, including a police officer who was trained to fight. It is absolutely outrageous that a group of adults did everything they possibly could to provoke poor Mr. Campbell and then had the audacity to physically attack him him when he became justifiably angry. Three grown men, including a trained police officer, attacking you over a parking spot? The backstory of the parking space alone indicates what petty, vindicitive and childish buffoons the DiGuglielmo people are. As for Mr. Campbell, who wouldn't try to defend themselves under such a circumstance? It is DiGuglielmo - a trained police officer - and his family who were so maliciously racist and petty they killed a man to indulge their own brutality. He didn't even express remorse.
Shame on CNN. The story isn't about a miscarriage of justice. It's about how Mr. Campbell's brother and family are coping with this tragedy. The story is about how Mr. Campbell's noble brother was able to summon a miraculous, extraordinary graciousness and beauty in forgiving a crime most people could never begin to forgive. Shame on CNN.
Article 35 of the New york state Penal Law is the Law for the use of force. Police officers are highly trained in the use of force. They are also highly trained how to handle stressful situations. I find it hard to believe that a man with a bat which would be considered a deadly weapon able to cause serious bodily injury or death. This would allow someone to use deadly physical force to stop an illegal act. Holding a steel baseball bat and threatening and or using it to hit someone is considered deadly physical force and which even though off duty, as a trained police officer, allows deadly physical force to be used to stop the illegal act. He should be let out of Jail.
As a member of the USAF, what do I fight.... and how does Janine Pirro sleep at night.
What a sickening miscarriage of justice. This is exactly like the Duke Lacrosse case, where you had an overzealous (white) DA with political ambitions, trumping up charges against white "assailants", creating racial overtones that didn't exist, in an attempt to curry favor with the black community so he can get elected.
I used to admire Janine Pirro, now I think she is total worthless scum. She helped railroad this guy, trumping up a bs racial element, for what is clearly a self-defense case.
The only difference between Diguglielmo and the Duke Lacrosse kids, is that the Duke kids were privileged enough to have good legal defense, and the fact that that incident happened on a major campus gave it a media spotlight.
What a horrible story. My prayers to Diguglielmo and his family. God bless the man. What this story says about our justice system makes me very sad to be an American.
For all of you that try to ignore the fact that racism exist, shut up! The judge didn't need anything but the facts in this case. All the rest is obvious. It was then(racism), and even more now.
I would like to point out that Campbell had an extensive criminal record that included assault and drug use. Don't know why this was left out of the trial, seems pretty relevant.
Corey, Donna left that 5 weeks ago, you are talking to yourself. And Corey you kind of seem like a self righteous prick cop yourself. Cops just weren't smart enough to be criminals. they are good at following rules, sometimes. they have Napoleonic complexes. They are not just sad, they are dangerous. Deep down every small town cop wants to get even for some childhood abuse or other, get even, and really feel some value with that badge and gun. Admittedly, there are a few good ones but they are anomalies. They speed, set people up, hate as a group, as a "club." and dream of some kind of Third Reich state it seems. i'm so sick of people treating cops like they are holier than the rest. EArn it, and i'll respect them.
no Barry, i'm as white as they come, and i see the racism. tell me that would have happened with one of their white friends. yea, look me in the eye and tell me that. see what i mean. but you all act like you know what happened. fists, bats, who cares. people hate each unless it's Christmas and then they are high enough to fake it. why can't we all just get along.
It is extremely bothersome to me that every time a black person is killed or injured during the commission of crime in this country, the black community immediately responds in outrage, claiming racial bias. This seems to be another example. If the situation had been reversed, there would have been no protest and the shooting would have been deemed an act of self defense--end of story.
In my opinion, many judges at all levels of our justice system succumb to pressure whenever the black community rises up and plays the race card. While I have no doubt that racial bias did exist in the past and it was terribly wrong, you cannot make up for past injustice by reversing the injustice in the present. As grade school children, we learn that two wrongs do not make a right.
Donna, let me just start out by saying you are a complete moron... It sounds as though you do not know anything about they way law enforcement works. When a police officer turns on their flashers to get through an intersection, it is not always to just "run a red light". More than 75% of a police officer's calls are calls that do not require them to go lights and siren, or "code". Some require them to get to a location ASAP, but 'fly under the radar' so to say. (This comment also covers your speeding on the highway ignorance"). Responding lights and siren is not the most logical way to go about this. Sometimes, a cop will flash a badge to position him or herself in a line for clandestine purpose. If they are trying to keep an eye or ear on someone, would they do that from the back of the line? I don't think so. Also, cops talk on their cellphones to collaborate with one another believe it or not. Scanner technology is out there, and the well versed criminal will pay attention to police movement. They also will use cellphones to ask questions in normal English, just like you would do at your 9 to 5. I will admit, not every cop will abide by the rules, but by you thinking this is every officer of the law, just proves your ignorance. The fact that he shot the gentleman 3 times in the chest may be up for dispute. He said his "training kicked in." When someone is striking an unarmed person with a metal bat repeatedly, they may, and probably do have the intent to completely render that person useless. He grabbed the gun that was in the store, and laid the guy down. I feel as if the simple brandishing of the weapon could have stopped the situation. If not, a single shot to the chest would have done the trick, rather than 3. What can you say though. The guy was striking his DAD with a bat, when he was originally in the wrong by taking the parking spot! This is at most, a crime of passion... However, I feel as though self defense was the fact here. LEOs are taught to draw a weapon to deter, but if you shoot, shoot to kill... Not to incapacitate.
Donna, you are the type of complaining worthless individual that gives their opinion without knowing what they are talking about. This is the same type of person that will complain about the way a police officer will do things one second, but the very next will be on the phone with a dispatcher complaining about how an officer didn't get to your house fast enough when you called in a complaint for the guy that just sped down your quaint residential street. If you don't appreciate the way law enforcement officers act, then don't utilize them. FYI, I am not a police officer, but most of my nuclear family IS. ...I'll say it again... IDIOT!
Al, you are absolutely correct about the district attorney in this case. Spot on, sir.
They wanted to beat the shit out of someone. they really loved that parking spot. they really loved it. prob. a nice guy, according to his brother, dealing with profoundly angry fucks. we live in the old west. 3 guys come at you, and try and beat you after they just put some stupid sticker that won't come off on your car. they all deserve to be beaten with a baseball bat. let him do the 20 years and think about the concept of hatred, and rage. let him try and evolve in prison where it's safe for other people. racist fucking country.
Every time there is a disagreement (physical harm or not) between a black and a white, there is an outcry of racism...this is despicable - it's always the blacks calling the whites racists...whites don't do that to the blacks.
This off-duty policeman protected his father who had already been hit twice with a bat and was about to get his head ripped off with the 3rd hit...the two business owners that saw it were harassed by police until they changed their stories, yet, in an interview with CNN, their stories were identical.
I don't remember the name of the gentleman back in California a number of years ago who really did get beaten - and it was by white police officers if my memory serves me right. That was a case where it looks like it was racially motivated. The one we're discussing didn't have time to be racially motivated...think about it - there were a few seconds from the time the 3 men let the 4th man up from the ground (he hadn't been hit, just held down so he could not hit any of them) until he was shot...there was not time for there to be any racial consideration. It wasn't like this young man had been in this same parking lot repeatedly. It sounds like it was the first time.
Some of my best friends are different races - I have black, white, asian, hispanic friends. If I were in the same situation with my dad about to get the life beat out of him, I wouldn't care what race the perpetrator was (would you? really? would you NOT use any form of force available to you to stop you own father from being killed or maimed because it might look "racial"? how ignorant is that?), I would do whatever was necessary to save my father, whether the individual was my same color or another color.
By the way, when are we going to live as each other's friends, no matter the color of our/your / my skin??? It's 2012, people, not 1960 ... I bet that a lot of you will try to determine the color of my skin by the way I write - as if I'm supposed to write or speak a certain way because of my color...does intelligence have anything to do with any of this?
And one last thing, the D.A. was, to me. very obviously politically motivated. How SICK for a person of high ranking to allow such injustice to occur for the purpose of election. She should be removed from office - what' wrong with the people in her district?
If someone pulled a bat on me or my family, you'd bet there would have been two in the chest and one in the head before he even had a chance to finish his first swing. Obviously this is a case of self defense.
This vote goes down racial lines. If the shooter was black and the young man killed was white, the voting results would be reversed. This is a first.
I've seen this small town angry racism over and over again. I lived in Dobbs Ferry, i remember it well. it's all over westchester, it's all over this country. the guy wanted to park for christ's sake. and he walked into a hornet's nest. was that his fault. tell me these overly prideful brothers - don't frequently act on this hate and rage. as an outsider, you feel it as soon as you enter the town. of course it's racially motivated. that's the elephant in the room. they feel injustice has been done to them over and over and over, and they are the real Americans and fuck the immigrants. anger has been building. listen, my family arrived in 1623, and that doesn't make me anymore American. cops are cops, they are crude and primitive and angry racist thugs, most of the time. i wish it weren't the case. Do they do more harm than good? it's a toss up.
Why are District/Prosecuting Attorneys allowed to commit crimes such as this and never, ever pay a price for their criminal activity? We hear about them lying, hiding evidence, coercion, and other unethical behavior, and they are never punished. Why is this? It is bad enough that the only people who can punish lawyers are other lawyers -- how often is a lawyer disbarred? The Prosecuting Attorney should be in prison for what she did, the police who grilled the witness until he changed his testimony should be in prison.
When will we start expecting public officials who enforce the law, to obey the law? Until the prosecuting attorney is above reproach, we will not be surprised when one commits crimes such as this. Instead of being charged, tried, and sent to prison, she was rewarded with a promotion and higher pay. Maybe that is why breaking the law and unethical behavior is so attractive.
The guy is innocent and should be home with his family. I hope he gets there. Prison's need more room for the creeps like child molesters that really belong there.
i agree if there wasnt a bat there wouldnt have been a gun. just another stupid jig
I am glad he got punished. I can't stand cops that think they are above the very same law that enforce on everyone else. These are the same cops that you see turning on their flashers just because they want to run red lights, flashing their badges to get in front of really long lines, speeding on the highway when they are not even in pursuit, talking on their cell phones while they drive and shooting people three times in the chest. I don't buy his story...you mean to tell me he left his fragile, sick dad outside getting struck multiple times with a baseball bat to go inside and get a gun? You mean to tell me first instinct is to go get a gun? Tackling that clown never came to mind huh? I don't condone the boxer guy's behavior not one bit, but he did not have to die that day. I do think this cop committed a crime and tried to hide behind his badge when things got rough. He even said, "I thought they would just let me go because I am a cop....." Think again buddy. This should be a message to crooked cops everywhere...Lead by example and practice what you enforce. You are NOT above the laws of this land.
Why do so many people think this was injustice? He was an off duty police officer that went to help his father out at a deli. When someone parked "illegally" in front of the deli, HE, not his father, should have went out, IDENTIFIED himself as a police officer, and asked him to move his vehicle or it would be towed. Let's say for the sake of argument that the boxer wanted to still be a DIQUE and not move his vehicle......HE should have called for back up. If a police officer calls for back up, the police will report IMMEDIATELY. He was not some civilian calling 911 for an illegally parked car. I find it hard to believe that back up would not have arrived on the scene within minutes.
The moment the guy started swinging and fighting, the officer should have subdued him. They get plenty of police training on how to subdue a subject...having his family members jump in and start fighting is no where in the police training manual. Any police officer knows better than to have any civilian interfere with an arrest. He should have ordered them to stand back or go inside or whatever. HE put his family in danger by not following his "police training". So now this guy....not realizing that one of his attackers is a police officer, is swinging a bat and he gets three shots to the chest by a man. A man who never identified himself AS a police officer, but automatically wants to be pardoned because he IS a police officer. I am sorry, but I have a problem with that.
The entire time he handled this like a civilian, had an all out street fight, but shot him because "my police training kicked in"??? I call shenanigans. Where was his "police training" when the incident started?? No one is talking about that. I GET IT....the boxer was going to hit his father with a baseball bat, he was protecting his father...I GET IT. But the point is, his father, brother, uncle, whomever should not have even been outside in the FIRST place. He should have handled the situation like a cop from the beginning. So no, I don't think that he should have been released simply because he was a cop. If anything, he should have been punished more harshly because he is a cop. He KNOWS better. He did not handle himself correctly that day. He did not handle himself like a cop who's job is to protect EVERYONE and keep the situation as safe for by standers as possible. And now a man is dead. I really think this whole thing could have been avoided. But that's only my opinion.
It appears to me that Jeannine Pirro, as District Attorney was motivated by political ambition when she was presented with this explosive situation. She was running for reelection as District Attorney, and her future ambitions would lead her to the States Attorney's General office. This ultimately was in her sights, and she was aiming for it. What better way to add to her credentials, and celebrity status than by convicting a NYC cop who resided in Westchester County. How else do you explain her charging first degree murder that same night, before all the evidence was in? She was going to convict this NYC cop at all costs, and she succeeded. To say this was a miscarriage of justice is an understatement.
Why every time there is an issue that involves Afro- Americans and white people has to degenerate into a racial problem? Do you think the verdict would have been the same if Campbell was white? What if Richie was charged with murder based on racism just to avoid other issues that could have come up with the Afro-American community?I thought we were in 2012 not 1700s
The US justice system is a joke. When witness statements are suppressed and witnesses are pressured to change their story to comply with what the DA wants to hear the thing needs to be thrown out. An innocent man has been in prison for 11 years and it continues. Of course as soon as it is called racism it takes on a new dimension and the hell with justice. The same racism theme worked for OJ and let a double murderer free. In this case it imprisoned a good and descent man trying to protect the life of his father.
couldnt have said it better Fran and Ryan....
This should not be about race. There are WAY too many other situations that ARE about race...this is NOT.
The young man with the bat should not have taken it out of the car. When are we going to make people accountable for their actions.
I am not telling you that the owners of the deli are not racist. I don't know and don't care.
The moment that the young man got the bat, he changed the tone of the situation. They family from the deli HELD him down...they didn't beat him only after he came at them.
I think the testosterone got the best of him. He should have walked away and gotten the police.
Sue them...work it out in court...don't loose your life...but again...the young man with the bat, didn't think about the possible outcomes before he got the bat.
And ...it is for every action, the is an equal or opposite reaction to what you do.....people have to THINK about what they do.
Be accountable for what you choose to do!
You know if the victim was told to move is car based on the law provide on a sign located in the same parking lot, he should have! But when victim gets mad cuz the owner of the store puts a sticker on his car and the victim starts punching and swinging bats trying to hurt/kill people, i would have done the same to protect my father. The justice system is most defiantly corrupted in this case, causing a man trying to protect someone he loved to get 20 to life. There are numerous witnesses stating it was a son saving his father and after the constant harassment from the police the witnesses change their story. He shouldnt be in jail....
How can we continue to move forward when we even the justice system creates scandal between people. Right is right and wrong is wrong. I have a son...if someone hit me with a bat, he would at ALL cost do whatever he had to, to protect me.
People need to understand that for every action, there is an equal or greater reaction to what they do.
How can you think that someone would not respond?
STOP making excuses for other! The brother shouldn't even be saying what happened....he WAS NOT THERE!
I am sorry that for the loss of both families.
THINK before you do something that you can't take back. I am sure this young man didn't think that he would loose his life that day. So getting his bat out of his car....OLD...He could have walked away and gotten the police...If there was no bat, there would not have been a gun gotten.
I hope that this police officer gets out soon.
I as well hope that the District Attorney who tried the case is in another propfession...she si SCARY! The type of SCARY that our society DOESN'T need! Where is she now? We all need to know? Why is she (and her office) not being investigated if in fact she with held information?
Why was the older gentleman not pursued to testify by the District Attorney? Was the DA trying to make a name for herself? What is that about?
A man parking where it was legal to park, and three men deciding they didn't want him to park there. So they took the law into there own hands. The man who was parking legally, winds up dead, at the hands of one of his attackers. Enough said.
He could have shot him in the leg,did he ask him
To put the bat down.
it's not only blacks that go thru that with white cops, other races do too. I have been thru that several times and I have seen the racism first hand from white cops, they always try to intimidate you and when you retaliate you end up being the bad one. Kudos to Mrs Pirro on that verdict. He should have gotten two twenty year terms.
At no time did I hear the shooter apologize or wish that the shooting never happened. Interestingly even the father is talking about his son not being there. It sucks for loosing life in such a situation where it was not warranted. I think everyone was out to prove he is the "man" and I for my opinion the shooter should lot in jail ... thats where he belong.
Justice was not served and our justice system sucks. Self defence and in prison for 20 years to life. How can anyone believe in the justice system after hearing this and this is not the only person that is in prison that does not deserve to be there.
When he swung the bat at the man was when the law was broken. Until then it was a difference of opinion of who was right or wrong. When he continued to swing the bat it became assault with intent to do bodily injury. When he focused on hitting him in the head with the bat, it became attempted murder unless the victim dies. At which point if you were the one being beat would you want someone else to intervene? When he pulled the bat and swung it, he was in the wrong and relative or not someone had to intervene with force to stop a wrong of extreme intent. He got the bolt and nut justice America tents to had out! I never have trusted the injustice broken system and never will! After all it is run by man!
Racially based killings of black men by police on or off duty.
It has become a staple of US culture throughout its history.
A bat vs a gun. Hmmm! Which one had the deadly impact?
A police man should be trained to take down a suspect without killing him.
The historic racial categories were all present. Policemen are not judge, jury and executioner.
C
This man is innocent of all charges, he was protecting his father from further harm by a person that was beating him with a baseball bat. Pirro did have another agenda, she later became a judge and then most recently had a TV courtroom show, where she bragged of her conviction rate as being 100% . I wonder how many others are in prison because of her win at all cost policy while she was the D.A.
The entire justice system needs a revamping. Why does the judicial system continue to protect the criminal at the expense of the law abiding citizens? Protect the abuser at the expense of the victim, even in the cases of violence against our children? This happens daily in this country. One should not be punished for defendeng him/herself or a family member when our laws fail to do so. We are expected to be abused and do nothing, have our lives threatened and do nothing. So many violent offenders get off when it is clear they are guilty. Yes, innocent until proven guilty, but WE HAVE A RIGHT TO DEFEND OURSELVES. It is clear this man was defending his father and himself. Set him free. This is a travesty.
Re. Lilman's comments below arguing this was an Italian conspiracy: the DA is Italian. Apparently she didn't get the msg from Mafia central. Talk about ethnic typecasting . . .
This is absolutely a miscarriage of justice How can that DA live with herself after hearing of the 2 witness that spoke up for the defendant. And what kind of police state do we have when the police harass a witness to change his story. If there was a question of the 2 witnesses lying why could they not be given a lie detector tests and if passed make sure their testimony was a part of the trial. Thanks CNN for exposing the imperfections of our society and hopefully we can learn from them. As much as I thought the O.J Simpson Trial was a miscarriage of justice this one was also.
It is telling that the prosecuting DA would not answer questions--if she didn't have something to hide. The jury should have heard the 2 defense witnesses and the story of police harassing the one witness.
This is a huge miscarriage of justice. I definitely think this was self defense. When a baseball bat was brought into play, things were brought to a whole new level. I think we will never know what truly happened that night, but we are on an innocent until proven guilty justice system, and from what it seems, it was the reverse for this man. He was guilty until he could prove himself innocent. However, when you see someone take out a baseball bat and threaten to use it on anyone, instinct kicks in. Save a life now and think about what you've done/ask questions later. Knowing what they know now, they should re evaluate the verdict in this case. I'm pretty sure it would have a very outcome.
woodruf should join the defense, so sympathetic she was to white men who swore up and down ," O, no Judy, we didn't use no racial epithets." Gupta is naive as usual. this white nationalist piece proves once again that there is very little difference between the attitude toward blacks held by Cnn management is no different from that held by julius streicher,
publisher of Der Sturmer.
What an amazing story. It is a terrible thing that someone has lost a life in this altercation. However, this is not about what Ritchie or Chaz's family said happened, this is about the justice system. This proves that the system was able to get the conviction they wanted, not about taking the time to research all the facts and present them in a fair matter. No one knows what a jury would have said had they known 100% of the data, but it should have been presented to a jury properly the first time. The worst part is that the prosecution should be on trial for their behavior, but they simply walk away and plead the 5th with zero repercussions!
Why won't CNN use its influence to push legal support for DiGuglielmo freedom!? This was a good (legal) shooting. The man had a bat and expressed the intent to harm DiGuglielmo's father (he struck him with the bat), the bat is evidence that the suspect had the ability. The bat, having made contact with Mr. DiGuglielmo, was under 21 feet from Mr. DiGuglielmo; therefore, when young DiGuglielmo approached with the gun he had the legal right (human right) to neutralize the threat (the suspect with the bat or the bat). Any gun training, cop and DA knows this was a justified shooting.
CNN should put the energy they exert in the freedom of far off countries and exert it in freeing this man.
P.S. I'm an African Muslim and I recognize that the black suspect was in the wrong and his own actions equated to his justified death.
As a retired Court Reporter, I was not surprised about the story. Often, prosecutors are geared toward winning, forgetting that they, also, have a sworn oath to the TRUTH as well as performing their duties. It is a narrow road walked and more than a few times, in my career, I've seen that path strayed, if not completely left for other pastures.... a judgeship, perhaps?
The D.A.....Should be up on Charges for supressing evidence...
If I seen a man trying to hit my father with a baseball bat, I would've shot him also, regardless of race. A metal bat to an elderly mans head Is definitely deadly. So I believe what occurred was self defense. Let the man free! Another downfall of our justice system.
With all due respect for the family of the victim in this unfortunate act,it seems to me that the man found guilty was trying to protect his dad, what was he suppose to do, wait till his father got beat to death with a baseball bat? I don't think so.Politics had a lot to do with this case,Pirro I bet had a hidden agenda.With all said and done the guy did commit a crime but not murder. let the guy go. TIME SERVED!!!!
Did the guy have a BAT? YES. Did the guy USE the bat? YES!!!
Any of you who voted that this is JUSTICE, be happy. Because you most likely have NEVER been close to a situation that this poor guy was in. Watching your father survive a heart attack renews your worry that "Dad is going to die some day....I wish I could keep that from happening". That is what his son did. Are you going to call 911 and ask for a COP? Might as well ask for a hearse. Your dad is going to have his brains splattered in the parking lot.
This was over a PARKING SPACE! The a**HOLE was a BOXER! Get some exercise and park away from a guy's business if you aren't going to spend money there! Was the BOXER tested for STEROIDS?!!!! Anyone ever heard of "athletes" using them, and having "'Roid-Rage"? C'mon people, we are finding out more and more that the police have tactics that regular old citizens don't understand. They are the evidence gatherers. The DA is in charge of maniupulating it. (Just like mainstream PRESS!)....."I'm done.....I've had enough!" Wait here while I go get my bat!
First, you should know how long it would have taken the pd to get to the deli and second why couldn't Campbell go and wash off the sticker and keep it movin. We see today they don't even put a sticker on your vehicle, they just tow it! I believe if the panel would have known there was a change in testimony it would have altered there decision. If not one all! Why did they dismiss charges on the dad and the brother-in-law?
Good ol Boy Ritchie got exactly what he deserved. First off, why did Ritchie allow his ailing father to go outside and start anything with another man. Shouldn't he or the brother in law have gone outside to politely ask the gentleman to move his car. There is definitely a way to communicate things in order to get a positive response. And immediately after Mr. Campell did not remove his vehicle or wandered across the street anyway, should he not have contacted one of his good ol boys from the pd and had Mr. Campell cited or towed.
Secondly, after all the training that he received, why had he not called the boys? How long is a 911 call gonna take. No witness called the cops? And three shots to the chest? Really? Why not one shot?
Its only my opinion and im sure it really doesnt matter but it sounds to me like the New York italian machismo display backfired and a lot of people are pissed. They ran into a boxer who wanted to grab a pizza real quick and get out of there. And when they stickered his brand new corvette that he worked hard for in the sanitation job the he held, he was a bit pissed. And when foul mouth pops came over there talking trash he lit him up not caring about Ritchie or his brother in law. And when they all jumped on him and were a little more than he felt he could handle he grabbed the bat and started to back himself out of the situation. Mind you, his nice car was still on the property and he can protect it as well. Would they have let him drive off without scratching it or denting it or breaking a window.? Probably not... Ritchie should have thrown down with him by himself and it would have been over.... Take that mouthful.
Wow... It amazed me how things are going wrong in this worl... I don't know about you all but I group up knowing things that in your concious was wrong like liying, stelling, bulling or killing (that's wrong no matter what) If you did such thing you got to pay the consequesces of your actions thats life and for those that go out with out having a justice system god's justice is even worse for each individual... Who knows what really happens there, but for the report presented in CNN and there was three man that put this guy on the groung so why having to pulled a gun is my question. Couldn't the three of them handle one single man? this doesn't make much sence, I think they were racial circuntances reasonds behind that hate if this guy is in jail is nobody's fault but his dad's because he thought him "HATE" wake up people if you keep sowing hate in the heart of your kids they will end up in jail or kill but this is your decision and nobody else only you can change this from happening again... The way I see all this comments this will keep going but for those that have a reasoning and want better for your kids please stop the HATE we are all the same no matter the color of your skin or the social class you have, just teach your kids to have respect for others and everything else will come into place. My opinion is that both of them made wrong choices Charles could had just got in the car and leave from the moment he felt being mistreated( I wish people will gently tell you things sometimes instead they ask you things with an attitude and this makes a lot of difference) and Richard Jr shoul had never pulled a gun specially when they were three people against one, there was no need for that noe Charles is dead and Richard in Jail the way this should had ended when you make wrong choices in life.
WAS JUSTICE SERVED FOR EMMITT TILL?
If Someone was coming at ANYONE I love with bat ( in a threatening way) and I had a gun, you c an bet your ass I would shoot them. No question.
From the story I read he was justified in shooting; it was in defense of another facing death. Anyone who is a user of firearms and is educated in their use, especially those who carry open/or concealed would have been duty bound to defend such actions. Possibly the only thing he could have done if he had time was to yell "stop or I'll shoot" but these things are split second and he fired. It seems he had no choice. I might have done the same. It is unfortunate for all involved. Truly tragic, yet, those two witnesses were coerced then as far as I am concerned it is a mistrial or something to that extant. It was not a fair trial.
The problem here is, Richie handled this like a CIVILIAN with a gun, not an officer of the law. He was not acting in "self defense" because Charles was never swinging the bat at HIM. When the Charles punched him, he should have immediately arrested him for assault and called for back up. Period. He never identified himself as a police office, and he certainly did not handle this like a police officer. I don't think this has anything to do with race, and he did not handle himself like an officer of the law. He thought he could get away with KILLING someone just because he was an off duty police officer. Had he identified himself as a police officer at the very beginning, had HE showed his badge and instructed him to move his vehicle, or proceeded to write him a ticket for illegal parking, and handled the situation in accordance with the LAW, it would have escalated this far. I am sorry, but he DESERVES to be in jail.
Absolutely disgusting that this miscarraige of justice has not been fixed. God bless Richie and his family
off
eric, you dont know that they didnt beat charles up , why did it take three guys for one man. Also, if you look at my last post and first post, i didnt even say that race had anything to do with this case!! My commentary on race was directed toward the gentleman that called me that word. like i said, eric still didnt even ACKNOWLEDGE the guy that called me that.....and my comments are race driven. PLEASE RESPOND TO THIS POINT...my comments are race driveng but in my first post i stated that race doesnt have anything to do with this case and the guy hauled of an called me that. Like i said, he is in prison, and he's going to be there until 2019 no matter what you think, if your so sympathetic why dont you put a few bucks in his commissary account, lol.
Furthermore, You're trying to explain that in the heat of the moment, seeing his father getting beaten with a bat, and possibly attempted murder, you'd have the presence of mind to shoot him in the leg? No one does, he's a cop, he was trained to do what cops are trained to do. You shoot them in the leg if they are at a stand still, and he advances. When someone's in the act of something, you aim for the most mass. Also, considering another mans life was at stake, let alone it being his father, he did his duty to Protect and Serve. So the fact that you sit there and tell us that Richard is in the wrong because he took a life, protecting the life of another, is beyond me. Your comments are entirely race driven.
What Rich did was what he was trained to do. If someone big, small, black, or white pulls a weapon, yes the baseball bat was a weapon and hits my father with it, I will do the same thing Rich did. The fact that it all started over a parking space is not even relevant. God bless the entire DiGuglielmo family. As for the initial aggressor with a bat, he got what he deserved, plain and simple.
It is only because of a corrupt prosecutor with political aspirations who ran her courtroom for ratings instead of justice that Rich is in prison. She screwed up her personal life and is now too dirty to even be a politician.
Did I ever comment on your word "Empathy"? No. So nice try. Try fixing the other hundred mistakes.
First glance, We're, and Here. not Where and Hear.
I don't think a seven figure "man" would make those mistakes.
I didn't see his comment because I didn't read ALL comments. So yeah, I wasn't going to say anything about it. But the fact you need to rage out, and say "I make seven figures, fuck you." And "don't drop the soap, bitch" proves you're an ignorant little child.
Maybe you should see how you're acting, maybe you won't get called things you don't want to be called..
you know empathy is a word right, you probably thought i screwed up sympathy, look up the definition of that word ERIC, lol.
Eric, yeah when i look back at that message i did have grammatical errors because i was typing so fast, i had to catch a flight. You know, you call me ignorant but dont say a word about the guy that called me a nigger right after my first post. So im the problem in the world and the guy whose throwing out racial slurs doesnt even warrant a comment. Your whole post was about my net worth, it must have really affected you. Oh by the way, check out e-verify, guess what folks,RICHIE HAS A CRIMINAL RECORD WITH ASSAULT IN HIS PAST, AND SO DOES HIS DAD !!!. Since everyone wants to talk about Charles past.You know whats sad, you know the most important witness thats missing in this tragedy, CHARLES CAMPBELL. He's not here to tell his side, where supposed to take those other guys word as fact. People are on this site assasinating charles character, a guy who is not even hear to defend himself or tell his side of the story, COWARDS.
james you are ignorant and your pointless race driven post proves it.
If you're such a successful "young black man" why is it you have so many gramatical errors?
I believe you're what's wrong with the world today, take your ignorance elsewhere. Maybe do your "seven figure" job.
P.S. The fact you need to brag about your so called job when no one asked proves you dont have said job
james you are ignorant and your pointless race driven post proves it.
If you're such a successful "young black man" why is it you have so many gramatical errors?
I believe you're what's wrong with the world today, take your ignorance elsewhere. Maybe do your "seven figure" job.
P.S. The fact you need to brag about your so called job when no one asked proves you dont have said job
He was protecting his father and once again a black thing turns a court room justice system into a circus. The sticker was what the police told him to do and the shooting was what his job trained him to do.if the colors of the players were reversed there would have been no jail time and he would have been promoted to detective
Charles Campbell had a rap sheet a mile long of agressive & violent prior crimes. His decision to utilize a metal bat as a lethal weapon is just one more example of his anger, violence & criminal decision-making. The pure politics of this tragedy & the corruption within the former DA's office to push her own political agenda has made me lose complete faith in our justice system. The DA's office has essentially stripped all police officers of their legal oath to uphold justice & to protect our citizens from criminals. I simply can not understand what the appellate court was thinking here. The witnesses at scene clearly claim justification on Richie's behalf. I pray that someone will right this pure example of political injustice. I'm sick & tired of hearing Charles' friends & family talk about what a happy person he was. Clearly they are not aware of his violent rap sheet of aggressive, prior crimes. Charles, on his own, in his own violent actions, escalated this confrontation into one of lethal violence.
A great injustice has been committed. A bat is a deadly weapon. It was self defense. Politics has destroyed this man's life.
I can't tell who was at fault and I'm not sure if the New York Supreme Court can either. It's very easy to sit in an office and second guess what bits of testimony may or may not have influenced a jury, but in the end it's not real - you plain just don't know. The man deserves a retrial, but that costs public money so the courts will try to avoid it if they can.
"Why do people always bring up the race card?" BUT ON THIS VERY FUCKING WEBSITE YOU SEE WHITES CALLING BLACKS NIGGERS YOU FUCKING IDIOTS!!! So racism occurs on this website but you want me to believe it doesnt occur in this world, laughing my ass off. My view is that i feel like this situation could have been de-escalated without charles being killed. "No way i cant think of one way this could have been resolved witthout him putting three holes in his chest, not one way!" Now you know thats a lie. We all need to have empathy. Honestly, i can see richie's point of view like he hit my dad with a bat and he's recovering from a heart attack, but i just dont feel like he needed to turn into judge jury an executioner. All i ask is that you look at it through charles eyes too, how do you know for a fact that all they did was restrain him and hold him down. You really think he went and got a bat because someone tried to stop the fight, BE HONEST. The truth is i dont know what happened , maybe charles did go nuts, but YOU DONT KNOW WHAT HAPPENED EITHER, im just big enough to say so. "Well there were witnesses!" BE HONEST, like some of those guys werent neighbors who probably grew up with them, patronized their family business everyday, and were willing to say anything to get Richie off. The only thing i really hate about these comments is that they make it out like they know for a fact that the digugliemo's are PERFECT SIANTS and Mr. Charles Campbell is INHERITENTLY EVILL!!! "I would have done the same thing", then your ass would be locked up too. Its funny that people claim race probably had nothing to do with the incident itself, but they are quick to say race had something to do with the jurors decision, even though race wasnt mentioned at the trial. And by the way, dont you ever call me ignorant. Im a young black man with a college degree thats worth over seven figures no rap or sports, FUCK YOU. I bet Richie sits in his cell counting bricks going thruogh every option he could have taken to stop it besides killing him. I bet its hard for a cop in prison. Well ultimately we can go back and forth forever, but well eventually leave our laptops and cotinue our lives. Hell be locked up at least until 2019!!! Dont drop the soap bitch, HA HA.
Understandable that Richie's friends and family want him out. But CNN clearly did no checking of their facts. There was a long history of violence by the deli owner in that parking lot including the father cursing at children whose parents parked there to pick up a pizza across the street and tearing the shirt off a man who complained about his car being stickered. Richie himself had been arrested for assault after losing his temper at a party in Yonkers. Because he was a new cop the charges got pled down so he could keep his job. After richie shot Charles Campbell a nurse shopping at the deli tried to help him and asked richie to get towels. He refused to help " that piece of shit" and the father told her "get out of here, you didn't see anything" ( she testified to this at the trial"). Speaking of the trial, it's clear the CNN reporter did not bother to read the transcript before drinking the diguglielmo kook aid. The dozen witnesses who saw what happened , had no bias or reason to lie, bravely testified, and all said the bat was being used defensively and not being swung as Campbell backed up the length of the parking lot to get away from crazy Richard sr. Who kept coming after him. Cambpell was at the sidewalk when he was shot and killed. CNN how about equal time for a reality check.
My mom told me ones words dont brake bonds why he had a bad in his hand why he dint get in his car and left hi was out of number and swing to elderly person iam a cristian ill never will swing a bad to a person older them me or any bady my actitud as a good cristian at first will never be violence so thats the first flag the he can be violence, one blow i get that tow blow you wan to cost some damage to me look like self defence.
I'm not trying to put anyone down but, for all of you fighting about this nonsense, you need to stop. How can you say who was right or who was wrong? CNN's job is to write a good story. They did it. It's clearly biased, inflammatory, and stirs emotions. However, without having been there and not having seen what happened, you can't make an informed decision as to whom is the guilty party. Motive is what this case is all about and there doesn't seem to be any clear cut way to prove that based on what's written in this article. Personally, I think this whole situation could have been avoided if the guy had just moved his car. It's tragic that it ended up with so many lives ruined.
P.S. @OmakaRocks... I might suggest you study up on human anatomy. As a flight nurse/paramedic and a SWAT/ERT medic for 20 years, I can tell you that a shot below the waist not only goes contrary to training, it's more difficult to fix. You can lose 6 units of blood from a pelvic fracture. That's half your available supply and more than enough to kill you. Intestinal or bladder shots contaminate the abdominopelvic cavity with feces and urine so you get to die nice and slowly in lots of pain instead of fast. Also, the whole reason you're trained to aim for the chest is because it's BIG. You lessen your chance of missing and hitting some innocent bystander. Shooting at something moving while you're moving is not as easy as the movies make it look. I myself have never shot anyone and I plan to keep it that way. This is also why I completely support tasers. It's much easier to fix an electrocuted person than someone with a hole in them.
I'm appalled at people thinking he deserves to be in jail for this. This is nothing more than an act of self defense. Plain and simple. People, such as Joey, to say that he should be in jail...what facts do you have that say he should? Again, like I said to James, were you there? Were you a witness? Did you hear them say "Die Nigger Die"? (There's no point in shying away from the word, we're adults, it's not used for discrimination here)
Also, DID YOU READ THE STORY?! Why is this such a difficult thing? Are there too many words? Honestly. "But who among you, would not retreat to some form of protection if You were being brutally attack by three (3) black men? "
I'm going to assume that you just mean if roles were switched, such as instead of 3 white men in this story vs. 1 black male it was 3 black men and 1 white male. Exactly where did it say the three (3) WHITE males, BRUTALLY attacked him, prompting him to get his bat? The elder and Cambell were in a shouting match, and Richard stepped in between them. At that point, CAMBELL, assaulted Richard by punching him in the face...notice the point in the story where he said it felt like getting hit by a hammer.
Witnesses heard racist remarks, but none (ZERO), testified. Nobody KNOWS what was said, and neither do you. So do NOT assume that "Die Nigger Die" was said because there were racist remarks.
I swear when I read these comments it's like those children's shows that try and give two sides of the same story: One kid describes what happened, and someone who knows NOTHING gives a horrible gruesome rendition of what they THINK happened. Honestly, the only one I can think of, (this gets off topic but it serves a point) the 90's kid show, Hey Arnold. There is an episode where one of the kids is framed for pulling a fire alarm. One kid describes what they heard, saw, and there are cut scenes to show how it happened in their eyes. Then there's the kid who describes it, (like joey), with the most dark and sinister tones, where cut scenes are of darkness, lightning and thunder, and an evil scientist laugh. Joey's comment, and others, remind me of the dark, knowledge-less kid who just wants to see someone put away.
James Okonkwo,
"Also , SOMEONE PLEASE RESPOND TO THIS POINT, if charles was hitting his dad so hard with a bat that you could hear it thirty yards away as one witness attest, why did he not have any broken bones or serious injuries.."
Did you actually read the story? Or do you just assume that, because it was a white cop, it's an act of Racism and Rage?
Let me clue you in on a key piece of information here...from the story...
"But instead of getting in the Corvette and driving away, Campbell went to the trunk and pulled out a metal baseball bat. He struck the elder DiGuglielmo twice, shattering his kneecap and then cracking his wrist."
Notice, how it states...SHATTERING his kneecap, and CRACKING his wrist. You can ask any doctor, or any sane human being, that a shattered or cracked bone, is a broken bone and a serious injury.
And exactly how do you know that he went to the police station instead of the hospital? Were you there? Are you a witness? No, absolutely not. FYI, hospitals aren't some unholy ground that police officers can't walk in to. Chances are, while they were at the hospital, police questioned them and when they got out of the hospital.
Before you actually try and comment on something, read what it is you're trying to comment about. You have made yourself look like a jackass for trying to say that this was an act of rage and not self defense/protection
Justice ServedYOU ARE A MORON!!!!! You are right, Campbells will be with out a son that didnt deserve to live on this earth when he decided to take the unjustified law into his own hands and try to hurt another human being. Because of morons like you, the district attorney and Campbells family members, the rest of the world looks at United States as bunch of imbeciles. People like you bring this country to its knees.
A man died over a d*m parking space. Yes its MURDER, the Campbell is without their son for life then the Digugliemo should be without their son for life. The Digugliemo family still does not value Mr. Campbell's life, then they will be reminded every time they visit their son in PRISON not the cemetary. Justice was served.
I am disgusted reading some of these comments. Some of you folks have issues, mental that is. I dont care what happened prior to the guy pulling a bat out of his car, the fact that he went to the car and came back with a bat shows intent to hurt another human being. He should have called the police if he felt like he was assaulted. The fact that he came back with a weapon shows intent to hurt someone and him swinging that weapon gives every right for the victims family member to react in every way possible in order protect the person that is so close to them. Some of you say "well why didnt he just shoot him in the legs or shoulder or thigh"? Are you kidding me? If your father was in a process of possibly being seconds away from becoming a victim of a murder, would it be right for any one to tell you that you need to stop and think about how to properly defend your family member. NO!!!! NO!!!! NO!!!! Richie had every right to do what he did and I would have done the same thing. THIS IS THE REASON WHY THIS COUNTRY WILL HAVE ANOTHER RACE WAR SOON BECAUSE WHITES ARE NOW BECOMING THE MINORITIES AND OFTEN THE TARGETS BS Discrimination. I am middle eastern dissent and I can tell you god honest truth, when I was younger I often used the color of my skin as an excuse and cried the race card every chance I got in order to justify my mistakes and blame the consequences on others.
BTW...... I thought the "victims" brother was a complete moron and should never have been put on public airways.
James Okonkwo, Your comments are that of a typical uninformed and ignorant person. You make judgments regarding the appropriate use of deadly force based on what you've seen on TV and Movies. Do you also believe that there are Super Heroes in this World? That's correct, they only exist in the fantasy the world. It's a fantasy to believe that a person and even a trained police officer could pick and choose exactly where to shoot a person during a dynamic, highly stressed, and evolving situation. If you've ever been involved in a car wreck, why weren't you able to avoid it? You got trained during Driver's Ed and have been driving all you life, haven't you ? That's right, it's not the same when you are under high stress. Your judgment, performance, decision, fine motor skills all fail or diminish during high stress situations. Police officers are trained to shoot the "Center of Mass," the biggest area of the human body. Human bodies move dynamically during these situations. You could only hope to hit the center mass during these situations. If you tried to shoot other body parts like a leg or an arm, you'll likely miss and kill innocent bystanders. And even if you do hit those parts by some small miracle you'll probably get your head caved in by the baseball bat. Bullets don't stop body parts from working without them affecting the heart and/or the central nervous system. They are not magic. The are very small metal objects that penetrate the body. The off duty officer did exactly what he was trained to do - Stop the threat of his father getting his head being caved in by a metal bat wielding subject by firing the pistol. It's a miscarriage of justice that the District Attorney was more interested in convicting the off duty officer for political reasons knowing that this was a justified shooting. Review studies of the Force Science Institute (Dr. Bill Lewinski's studies regarding of dynamics of force response to threat) before you perpetuate the myths regarding how a person could and should respond during these types of incidents.
This story should terrify everyone who has any common sense and who might find himself needing to use a lawfully owned firearm in defense of himself or a loved one. "Justice"? Nothing resembling justice was served here! In fact the treatment of the NYPD Officer reflects hideous INjustice.
A boxers's HANDS are considered "deadly weapons"; why no consideration of this fact, and the fact that he — the boxer — threw the first blow? A baseball bat (wooden or aluminum) is a DEADLY WEAPON when wielded in an attack on another person. There was not the slightest justification for this boxer's using a deadly weapon in an attack on the Officer's father. The boxer was completely wrong from beginning. He was asked to move his vehicle — justifiably, not as harassment — yet for some insane reason he refused.
Anyone suggesting that the Officer, under this incredible stress and in this situation, could "shoot the felon in the leg" or "in the arm" or "in the shoulder" knows NOTHING about what happens in combat situations when one needs to use a firearm. It is difficult enough to hit a moving, aggressive felon in the "kill zone"; almost 100% impossible to hit him in a smaller, fast-moving body target.
With the apparent attitude of this boxer and his potential for both doing harm and FLYING INTO AN AGGRESSIVE RAGE OVER NOTHING, while arming himself and attacking another human being, it is obvious that sooner or later his mindless, impulse-dominated inclinations would cause serious trouble. When it came he had miscalculated and — I think properly — was stopped decisively in his tracks when stopping him became a necessity to protect innocent life.
User ehowardbailey wrote: - 3 minutes ago
"Sorry nigger tried to kill the old man."
And that mentality is why DiGuglielmo was convicted. Just as White was convicted for shooting a teen on his property, this man was convicted.
Why didn't they call the police?
This guy has been railroaded to jail.There is noway I whould have not done the same thing other than shoot him in the head one time.The third swing of the bat could have killed his father thats why he fired untill he was positve that his father could not be struck again.
Sorry nigger tried to kill the old man.
Richie killed him out of anger. He got punched in the face , do you think he was happy after that? Then he saw his father get hit with a bat, supposedly, this is the point where he snapped and decided he was not going to just defend his father, but murder charles. Were talking about a seasoned law enforcement officer that has countless hours of markmanship training. He could have easily shot him i.n the leg,thigh, groin , or how about the shoulder that he was swinging the bat with. Why did he have to shot him THREE TIMES IN THE CHEST, because he was in a murderous rage. Also , SOMEONE PLEASE RESPOND TO THIS POINT, if charles was hitting his dad so hard with a bat that you could hear it thirty yards away as one witness attest, why did he not have any broken bones or serious injuries, "how do you know", BECAUSE THEY WENT TO THE POLICE STATION AFTER THE SHOOTING AND NOT THE HOSPITAL !!! Doesnt sound like deadly force to me , i doubt he even hit him with the bat. As far as race i dont know or care if it had anything to do with it. How can the DA be racially motivated and shes white in a majority white district, what would she have got outta that. I find it funny that people label this a miscarriage of justice but casey anthony gettin off, rodney king getting by three cops with billy clubs ( remember...lethal force), and the newlywed gentlemen being shot forty odd times by NYPD was not, SMH!!!
Correction, Mr. Campbell (not Williams)
Abdolutely a tragedy. A tragedy that someone has lost their life and a tragedy for DiGuglielmo and his family. Clearly, this should have been at most a mansalughter case, not murder. DiGuglielmo would be out with time served if he was convicted of manslaughter. I agree with many of you, he should have shot at his leg and if Williams didn't stop, shoot his other leg, until he was stopped with the bat. However, this is all really difficult to determine with watching a couple of segments from CNN on the subject.
You mentioned how black people get away with murder. You know it's not true.
It's okay for a white man barge into someone home a snatched a black boy out of his bed while sleeping and brutally killed the innocent child by cutting off his private parts and stuffed it into his mouth; after the court verdict, the white men who killed the little boy admitted on cameras they killed him.
Who I am talking about is Emmett Till.
In the Richard DiGuglielmo case, the judge did not allow them to mention it was racially motivated.
Wrong is wrong, right is right! Through Jesus Christ, justice will prevail. This story affected me deeply, why? because I'm sick of people using the race card for convience. I believe Richie should be given another trial, for if I had been in that situation I would have done the same thing. I pray for both families but I pray mighty for Richie and his family because we all know that Mr. Campbell had issues due to prior offenses. It is sad that someone died, but I am praying to "God" who has all power to release Richie so he and his family can find peace and happiness for the remainder of their lives.
I understand and have many of the same sentiments and passions as other commenters, however, DiGuglielmo Jr. went to prison because he did not act in self defense. His life was never threatened. His action were reckless especially as a sworn protector of the law and he killed a man. I don't believe the DA should have charged him with murder under the circumstances, but legally, there was little choice. As far as race playing a roll, I can only say that if it were a substantiated factor in the crime, it would have found it's way into the trial and appellate reviews. I feel for both families and believe that if his defense team would seek a lesser charge, DiGuglielmo Jr. will be a free man.
Richie should be in jail. Yes, police officers are trained to shoot center mass; they are also trained to fire a warning shot, IF possible. Now the question is this: What was said to this innocent patron when he raced back to his car to see the vandilism that was being done to his car? What was said to this young man to make things turn violent? I'm sure some words were exchanged initially. But who among you, would not retreat to some form of protection if You were being brutally attack by three (3) black men? Well this young man did the same thing; he retreated to his protection. Richie's father, have suggested or would have you to believe that the (fight) 3 againt 1 was over. Please, that police officer would have never left his father out there unless he too was rushing to get a weapon. I suppose 3 against 1 wasn't enough. And furthermore, you all are forgetting that other witnesses heard racist overtones being yelled during the time of the shooting. Die N-word die! Is that the way the police are trained? Take off the blinders people. Just because he's a white man doesn't mean that he was right. Someone died over a 2 -3 minute parking spot. That's the real travesty.
This is a yet another sad story of injustice turned upside down. I heard it said on CNN that Richard DiGuglielmo has lost faith in our justice system. He should know that he is not alone. It appears to me that racism has taken on an inverted position. I am embarrassed for our great nations justice system that at one time, every citizen believed once believed in. It's obvious that it's failing. I see people who can murder their own child and go free and become a celebrity and I see what I deem to be justified homicide by self-defense and due to the political racist pressure, our justice system yet failed us again. God have mercy on our country.
Larry Fisher
Fort Mill, SC
I have to say that most african americans when they brake the law and get caught in the process therefore end up hurt or killed of course this happends because they are black and everybody is a racist.... that ain't right!. u know what I'm saying??? I have a friend that got killed by a black guy. this guy stole a van, was running from the police, ran a stop sign, and killed my friend that was on his way work............ he was not charge with Murder he got charge with manslaughter whyyyy????? because it was not with the intent on killing my friend but his intent was to run from the police and in the process well he killed a person.... that is complete Bull *&^^%%it. In this case, the son was protecting his father from this guy that had a weapon in his hand. It was self-defense the intent of the person was to stop the guy with the bat.... he should have gotten at the most a voluntary manslaugher charge. Oh well, all I can say I would have done the same, protect my family that is it.
I meant to say: A man has died...
A man is died. The journalist did not acknowledge the fact a man was shot to death.
There were three men against one man.
Richard DiGuglielmo is still alive.
My tipping point is the three men could have held the victim down like they did earlier in the fight.
Richard DiGuglielmo is not above the law and justice was served.
Richard DiGuglielmo did not have shoot him and it was racially motivated. If they go to court again, the federal court needs to allow how the incident was racially motivated.
William appears racially motivated himself. In a split second when Richard DiGuglielmo's father's life was in danger, his cop's instinct kicked in. That's what he was trained for. Besides, a wounded angry man could be more dangerous and more deadly. William, if you were in Richard DiGuglielmo's shoes, could you have only shot an angry aggressor's left hand holding a metal baseball bat swinging at your father when you only had 2 seconds to react?
william - 3 minutes ago
I Don't Care what u say the cop could have aimed for the legs if all he was really trying to do was stop Campbell all he had to do was shoot for the legs not the chest the killing was racially motivated cops to often aim to kill when all that is needed is maiming.