Dr. Noel Chua and Renato Hughes are languishing in their prison cells in Camden County,
Georgia and Lake County , California, both sharing an uncannily uncommon misfortune. Both
are Filipino Americans who were charged with murder under a seldom-used legal doctrine that
dates back to the common law rule in 12th century England , a country which banned it in 1957.
Under this arcane doctrine, a person can be charged with murder when a victim dies
accidentally or without specific intent in the course of the commission of an applicable felony. It
charges any participant in such a felony criminally liable for any deaths that occur during that
felony.
This law has been abolished in most democratic countries which consider it unjust and unduly
harsh to require no finding of any intent to kill or do bodily harm for someone to be found guilty
of murder and sentenced to death or life imprisonment. The United States remains the only
western country where this 12th century anachronism is still in active use.
Dr. Noel Chua was charged with violating Georgia’s Controlled Substance Act, and thereby
causing the death of his patient, Jamie Carter III. According to the District Attorney, at least 10
drugs were found in Carter’s system, some of which were prescribed by Dr. Chua who, the D.A.
charged, “ignored information in medical records from other physicians indicating Carter may
have had a drug problem.”
Dr. Chua, an internal medicine specialist, said that Carter had a “long history of severe
migraines and had to be hospitalized twice under my care for that condition. His past medical
history reveals extensive work-up and numerous hospitalizations and ER visits for the same
condition.”
Unfortunately, Carter “took a combination of pain medication”, some of which were prescribed
by Dr. Chua and others by physicians (including a drug rehab doctor) that Carter went to before
he went to Dr. Chua . The combination of drugs led to his death.
Carter died on December 15, 2005 but Dr. Chua was not arrested until September of 2006 and
was still kept in jail for some time before formal charges were actually filed. The District Attorney
then charged him with two murder counts and a racketeering count that allowed the DA the
power to seize all of Dr. Chua’s assets. “It’s obviously a dirty, sleazy trick to grab all my money
and properties so I will not be able to afford any defense on my part,” Dr. Chua charged.
With his properties in receivership (and with a receiver charging $12,000 a month to manage
the estate), Dr. Chua was unable to post bail and remained in jail until his trial began on
October 15. In the course of the 5-day trial, District Attorney Stephen Kelley introduced
inflammatory testimony about a homosexual relationship between Dr, Chua and Carter, which
was irrelevant to the charge of felony murder.
But it was effective, as the all-white jury returned a verdict of guilty against Dr. Chua, a verdict
which resulted in a sentence of "life imprisonment plus five years”.
In the same month that Carter died in December of 2005, Renato Hughes and his friend,
Christian Foster, went to visit their old friend, Rashad Williams, who was living in Clear Lake
with his grandmother. After the three pals got together, they decided to buy some marijuana.
They then went to the nearby home of Shannon Edmonds, who, according to police records, is
a known marijuana grower and drug dealer.
While Renato was waiting outside, Rashad and Christian went inside the house to talk to
Edmonds . It is not clear what happened next but Edmonds' earlier statements to the police
indicated that a free-for-all altercation occurred.
But the official version he gave the police was that the boys invaded his home to steal his
marijuana and that he shot them in self-defense with his 9mm semiautomatic Browning. Rashad
was shot twice in the back and Christian five times in the back as well. When police arrived at
the scene, they found Rashad lying in the middle of 11th Street, dead, and Christian dying in
the bushes about 20 yards away.
Two days after the killings, District Attorney Jon Hopkins accepted Edmonds ’ version entirely
and charged Renato Hughes with the double murder of his friends under the felony murder
doctrine as their deaths, according to Hopkins, occurred while in the course of committing a
felony, an armed home invasion, with special circumstance punishable by death, if convicted.
Kenneth Block, a track and field coach at Balboa High School in San Francisco who knew all
three boys personally, is outraged that Edmonds was not the one charged with murder. “He
took two boys’ lives and now he wants to take the third one. Where is justice in that? That
doesn’t make any sense. They were fleeing the scene. They were murdered! This is a case of
“double murder, double standard,” he said.
According to Renato’s attorney, Stephen Carter, “it's unclear whether Edmonds ' place was
invaded, whether a robbery occurred, or whether the three were merely hoping to buy
marijuana -- and that no evidence indicates Renato Hughes was even in the house.”
"When you shoot someone who is fleeing, it's not self-defense," Carter said. "It's an execution."
While this case has attracted widespread attention in the African American community because
Renato is half-Black, it has received scant coverage in the Filipino American community even
though Renato is half-Filipino.
The jury trial of Renato Hughes is set to begin on November 6 in Lake County which has a
population that is 75% white, 5 % black, and which has hardly any Asians.
Will Renato suffer the same fate that befell Dr. Chua?
Send comments to Rodel50@aol.com.
Georgia and Lake County , California, both sharing an uncannily uncommon misfortune. Both
are Filipino Americans who were charged with murder under a seldom-used legal doctrine that
dates back to the common law rule in 12th century England , a country which banned it in 1957.
Under this arcane doctrine, a person can be charged with murder when a victim dies
accidentally or without specific intent in the course of the commission of an applicable felony. It
charges any participant in such a felony criminally liable for any deaths that occur during that
felony.
This law has been abolished in most democratic countries which consider it unjust and unduly
harsh to require no finding of any intent to kill or do bodily harm for someone to be found guilty
of murder and sentenced to death or life imprisonment. The United States remains the only
western country where this 12th century anachronism is still in active use.
Dr. Noel Chua was charged with violating Georgia’s Controlled Substance Act, and thereby
causing the death of his patient, Jamie Carter III. According to the District Attorney, at least 10
drugs were found in Carter’s system, some of which were prescribed by Dr. Chua who, the D.A.
charged, “ignored information in medical records from other physicians indicating Carter may
have had a drug problem.”
Dr. Chua, an internal medicine specialist, said that Carter had a “long history of severe
migraines and had to be hospitalized twice under my care for that condition. His past medical
history reveals extensive work-up and numerous hospitalizations and ER visits for the same
condition.”
Unfortunately, Carter “took a combination of pain medication”, some of which were prescribed
by Dr. Chua and others by physicians (including a drug rehab doctor) that Carter went to before
he went to Dr. Chua . The combination of drugs led to his death.
Carter died on December 15, 2005 but Dr. Chua was not arrested until September of 2006 and
was still kept in jail for some time before formal charges were actually filed. The District Attorney
then charged him with two murder counts and a racketeering count that allowed the DA the
power to seize all of Dr. Chua’s assets. “It’s obviously a dirty, sleazy trick to grab all my money
and properties so I will not be able to afford any defense on my part,” Dr. Chua charged.
With his properties in receivership (and with a receiver charging $12,000 a month to manage
the estate), Dr. Chua was unable to post bail and remained in jail until his trial began on
October 15. In the course of the 5-day trial, District Attorney Stephen Kelley introduced
inflammatory testimony about a homosexual relationship between Dr, Chua and Carter, which
was irrelevant to the charge of felony murder.
But it was effective, as the all-white jury returned a verdict of guilty against Dr. Chua, a verdict
which resulted in a sentence of "life imprisonment plus five years”.
In the same month that Carter died in December of 2005, Renato Hughes and his friend,
Christian Foster, went to visit their old friend, Rashad Williams, who was living in Clear Lake
with his grandmother. After the three pals got together, they decided to buy some marijuana.
They then went to the nearby home of Shannon Edmonds, who, according to police records, is
a known marijuana grower and drug dealer.
While Renato was waiting outside, Rashad and Christian went inside the house to talk to
Edmonds . It is not clear what happened next but Edmonds' earlier statements to the police
indicated that a free-for-all altercation occurred.
But the official version he gave the police was that the boys invaded his home to steal his
marijuana and that he shot them in self-defense with his 9mm semiautomatic Browning. Rashad
was shot twice in the back and Christian five times in the back as well. When police arrived at
the scene, they found Rashad lying in the middle of 11th Street, dead, and Christian dying in
the bushes about 20 yards away.
Two days after the killings, District Attorney Jon Hopkins accepted Edmonds ’ version entirely
and charged Renato Hughes with the double murder of his friends under the felony murder
doctrine as their deaths, according to Hopkins, occurred while in the course of committing a
felony, an armed home invasion, with special circumstance punishable by death, if convicted.
Kenneth Block, a track and field coach at Balboa High School in San Francisco who knew all
three boys personally, is outraged that Edmonds was not the one charged with murder. “He
took two boys’ lives and now he wants to take the third one. Where is justice in that? That
doesn’t make any sense. They were fleeing the scene. They were murdered! This is a case of
“double murder, double standard,” he said.
According to Renato’s attorney, Stephen Carter, “it's unclear whether Edmonds ' place was
invaded, whether a robbery occurred, or whether the three were merely hoping to buy
marijuana -- and that no evidence indicates Renato Hughes was even in the house.”
"When you shoot someone who is fleeing, it's not self-defense," Carter said. "It's an execution."
While this case has attracted widespread attention in the African American community because
Renato is half-Black, it has received scant coverage in the Filipino American community even
though Renato is half-Filipino.
The jury trial of Renato Hughes is set to begin on November 6 in Lake County which has a
population that is 75% white, 5 % black, and which has hardly any Asians.
Will Renato suffer the same fate that befell Dr. Chua?
Send comments to Rodel50@aol.com.
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| UNCOMMON INJUSTICE Rodel E. Rodis, November 7, 2007 |
| Dr. Noel Chua |
| Renato Hughes with his 2-year old son |