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Controversial Death of Black Man in Missouri Ruled “Justifiable”

Justin King died on his white neighbor's front lawn. The man claimed he was breaking in.

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A man of Black and Filipino descent who was killed by his neighbor in a rural Missouri trailer park has been ruled as justifiable in a coronerโ€™s inquest.Despite the ruling, Justin Kingโ€™s family disputes the shooterโ€™s version of events, says the inquest process was flawed and that they still havenโ€™t seen all the evidence they were promised. King was shot on Nov. 3 and died at the scene. The shooterโ€“who hasnโ€™t been publicly identifiedโ€“claims King was trying to break into his house, using the so-called โ€œcastle doctrineโ€ that allows anyone to kill a person if that person invades their home. But Kingโ€™s body was found outside, not inside the manโ€™s house. The issues with the case go on from there.From the Daily Beast

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On Tuesday, a jury of six Crawford County residents unanimously agreed with the initial police findings, ruling the shooting a justifiable homicide in line with Missouriโ€™s โ€œcastle doctrineโ€ law, which holds that residents can use โ€œdeadly forceโ€ to prevent home invasion and have no obligation to retreat. It is now up to the prosecutorโ€™s office to decide whether or not to file charges or side with the jury.

But many, including Kingโ€™s family, are questioning whether the jury was provided sufficient evidence to draw that conclusion. The jury, which was handpicked by Crawford County Sheriff Darin Layman, heard testimony from law-enforcement officers and witnesses, and saw a video of investigators questioning the shooter immediately after the killing.

The shooter, who has not been named because he has not been charged, claimed King was high on drugs and broke into his home before breaking several TVs; he admitted to providing King with a joint prior to the shooting, but insisted it was not laced, even though authorities said King had THC and meth in his system at the time of his death.

While police testified that they had corroborated many of the shooterโ€™s claims, surveillance video from the shooterโ€™s trailer, which was described by authorities in their testimony, was not provided for jurors, according to KMOV.

Neighbors in the community who have been interviewed by other media outlets have also disputed the shooterโ€™s telling of events. The family has been working with the local NAACP to seek justice for their son. No word yet on their next steps or any possible legal action.

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