When George Zimmerman was allowed to walk after killing Trayvon Martin, it was a travesty on two counts. Not only did Zimmerman essentially get away with murder, but the verdict sent a message that vigilante justice is acceptable.
Well, we got an example of what that jury enabled earlier this month in Clayton County, Georgia, south of Atlanta. A woman witnessed a man appearing to have left the scene after slamming into a truck. She took it upon herself to chase him down, then shot him with her pistol. For that, she faces charges of felony murder. Despite that, yesterday she was allowed out on bail.
Hannah Payne, 21, is charged with murder in the death of 62-year-old Kenneth Herring.
A preliminary hearing determined earlier this week there was probable cause to proceed with her prosecution. Conditions of her bond, set at $100,000, include requirements that she wear an ankle monitor and stay away from the other principles involved in the case.
A woman who followed a man after a hit-and-run and allegedly shot and killed him can be released on bond as she awaits a murder trial, a judge in Clayton County ruled Friday morning.
Hannah Payne, 21, is charged with murder in the death of 62-year-old Kenneth Herring.
A preliminary hearing determined earlier this week there was probable cause to proceed with her prosecution. Conditions of her bond, set at $100,000, include requirements that she wear an ankle monitor and stay away from the other principles involved in the case.
She is also not allowed to carry a gun.
According to police, when Payne saw Herring take off, she chased him for about a mile before boxing him in. At a probable cause hearing on Tuesday, Clayton County detective Keon Hayward testified called 911 while pursuing him, but dropped her phone at some point. The 911 recording has her yelling at Herring, “Get out of the car, get out of the car, get out of the fucking car! I’m going to shoot you!” According to Hayward, Payne actually had the audacity to claim that Herring shot himself with her own gun during a struggle.
Watch Hayward’s testimony here, via WXIA-TV in Atlanta.
Payne’s lawyers claim she was acting in self-defense while making a citizen’s arrest, and that she got mixed instructions from the 911 operator—stay at the scene, but also get Herring’s license. Hogwash, said prosecutors. Georgia law only allows for a citizen’s arrest in felonies, and leaving the scene is a misdemeanor.
But even without that to consider, Herring may not have been doing anything wrong. According to multiple witnesses, Herring pulled away after staying on scene for 20 minutes after going into apparent diabetic shock. When his widow, Christine, found out what happened, she said that there was no way her husband would have just taken off from the scene of an accident, She knew that he was just trying to get to a hospital. Watch her speak to reporters on Tuesday here.
When Payne got bond on Friday, Christine and her attorneys were dumbfounded. Watch them speak here.
Christine’s main attorney speculated that the judge may have been swayed by the presence of Payne’s family and friends, and may have wanted to score points in an election year. He also suggested race may have been a factor.
I doubt it was racial. After all, Clayton County is over two-thirds black. Whatever the reason, though, there is no defensible reason for this woman to be out on bail. Let’s hope that this is the last travesty in this case—and that Payne gets the rest of her life in prison.