Court Rules FBI Sharpshooter Can Be Tried Over Ruby Ridge
From Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO -- A
federal appeals court ruled today that an
FBI sharpshooter can be
tried for manslaughter in the slaying of
white separatist Randy
Weaver's wife during the 1992 Ruby Ridge
standoff in Idaho.
In a case testing
whether federal agents are immune to state
prosecution, the 9th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals cleared the way
for Idaho prosecutors to
charge agent Lon T. Horiuchi in the death
of Vicki Weaver, 42. The
federal government declined to prosecute
the agent.
"When federal
officers violate the Constitution, either through
malice or excessive
zeal, they can be held accountable for violating
the state's criminal
laws," Judge Alex Kozinski wrote in the ruling.
The court agreed
with Boundary County, Idaho, attorney Ramsey
Clark, a former U.S.
attorney general who argued in December that
immunity cannot be
granted until there's a trial to determine
whether Horiuchi acted
unlawfully.
"When federal law
enforcement agents carry out their
responsibilities, they
can cause destruction of property, loss of
freedom, and as in this
case, loss of life-- all which might violate
the state's criminal
laws," Kozinski said.
There was no
immediate comment from Clark.
The standoff in
northern Idaho prompted a nationwide debate on
the use of force by
federal agencies. Ruby Ridge, where the Weaver
family lived, has become
synonymous with high-profile clashes,
including the Branch
Davidian siege near Waco, Texas, the Freemen
standoff and the
Oklahoma City bombing.
The standoff began
after federal agents tried to arrest Randy
Weaver for failing to
appear in court to face charges of selling two
illegal sawed-off
shotguns.
The cabin had been
under surveillance for several months when
the violence began with
the deaths of Deputy U.S. Marshal William
Degan, Weaver's
14-year-old son, Samuel, and the Weaver family
dog, Striker.
During the
standoff, Horiuchi shot and killed Weaver's wife and
wounded family friend
Kevin Harris. Witnesses said the
sharpshooter fired as
Vicki Weaver held open the cabin door, her
10-month-old baby in her
arms, to let her husband, their daughter
and Harris inside.
Horiuchi has said
he didn't see Vicki Weaver when he fired at
Harris, who was armed
and was ducking inside the cabin. He also
said he fired to protect
a government helicopter overhead.
A wounded Harris
later surrendered, as did Weaver. Both men
were acquitted of
murder, conspiracy and other federal charges.
Weaver was convicted of
failing to appear for trial on the firearms
charge.
The Justice
Department last summer settled the last civil lawsuit
stemming from the
standoff. The government admitted no
wrongdoing, but paid
Harris $380,000 to drop his $10 million civil
damage suit.
In 1995, the
government paid Weaver and his three surviving
children $3.1 million
for the killings of Weaver's wife and son.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/updates2/ap_ruby010605.htm
