Under the laws of NY state, he should be charged. And second degree manslaughter is the correct charge, under the letter of the law he recklessly killed another man, IMO because he did not understand at what point you must release a choke.
At the same time, I also believe a jury should find him not guilty. I do not believe he crossed a line in which he decided to act in a way that is reckless.
I agree. He should be charged but ultimately let go.
Read this while taking a big shit...cause it's long.
I'm going to take this into a different perception for a moment.
Something that will likely come into play here soon.
He appears to have a Rear Naked Choke on the guy, which is what many military and law enforcement are taught (along with dickheaded Wrist Locks) to subdue people.
One thing about that is (having been in one and having put people in them) you really don't know how much power you are putting on someone.
Anyone who has done a shred of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or the like, will tell you, it really doesn't take a lot of pressure to do damage...and people aware of tapping, are going to tap fast.
But, there are exceptions and some people resist and/can allow their joints to be bent really far before submitting.
Also, some people simply aren't focused on pain, given adrenaline or just the mindset.
In the video, nobody is speaking up to say, "you're killing him" nobody is really doing much of anything...and when you are choked like that, you can suddenly panic and try to move out of the position, so the Marine could apply more pressure to keep you subdued because you just threatened his life a few mins earlier.
He doesn't know your threshold for pain...and he isn't going to give you an inch if it means you could hurt him.
It wouldn't shock me if he went in and out of consciousness, when you go out, then come to, you shake and get moving again...especially since I read the hold was on for 15 mins...which is 14:50 too long for a normal person.
Sadly, the man isn't normal.
Furthermore, an effective application of this, is the person doesn't even know it's been applied.
This may be a refresher for some, so bear with me,
A choke is defined (by most Combat Sports, but I am paraphrasing) as applying pressure to the arteries in order to subdue someone.
A strangle is cutting off air flow affecting your breathing.
So, someone is still able to breathe but may not even know in a few seconds, they're about to go to sleep.
That was what happened here...two conflicting elements that not only offset one another, but aren't intentional:
1. The Marine didn't know how much pressure he was putting on the man, his goal was to subdue him with a hold you use to subdue someone with. He used his judgment based on the movements of the man in the hold...and he kept it on based off the prior threats and continued movements. Also, the man did not indicate he was in any danger nor was anyone communicating to the Marine about the mans condition.
2. The man in the hold, did not indicate his condition, and given his mental state, was unable to properly arrange his cognitive responses to immediate danger. Both his mental state and physical state of mind, gave the false impression he was resisting more, when he likely wasn't.
In the end, it's unfortunate life was lost and sadly it's become a problem of systems in place.
I believe the man who died should have been properly medicated and treated. I also believe the Marine when he said he absolutely did not intend to kill him.
