by Thandisizwe Chimurenga
The prosecution began its opening statement in the trial of Ted Wafer this morning by showing two photographs of 19-year old Renisha McBride.
“This is Renisha McBride prior to Nov. 1 2013,” said Wayne County Assistant District Attorney Deborah Hageman-Clark.
“And this is Renisha McBride the morning of Nov. 2, 2013,” she stated, showing McBride laying prone with her feet at Wafer’s door and her upper body on the grass where it appears she had fallen backwards. McBride’s head wound was also visible.
“This trial will tell you how Renisha McBride ended up on Ted Wafer’s porch in this photo,” said the prosecutor.
It was a graphic opening to the trial of the 55-year old airport maintenance worker, charged with 2nd-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of McBride.
The prosecution continued its brief opening statement in a matter-of-fact manner, listing the witnessesit would be calling and what they would be testifying to. Hageman-Clark contended that McBride had not tried to break into and enter Wafer’s home and that there was no evidence to prove otherwise; that McBride had been shot through a locked screen door; that Wafer’s gun could not have been fired accidentally, and that Wafer had other options he could have utilized instead of resorting to use of a shotgun. She asked that in the end the jury find Wafer guilty.
Cheryl Carpenter, representing Wafer with her father Mack as co-counsel, painted a picture of Wafer being awakened by loud banging on the side and front of his home from possibly more than one person. According to the defense, Wafer does not have a landline and could not find his cell phone to call 911 initially. Carpenter described Wafer during her hour-long opening statement as going to his front door and looking out his peep hole and seeing a “shadowy figure.”
“His heart is coming out of his chest,” Carpenter said. “He was afraid for his life.”
Jurors were shown both the insert and the metal screen door that were on Wafer’s front door the morning of Nov. 2. In addition to the hole produced by the shotgun blast Carpenter also pointed out what she said was damage to the door allegedly committed by McBride. Wafer made the decision to get his shotgun after hearing the sound of metal breaking on his screen door, she said.
Carpenter described her client as opening his front door and being startled by McBride which led to the fatal shot.
“I just shot somebody on my front porch with a shotgun, banging on my door,” Wafer said when he called 911.
Monica McBride, mother of Renisha; Amber Jenkins, best friend of Renisha; Carmen Beasley, owner of the vehicle that Renisha crashed into; and Corp. Ruben Gonzales of the City of Dearborn Police Deparment, also testified.
Wafer could face a maximum of life in prison for the 2nd degree murder charge, 15 years for manslaughter, and possibly two years for the felony gun charge.
The trial is expected to last 10 days.
follow @idabeewells for up-to-the-minute trial coverage.
Donald Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris must be a wake up call to Black people. The Democratic Party is a dead end and a movement killer. Our survival depends on getting that corrupt wing of the…
“I believe that democracy has so far disappeared in the United States that no "two evils" exist. There is but one evil party with two names, and it will be elected despite all I can do or say.”
Bill Clinton couldn’t be cozier, or more richly rewarded, in what he calls “the dictator’s club.”
For more than five decades the Sahrawi people of Northeast Africa have been denied their rightful place in the international community.
In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book. This week’s featured authors are Nathan Kalman-Lamb and Derek Silva.
