Patterico's Pontifications

2/27/2010

Investigating the Shooting of Amy Bishop’s Brother

Filed under: Crime,Politics — DRJ @ 9:42 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

JammieWearingFool links a Boston Herald article on the investigation into the shooting of Amy Bishop’s brother:

“Accused Alabama campus killer Amy Bishop insists the 1986 shooting of her brother was an accident, even as authorities probe whether she may have been inspired by a celebrity murder case in a National Enquirer article found on her bedroom floor.

Norfolk District Attorney William Keating said Bishop’s actions after the shooting of her 18-year-old brother were “parallel” to the escape plan of the killers depicted in the news article, which the Herald has learned was an Enquirer piece about the 1986 shooting of “Dallas” star Patrick Duffy’s parents in Montana.”

Like the teenage killers in the Duffy case, Bishop fled to a car dealership to commandeer an escape vehicle after the shooting.

JWF also recaps recent news about Massachusetts Congressman William Delahunt, the former DA who may have been instrumental in the decision not to charge Bishop in her brother’s death.

— DRJ

22 Responses to “Investigating the Shooting of Amy Bishop’s Brother”

  1. Once you’ve killed your brother, what would you stop at?

    nk (db4a41)

  2. That’s very Biblical, nk.

    DRJ (daa62a)

  3. Howe worked out of Delahunt’s office. Delahunt will stay overseas as long as possible. Maybe forever.

    They would usually be able to make this go away, but there are injured victims and dead family members of victims in Alabama. Delahunt and his boy Howe are going to face justice. Howe might plea bargain to help put Delahunt away for 20 years minimum.

    j curtis (5126e4)

  4. I still don’t understand Delahunt’s motive for quashing the case. Was the mother a political player ? I read she held some local office but there must be more to it. They said she was the only witness but the fact that Amy took off and tried to steal a car makes it a lot more than an accident.

    Mike K (2cf494)

  5. I want to know if the mother’s credibility on not hearing the”accidental” shot upstairs was tested. Shotgun blasts are LOUD. And they are relatively low frequency so the sound will penetrate walls. Without evidence, my assumption is the mother lied about not hearing the shot. If that’s the case, the mother has no credibility on the “accidental” regarding the brother’s shooting either.

    Dan S (00ed95)

  6. Is the mother still alive? It was her statement as the only living witness that the shooting was an accident that stopped any prosecution.

    Yes, the prosecution could have built a convincing case, but once she testified as a defense witness, no way the jury could have convicted.

    Charlie B (46471a)

  7. Yes, the prosecution could have built a convincing case, but once she testified as a defense witness, no way the jury could have convicted.

    I, as a juror, would not necessarily give great weight to the testimony of the mother of the defendant.

    James B. Shearer (3e39c1)

  8. And even if you couldn’t convict her for murder there were numerous other things she could have been charged with.

    James B. Shearer (3e39c1)

  9. Yes, the mother was indeed a political player. And from my recollection, she may have had a little power over Delahunt in his position of DA. Lemme try to find some info on that.

    John Hitchcock (d83192)

  10. From NECN:

    Chief Frazier said Judy Bishop, Amy’s mother, was on the town Board of Personnel at the time. Any connection between the 1986 case and her mother’s position would be speculative.

    I don’t know if that means she had any power over the DA (Delahunt), but to me that means she did, indeed, have power over the Police Chief (Frazier) and, possibly, over other police at the time of Amy’s murder of her brother. (I’m not in any way involved with law enforcement or the legal community so I don’t need to “allege” anything.)

    John Hitchcock (d83192)

  11. I’ve read that Rep. Delahunt has been emptying his campaign coffers for months now, with many family members on his payroll.

    He realizes his career prospects are toast.

    GeneralMalaise (c58b20)

  12. At #6, Charlie B wrote, “…but once she (the mother) testified as a defense witness, no way the jury could have convicted.”

    I disagree. Conviction was more than likely. The problem is multiple shots, 3 rounds from a shotgun just isn’t an accident. And, it’s easy to prove.

    You have to get the gun, find the shells, load the gun with at least 3 rounds, point it at the target, pull the trigger, and then absorb considerable recoil. Then chase down your target and try again, and again. All this inside a home where the smoke, noise, and smell of cordite will be confined and amplified.

    Simply take the jury to an inside location the size of a home and put a shotgun in each of their hands. Let each jury member shoot the gun 3 times. Then ask if Amy’s third shot was the result of an accident.

    ropelight (7ce757)

  13. Ropelight: You would do that. Maybe the prosecution wasn’t that interested in a conviction?

    KingShamus (fb8597)

  14. Here’s a link regarding Delahunt’s dumping of campaign funds, much of it to family members.

    Old Coot (9e58d8)

  15. Yeah, it’s kind of like that reformer judge in Chicago last year who committed suicide with three shots to the head.

    Reflexes or something.

    Mike K (2cf494)

  16. Comment by Mike K — 2/28/2010 @ 9:25 am

    Must have used a Glock-18!

    AD - RtR/OS! (dbf36d)

  17. Old Coot, that link is disgusting. With that information, coupled with the Amy Bishop case where the mother was definitely a political power-broker, I cannot envision anything other than a 30-year career as a hired-hand for Delahunt and his heavy work to funnel money to his family.

    John Hitchcock (d83192)

  18. John: It is disgusting. And even more vile is the obvious fact that there are likely thousands of elected officials doing much the same thing. Cowardly Charlie Rangel would be but one example. And please don’t get me started about John Murtha.

    Old Coot (9e58d8)

  19. @#12:

    The shotgun in question was a pump-action shotgun. After the first shot was fired in the upstairs bedroom, an overt act was required to cycle the action and load a fresh shell. She shot her brother, then willingly cycled the action once again and fired again. The only shot that comes close to accidental is the first. Shots 2 & 3 required an overt action, one she apparently willingly committed.

    Captain Ned (28c191)

  20. And please don’t get me started about John Murtha.

    You guys never fail to kick a man when he’s down.

    Comment by imadouchebag

    Dmac (799abd)

  21. You Bush-apologists must realize elections have consequences. And that there are separate rules for American royalty such as the incandescently superior Kennedy clan. Rather shocking that Papa Joe couldn’t completely cover up for Teddy and allow dear Ted to be Prez in lieu of someone like Tricky Dicky.

    Someone remind me which Congressman from the Republic of Taxachusetts won re-election repeatedly after a big scandal. And of course Teflon Barney can do no wrong, whether it was a homosexual prostitution ring being run out of hsi basement or receiving large contributions from one of those housing ripoff agencies, Fanny ir Freddy, I don’t recall?

    In any case, one might wonder just what all amy bishop achieved of an evil nature in all those years she escaped justice after shooting her brother.

    Oh, I do hope the Ca. authorities take account that the marvelous director Polanski is winning more awards and any further harassment directed at him shows how petty American justice can be. Watch him acting in that classic Fearless Vampire Killers and know he has immense talents.

    aoibhneas (6e9f23)

  22. With a background like hers, Amy would have been a shoe-in for tenure in the English department.

    Huey (efe02b)


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