...but still the mother of the thug he shot is way off base...
OKLAHOMA CITY — Confronted by two holdup men, pharmacist Jerome Ersland pulled a gun, shot one of them in the head and chased the other away. Then, in a scene recorded by the drugstore's security camera, he went behind the counter, got another gun, and pumped five more bullets into the wounded teenager as he lay on the floor.
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"He didn't have to shoot my baby like that," Parker's mother, Cleta Jennings, told TV station KOCO.
Mmm. Well, maybe your baby didn't have to be holding up pharmacies. But of course you'll never say that, will you? I can definitely understand why some might say that the pharmacist overreacted, but I sympathize more with those who are saying don't second-guess a man who finds himself in a situation in which the adrenaline's being pumped through his system as it would be in a situation like that. Jerome Ersland might well have overreacted, but then I can't judge him for that because who's to say I wouldn't have done the same thing had I been in fear of my life? When it's all said and done I just can't help but think the man was defending his life and his property. And there was always the chance, however slim it might have been, that the thug he shot would manage to get a shorter sentence, get out of prison and come back for revenge. It'll be interesting to see what happens to Mr. Ersland, especially considering the support he's getting from the community with the evidence of his deed out there for all to see. Personally, I just can't help but hope he'll get off. Looks like the chances of that are pretty good, but we'll see.
"I give, you take, this life that I forsake...been cheated of my youth, you turned this lie to truth..."
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