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Byron Smith convicted of premeditated murder of two teens during home break-in
- Thread starter Anton Sugar
- Start date
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psynergylover
Member
I remember watching ID/Dateline/20/20(whatever the program was called)
I was actully like "why is this news" as I agreed with the first half hour as it seemed like a man defending his house....then the tapes were played.....
...cold-blooded killer...
I was actully like "why is this news" as I agreed with the first half hour as it seemed like a man defending his house....then the tapes were played.....
...cold-blooded killer...
yep I agree. That went so far beyond self defense. threats were elimnated with one shot, every extra shot says a lot. also its great he recorded pretty much screwed himself over. I hate thieves like the next person but this is far far far beyond what those kids deserved which is not being executed for burglary.
Anton Sugar
Member
Yeah, it's really sickening.
Indeed. But man what the heck is wrong with people ? Like how can a human being be so evil ? It just boggles my mind.
Part of it is tribalism. We are empathetic creatures, but we also have biological predispositions to throw empathy out the window when it comes to the "other"
GuitarAtomik
Member
My thoughts exactly on the matter.
Abyssal God
Banned
I remember this news but I had never heard the audio, holy shit.
You would think them breaking the law doesn't give him license to kill them. It's the police's job to deal with people who violate the law, not the general public's.
It is truly horrifying.
Agreed. He already incapacitated them, he didn't need to completely kill them. At that point he completely crossed the line on defending himself and went straight to murder.
Fisticuffs
Member
I listened to this and.. wow.. high levels of anxiety surged through me. That was terrifying
N
NinjaFridge
Unconfirmed Member
He didn't want a peaceful ending, he wanted blood.
I read a transcript of it, and it was so upsetting I still remember it at random times and get upset. It's definitely not the kind of thing I'd want to hear. The man is a monster.
Familienoberhauptvogel
Banned
See this is an odd way to say this, you have the right to defend yourself anywhere and this includes deadly force if necessary. What this actually implies is you have the right to defend your stuff with deadly force, which I disagree with. You can call the cops and you can hide or leave the house while they are on the way. If the intruders become a danger to you or people close to you the former applies again regardless of location.
Another disturbing aspect of this case are/were all the people who supported this guy. Saw a special on the case and he had quite a few friends who claimed he must have just been under extreme stress; complete denial of how bloodthirsty he was.
On the flip side there was a lot of cognitive dissonance from the friends and family of the deceased acting like they were angels but that is expected and only natural.
On the flip side there was a lot of cognitive dissonance from the friends and family of the deceased acting like they were angels but that is expected and only natural.
Jack The Nipper
Banned
The question in my mind is how do you actually lure in thieves? Seems rather strange. You can't technically lure them just moving your vehicle. So if his truck is borrowed, getting repaired he could be killed?
I get he moved it but the point is they shouldn't be going in.
Obviously this isn't my point in relation to the shooting which is horrible
No way they should have been shot but come on, don't break into people's homes. You shouldn't be doing that obviously and you can easily get shot.. I admit it be scared as hell at intruders. We lived on a small drive, had a few trucks come to our drive way which is well off the road. Always made me feel super afraid and couldn't stop looking at them through the blinds. They walked around the house once. That feeling is not known til you're in it.
Even with that said, I don't think he was afraid but not sure
Too many crazy people to be breaking into homes though.
I get he moved it but the point is they shouldn't be going in.
Obviously this isn't my point in relation to the shooting which is horrible
No way they should have been shot but come on, don't break into people's homes. You shouldn't be doing that obviously and you can easily get shot.. I admit it be scared as hell at intruders. We lived on a small drive, had a few trucks come to our drive way which is well off the road. Always made me feel super afraid and couldn't stop looking at them through the blinds. They walked around the house once. That feeling is not known til you're in it.
Even with that said, I don't think he was afraid but not sure
Too many crazy people to be breaking into homes though.
So you recognise cognitive dissonance works for the victims families, don't you think it applies to the guiltys? Perhaps you have a little bit yourself at this moment.
I remember this thread from ages ago, its just a sad story and this was the right call from the Jury. Though he was guilty he was the victim of several break-ins and who knows how that unhinges a man and messes with his head. They could easily be the sort of frightening events that trigger psychosis. Nobody can say that Smith was a bloodthirsty monster from the outset.
Jack The Nipper
Banned
It's hard to say how he was feeling.
But he should have called the police and tried to stay away
But he should have called the police and tried to stay away
Friends are gonna look for circumstances that justify their crimes, they probably don't want to think that they lacked the ability to discern that they were friends with a bloodthirsty murderer.
What worries me more are the people who supported or congratulated him for killing the thieves.
Listen to the audio dude.
Optimusdouche
Banned
I don't think it's correct to say he lured them in at all.
He was prepared. That's a different thing. It's not like he picked them out, and then somehow tricked them into coming into his house. They did that themselves. Being repeatedly robbed is a massive psychological violation. After going through that, I am not that shocked by his actions. I think many people would like to kill their thieves.
He may be deranged and a sicko, but maybe the thieves made him that way. And is this man even deranged or is he a product of American gun culture and laws? The police is trained to empty their guns on a threat, not shocking that an ordinary citizen would think doing the same is fine on someone who breaks into your house.
I mean American culture pretty much says, if you break into someones house, you're fair game. If you attack a cop, you're fair game. If this guy wasn't talking to himself, and recording it, I don't think many would have a problem with the rest of the details, including awaiting thieves with guns in a dark basement.
He was prepared. That's a different thing. It's not like he picked them out, and then somehow tricked them into coming into his house. They did that themselves. Being repeatedly robbed is a massive psychological violation. After going through that, I am not that shocked by his actions. I think many people would like to kill their thieves.
He may be deranged and a sicko, but maybe the thieves made him that way. And is this man even deranged or is he a product of American gun culture and laws? The police is trained to empty their guns on a threat, not shocking that an ordinary citizen would think doing the same is fine on someone who breaks into your house.
I mean American culture pretty much says, if you break into someones house, you're fair game. If you attack a cop, you're fair game. If this guy wasn't talking to himself, and recording it, I don't think many would have a problem with the rest of the details, including awaiting thieves with guns in a dark basement.
NYCmetsfan
Banned
He moved his car so people would rob him while he was there with a gun and traps
The entire intent of his actions (turning off the lights, moving his car) was to make it appear that no one was home. All in order to get the robbers to come into his booby trapped house, so he could kill them.
He did not specifically target an individual on the street, but he lured thieves into his home just so he could kill them under the guise of "self-defense"
It was completely premeditated murder designed to look like a home invasion gone wrong.
Optimusdouche
Banned
He moved his car so he could be at home in case people robbed him.That's not proof he wanted to be robbed. Being prepared for a bad event that you know is going to happen, is not the same thing as actually creating this bad event . No one wants to be robbed.
Luring them would mean he actually selected his prey and tricked them into deciding to choose to rob his house. Perhaps, I am nitpicking, but I don't think so. I think there is distinction between the motives. Luring implies he was just bloodthirsty and wanted to kill, and this was his chance, rather than this being a case of a homeowner believing it is okay to kill thieves.
Megalosaro
Banned
He baited them though...
SaganIsGOAT
Junior Member
Good. Fuck you sociopathic cunt
Its the exact same thing.
A homeowner who believed it was okay to kill thieves, and was bloodthirsty enough to get some thieves on his property so he could do just that.
You are defending a man who baited two teenagers with drug problems onto his property, knocked them unconscious, and then executed them. On a tarp he had placed in advance to prevent their blood from staining his precious property.
excelsiorlef
Member
He hid his car because he wanted people to break in. He lay in wait to execute them.
One party committed burglary and the other committed murder and said some disturbing ass shit.
My point is the former is more understandable than the latter which disturbs me. My post was clearly discussing how both sides had cognitive dissonance; what is up with your response?
I'll continue to be disturbed by it while trying to figure out why my post garnered these responses lol.
Wolfe
Member
He turned off the lights, moved his car and set up a booby trap. Did you listen to the tape? I mean everything he did was set up so that he could kill whoever decided to steal from him...
His train of thought appears to be more of "I will set up a situation where I am more likely to be robbed, and will set up a trap so I can shoot and kill whoever does try to rob me" and less of "if I get robbed again I will be so scared I might shoot the robbers."
I understand the psychology behind it; I'm still disturbed by it and can't relate.
I've unfriended people for moral indescretions far below bloodthirsty murder.
You guys are welcome to not be disturbed by it.
Mammoth Jones
Member
Agreed complete. But like I said, there's rules to this shit. Can't bait intruders, kill em, wait a day, move bodies..etc.
Hope this guy rots.
Everything he did is like the opposite of what you'd want to do to be prepared to stop a burglary. You don't unscrew the light bulbs, you turn your lights on. You don't move your car, you leave it in the driveway. Criminals will generally stay away from a home if it appears to be occupied because that's an awesome way to get shot or go to jail.
a very cute dog
Member
This reads like erotica for pro-gun conservatives.
No shit. His goal wasn't to stop a burglary. It was to kill some bad guys.
timetokill
Banned
Just listened to the recording... goddamn bone-chilling.
Norwegian Rudo
Member
Am I remembering this wrong, or did the police suspect he had actually tipped them off about an empty house to rob? The police could never prove it so it wasn't brought up at trial. Maybe I'm thinking of another case though, it's just a fuzzy memory.
Seems very weird though that he would make all these preparations just in case somebody came that specific night.
RPGCrazied
Member
Good. Like others in this thread have said, rot in prison you lunatic.
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