Back

Murder Acquittal for Self-Defense | Houston Criminal Law

Dan Cogdell | 921 Views | 09/04/2015

Murder Charge Acquittal

I want to share with you how I was able to get an acquittal for an individual who is charged with murder even though he had stabbed an unarmed man to death, fled the scene that night, and lied to the police the next morning about what had happened.

Hello, my name is Dan Cogdell, I’m a criminal defense lawyer here in Texas. I’ve been practicing in the City of Houston for 32 years.

Ron Johnson Jr. Case Overview

A few years ago, I represented Ron Johnson Junior. He was charged with murder after he had gotten in a bar fight along with some other individuals, at a bar at a bar in College Station, and a basketball player from Rice University ended up getting stabbed to death. Ron fled the scene, lied to the police the following day, and eventually charged with murder. How did we successfully defend Ron Johnson? The first thing that we did was to explain the Law of Self-Defense, which was appropriate in that case, and defense of a third person which was also appropriate in that case to a jury.

The second thing we did was we got the jury to focus on not what happened after the fight when he fled and when he lied to the police because that’s not what he was charged with. We got the jury to focus on what he was thinking, what he was believing, and what he was doing at the time of the fight – not afterwards, not fleeing the scene, and not the following day.

The Law of Self-Defense

The Law of Self-Defense applies at the time that the incident happened. It didn’t matter what he did after the incident, it didn’t matter what he did the following day, we got the jury to understand that Ron was properly defending his life and the right of his co-marine during that fight. And that he believe that the use of deadly force was immediately necessary to defend his life and his friend’s life. Once the jury understood that they properly found Ron Johnson not guilty.

If you’ve been charged with a crime and you have questions about your case, or you simply want to talk to an experienced criminal defense lawyer, call me. We’re here to help you if we can. We will sit down with you. We will go over the allegations in your case. We’ll cover the defenses available to you. We’ll discuss your options with you. My name is Dan Cogdell, I’m the founding partner of Cogdlell Law Firm. Thank you for listening.

By: Dan Cogdell

Murder Acquittal for Self-Defense | Houston Criminal Law

Murder Charge Acquittal

I want to share with you how I was able to get an acquittal for an individual who is charged with murder even though he had stabbed an unarmed man to death, fled the scene that night, and lied to the police the next morning about what had happened.

Hello, my name is Dan Cogdell, I’m a criminal defense lawyer here in Texas. I’ve been practicing in the City of Houston for 32 years.

Ron Johnson Jr. Case Overview

A few years ago, I represented Ron Johnson Junior. He was charged with murder after he had gotten in a bar fight along with some other individuals, at a bar at a bar in College Station, and a basketball player from Rice University ended up getting stabbed to death. Ron fled the scene, lied to the police the following day, and eventually charged with murder. How did we successfully defend Ron Johnson? The first thing that we did was to explain the Law of Self-Defense, which was appropriate in that case, and defense of a third person which was also appropriate in that case to a jury.

The second thing we did was we got the jury to focus on not what happened after the fight when he fled and when he lied to the police because that’s not what he was charged with. We got the jury to focus on what he was thinking, what he was believing, and what he was doing at the time of the fight – not afterwards, not fleeing the scene, and not the following day.

The Law of Self-Defense

The Law of Self-Defense applies at the time that the incident happened. It didn’t matter what he did after the incident, it didn’t matter what he did the following day, we got the jury to understand that Ron was properly defending his life and the right of his co-marine during that fight. And that he believe that the use of deadly force was immediately necessary to defend his life and his friend’s life. Once the jury understood that they properly found Ron Johnson not guilty.

If you’ve been charged with a crime and you have questions about your case, or you simply want to talk to an experienced criminal defense lawyer, call me. We’re here to help you if we can. We will sit down with you. We will go over the allegations in your case. We’ll cover the defenses available to you. We’ll discuss your options with you. My name is Dan Cogdell, I’m the founding partner of Cogdlell Law Firm. Thank you for listening.

By: Dan Cogdell