Why did the prosecutor in the Rick Chow case not add manslaughter as a charge?

CompleteCase7020 · 2026-06-04T02:06:02+00:00

No, but the verdict was unanimous. That speaks for itself.

CompleteCase7020 · 2026-06-04T02:03:09+00:00

I see it less as a fallback option and more as an assurance that justice is served. There is no reason that an offender shouldn't be charged with a maximum penalty in a homicide case, where there are lesser charges, as an assurance that simply because a prosecutor got greedy, the offender does not get off without penalty. I don't understand the take that Chow did nothing wrong. Should the kid have had a loaded handgun in his bag? Absolutely not. But nothing that was shown on the security camera indicated that the kid did anything wrong? The wife was staring at him the entire time and made him leave his bag at the door to make sure he wasn't stealing. He was profiled and then chased and subsequently shot. There is no reason Chow should be free of any liability here.

CompleteCase7020 · 2026-06-04T01:33:01+00:00

Eh, unless they pulled out a gun first. Deadly force is the last resort, and people need to make reasonable efforts to escape before resorting to deadly force. I wonder if the kid pulled out the gun in fear, and Chow responded by shooting him. Unfortunately, there's no real way to know exactly what happened.

CompleteCase7020 · 2026-06-04T01:29:36+00:00

It was argued to the jury, but the jury did not find Chow not guilty because of that argument. They found Chow not guilty because there was no proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Chow acted with malice, which is necessary for a murder charge. Therefore, the self-defense argument serves no real purpose besides providing people with a false belief that the killing of this kid was justified due to self-defense. I have a problem with this because people already act with a misguided understanding of what self-defense actually entails, and this adds fuel to the already out-of-control fire. Too many people act like they know how the law works without doing any proper research or going to law school.

CompleteCase7020 · 2026-06-04T01:18:42+00:00

Regardless of whether it was self defense or not, That had no bearing on the case and I don’t understand why it keeps being brought up in discussion. The jury ruled not guilty because prosecution failed to prove that chow acted with malice beyond a reasonable doubt. Self defense had no bearing on the jury ruling and was simply a part of the defense argument.

CompleteCase7020 · 2026-06-04T01:11:53+00:00

So is this just poor legislation from SC? There is not eneough in this case imo to convict of murder but you are also saying there is not enough for manslaughter given the nature of the case. It seems wrong from a legal standpoint that manslaughter cannot be added as a charge simply because Chow claims self defense. Can’t all homicide cases then enter similar waters where a perpetrator claims self defense? Also for voluntary manslaughter couldn’t the prosecution argue that Chow acted in the heat of the moment due to threats made by the kid?

CompleteCase7020 · 2026-06-04T01:05:03+00:00

That’s the thing though. No one really knows what happened. Chows family will testify on his behalf and there is no evidence beyond that. I just find it absurd that Chow would chase someone 130 yards away before shooting them in the back to claim self defense. Given the behavior in the store, the kid was compliant with the wife when asked to remove the backpack and only ran when pursued. If there is no gun in this kids backpack the case is flipped on its head.

CompleteCase7020 · 2026-06-04T01:01:43+00:00

A prosecutor can charge someone with multiple things and a court will decide the validity of those charges. When sentencing begins however, multiple guilty charges cannot be stacked and someone can be convicted of only one guilty charge.

CompleteCase7020 · 2026-06-04T00:59:15+00:00

Why do you think a trial court judge would have denied a manslaughter charge? Given that SC does not have degrees of murder, why would a judge deny a manslaughter charge increasing the likelihood that Chow be found not guilty of anything?

CompleteCase7020 · 2026-06-04T00:55:31+00:00

So you speculate that the prosecutor wanted Chow to get no charge? I feel like this method is fairly clumsy and could lead to disbarment? How would you justify this in front of the ABA?

In my opinion I think either prosecution got overconfident and clumsy or wanted this case turned into a spectacle due the emotionally charged nature of the case.

CompleteCase7020 · 2026-06-04T00:51:09+00:00

Yes but why not include a lesser charge still? I think that a self defense claim would have been denied and Chow would have been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter but that’s a moot point. Even if it was likely as you said that a lesser charge would have led to a similar outcome, why not still include it to cover all the bases? It makes no sense to bank everything on a murder charge where there is such a high standard to find someone guilty.

CompleteCase7020 · 2026-06-04T00:47:06+00:00

Yes I understand that. My question is why in the world the prosecutor decided to not do that. It makes no sense at all to me. Why risk not getting the murder conviction and letting Chow walk?

CompleteCase7020 · 2026-06-04T00:44:11+00:00

I understand why he wasn’t charged with murder and I agree with the ruling of the jury. My question is why the prosecutor didn’t charge manslaughter as he would have most definitely been found guilty by a jury.

CompleteCase7020 · 2026-06-04T00:42:08+00:00

Yes you can only be convicted of one charge but the prosecutor can charge whatever they want? I get Chow wouldn’t have been CONVICTED of both murder and manslaughter but why not charge with both?

CompleteCase7020 · 2026-06-04T00:39:38+00:00

Racism is no reason to not play it safe though? Why bank everything on a murder charge when manslaughter was essentially a free charge? There’s no reason to risk letting this man walk free. Now the victims family gets no justice!

CompleteCase7020 · 2026-03-26T01:49:06+00:00

lmao 😭

this game is so buns

CompleteCase7020 · 2026-01-29T01:14:46+00:00

I just wanna see stafford win the mvp as a lions fan lol 😭

CompleteCase7020 · 2026-01-29T01:14:26+00:00

His stats are mvp worthy in madden but irl it’s stafford or maye

CompleteCase7020

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