Wisconsin: Jury convicts man of murder after six hunters shot dead:
Date: Sep 17, 2005 12:51 PM
PUBLICATION: Calgary Herald
DATE: 2005.09.17
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A2
SOURCE: The Associated Press
DATELINE: HAYWARD, Wis.
ILLUSTRATION: Photo: Herald Archive, Associated Press / Chai Soua Vangtestified
two of the hunters he killed deserved to die.
WORD COUNT: 303

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Jury convicts man of murder after six hunters shot dead: Wisconsin trial exposes
racial tension in the area

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A jury on Friday convicted an immigrant truck driver of first-degree murder in the
shooting deaths of six deer hunters during a confrontation over trespassing, rejecting
his claims that he fired in self-defense after one hunter used racial slurs and
another shot at him.

Chai Soua Vang, 36, faces mandatory life in prison. Wisconsin does not have a death
penalty.

Jurors deliberated about three hours before convicting Vang on six counts of first-degree
intentional homicide and three counts of attempted homicide. In addition to the
six dead, two hunters were wounded in the shootings Nov. 21 that began when the
group of hunters confronted Vang for being on private land.

In court, Vang, dressed in a business suit with family members seated behind him,
showed no visible emotion as the judge read the verdict.

The crime rocked Wisconsin’s north woods in part because four of the victims were
shot in the back and all but one were unarmed, according to testimony.

The slayings also occurred during the state’s beloved deer hunting season and exposed
racial tension between the predominantly white north woods residents and immigrants
from the Hmong ethnic group of Southeast Asia.

Outside court, one of Vang’s friends questioned the all-white jury’s makeup and
maintained Vang was innocent.

“All Caucasian, all American. Why can’t there be one Hmong? Why can’t there
be one minority in there?” Pofwmyeh Yang asked. “I believe only one person
can judge, and that’s God. But God didn’t judge today.”

Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager said in her closing argument that Vang ambushed
some of the victims and chased down one of them. But the defence said the confrontation
was all about racial prejudice.

Vang’s attorney, Steven Kohn, told jurors the prosecution cannot prove who fired
the first shot. Vang had testified he started firing only after one of the hunters
shot at him first.

Lautenschlager reminded jurors Vang testified he felt two of the victims deserved
to die because they called him names.