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Opening Arguments

This is a stretch

Isn't this, as the Star's "expert" contends, a blatant case of over-charging?

A legal expert on Tuesday questioned prosecutors' decision to charge an Indianapolis man with murder in the death of an IndyCar Series crew member who suffered a stroke after a bar fight.

[. . .]

What this sounds like is involuntary manslaughter, where the victim died during the commission of a battery," said Henry Karlson, a professor of criminal law at Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis.

Karlson said the stroke wasn't necessarily caused by the kick. The affidavit doesn't say whether Evans also had bruises or a fracture to his skull, which could show the severity of the blow.

I'm not saying we should have any sumpathy for this putz. No matter what the argument was like, a 30-year-old has no business following a 63-year-old into the parking lot and stomping him. But the danger is that the defense attorney will make the legitimate case that this was not murder, and the jury will let him off altogether.

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