Thread: Opinions on Shooting/Conviction

Originally Posted by http://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/story/786321.html

A man convicted of killing an off-duty Beaufort County Sheriff's deputy in 2004 during a disagreement over a dead cat will get a new trial this summer.

Thomas Grover Rye, 63, was found guilty of murdering Deputy Robert T. "Robb" Odam, who joined the Sheriff's Office in 2003 and patrolled the Bluffton area.

Rye testified in the original trial that Odam, who was visiting family in Eastover near Columbia, allegedly killed one of his cats Aug. 14, 2004, reports said.

Rye's attorneys said during the trial that he was defending his property after he heard gunshots and spotted Odam and two others walking into his yard to kill more cats, reports said.

He took his appeal to the S.C. Supreme Court in 2007. In a 3-2 vote, the court said the judge in Rye's 2005 trial should have told Richland County jurors that under the "defense of habitation," Rye didn't have to believe his life or property was "in some danger of injury or harm," unlike under a self-defense claim.

Rye's new trial is set to begin July 13, said Nataki Brown, a victim's advocate for the 5th District Judicial Circuit in Columbia.

Odam's relatives are dreading a new trial.

"We have to relive it all over again," said Nancy Odam, Robb Odam's mother, who lives at Camp Lejeune, N.C., with her daughter and son-in-law. "We have to relive his death."

Rye was sentenced to 30 years but served only 10 months before his release on bond in 2006. The S.C. Attorney General's Office misplaced paperwork that might have kept Rye in prison, reports said.

"I felt like the jury got it right the first time," Nancy Odam said. "Now he gets a do-over."

Rye's wife declined comment about the new trial when reached at their home Monday night. It was unclear who will be representing Rye at the retrial.

Robb Odam, 22, who lived in Bluffton and was a 2000 graduate of Hilton Head High School, was visiting in-laws in Eastover on the day of the shooting, reports said.

Rye, who owned the adjacent property, called 911 earlier in the day and told dispatchers someone had shot one of his cats and tried to break into his shed, reports said.

What followed was "bizarre and disturbing," the Supreme Court justices said in their ruling.

Rye told the court he heard gunshots and saw three men walking away from his property to reload their weapons to kill more cats, the ruling said. Rye grabbed his semi-automatic rifle and fired four times. Each bullet hit Odam, and two of those struck him in the back, reports said.

It was unclear, however, what exactly transpired during the shooting. Odam's friends testified the off-duty deputy was putting his gun on the ground when Rye fired. Rye said he was returning fire from Odam.

What the story doesn't mention is that it took more than half an hour for police to respond to Rye's original call. And no one can deny that the judge fucked the whole case up. So, what are your opinions on this case? Think the guy was justified in shooting? Do you think he should be convicted?