Brandon Alexander Hickman shot and killed his gay cousin, but the jury didn’t convict him of murder. Instead, they found him guilty of first-degree manslaughter. Why?
Police found 37-year-old Makeitho De Monz Herring, who went by the name “Tito,†bleeding on the ground when they arrived at the Pine Square Apartments in Gresham, Oregon on September 9, 2013. The man who shot him was Herring’s cousin, Brandon Alexander Hickman.
Prosecutors say the two cousins were reportedly involved in a sexual relationship and things got heated when Herring, an openly gay man, threatened to out Hickman who lived his life as a heterosexual male. Witness testimony claimed that Herring was taunting his cousin and trying to embarrass him.
The jury found Hickman “guilty of first-degree manslaughter for shooting his gay cousin in the head after a prosecutor argued the attack might have been motivated by homophobia,” The Oregonian reports.
Witnesses reportedly testified about the following:
- Herring yelling in front of Hickman’s apartment
- Hickman rushing outside
- Hickman retrieving a gun from his car
- Shouting between the two men
- Then the gunshot and Herring dead from a 9mm wound below the left ear.
A Multnomah County jury on Thursday voted 10-2 that Hickman didn’t commit murder, which under Oregon law is defined as an “intentional” killing. Instead, they found Hickman guilty of first-degree manslaughter, which Oregon law defines as killing a person “recklessly” and with an “extreme indifference” to human life. The manslaughter conviction allows Hickman to serve a 10-year prison sentence, a much lighter term than the life sentence he could have received if convicted of murder.
Hickman will be sentenced on Oct. 6.
What do you think about Hickman’s conviction? Is manslaughter fair, or should he have been convicted of murder? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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