27-year-old Alabama man faces murder charge

A 27-year-old Alabama man faces charges in the death of a man, also 27, in an April 1 shooting in Birmingham. He was detained on the murder charge at the Jefferson County Jail, and his bond was placed at $200,000.

Gunshots sounded right before 2 p.m., and authorities responded to the site to see the man lying on the ground with numerous gunshot wounds, which proved fatal. The accused man was detained at the site for questioning and later charged. A representative for the Birmingham police reported that they think the incident stemmed from family argument between the men and other relatives.

The man who was detained was also held on a robbery charge in 2012. However, the case was dismissed. In 2013, he was charged with resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, criminal mischief and obstruction of government operations. A trial is pending for those charges. The homicide was listed as the eighth in the city of Birmingham for 2014, and three of the deaths were ruled justifiable homicide.

Police officers and prosecutors could be prejudiced against defendants if they have a history of criminal charges, even if they have never been convicted of anything. A defense lawyer could work to prevent this from happening. In a case like this, involving an argument between two men of the same age, it’s possible that the defendant was acting in self-defense when he shot the other man. A criminal defense attorney could review the evidence carefully to see if police are disregarding signs that the man was simply trying to defend himself. Everyone accused of a crime deserves a fair trial regardless of whether they have a criminal record or not.

Source: Blog.al.com, “27-year-old Birmingham man is city’s latest homicide victim,” Carol Robinson, April 2, 2014

Source: al.com, “Birmingham man, 27, charged with murder in Tuesday shooting“, Carol Robinson, April 03, 2014