On November 4, 1992, the Grand Jury of East Baton Rouge Parish,
State of
Louisiana (composed of 12 jurors), indicted Mr. Rodney Peairs
for
manslaughter. At the arraignment on December 16, the defendant
pleaded not
guilty. Since the defendant asked for a jury trial, a criminal
trial was to
be held to determine if he committed a crime of manslaughter with
a petit
jury of 12 members. The trial began May 17, 1993. On May 23, the
twelve
jurors reached a unanimous verdict of not guilty, and the action
of Mr.
Peairs was deemed self-defense. In the concluding argument, the
defendant's
lawyer said, "We have a legal right to open the door holding
a gun to anyone
when the door bell rings. This is the law of this country."
The criminal
trial is covered in detail in "Freeze" by Katsumi Hiragi
and Tim Tally and
"A Japanese Boy Who Loved America" by Yoshinori Kamo
(both books available in Japanese only).
On July 13, 1993, the parents of Yoshi filed a civil lawsuit
at East Baton
Rouge Parish court. The defendants were Mr./Mrs. Peairs and the
insurance
company the Peairs had a home insurance with. Jury trials are
granted when
either plaintiff or defendant makes a request and pays jury deposits.
The
plaintiff lawyer made a request for a jury trial but did not pay
deposit on
purpose since he wanted a judge trial. The defense lawyer wanted
a jury
trial, but failed to pay the deposit on the deadline believing
the plaintiff
lawyer paid it. The defense lawyer's plea for a jury trial was
not granted
and it resulted in a judge trial.
The trial began September 12, 1994. The parents were given
their first
opportunity to give testimonies. On September 15, the plaintiff
won the
case with the amount of $653,000 as the compensation for damage.
Mr.
Charles Moore, the plaintiff lawyer brought contradictions in
the
defendants' testimonies at the criminal trial to light by examining
the
shooting scene many times, creating an animation video, and videotaping
the
defendants' depositions. The civil trial is covered in details
in a
documentary film called "A Shot Heard Around the World."
The judge denied Mr. Peairs' claim that he felt danger due
to Yoshi's
action, and decided that Mr. Peairs' action was against the Louisiana
law
requiring special precaution for use of firearms. In addition,
the action
of Yoshi who approached gun-holding Mr. Peairs "was not at
fault." The
parents also pursued the wrongdoing of Mrs. Bonnie Peairs, who
cried to her
husband, "Go get the gun" upon seeing Yoshi, but the
judgment cleared her
responsibility for the shooting. As for the action of Mr. Peairs
who fired
the gun, the judgment stated that a reasonable person would have
asked, "Why do we need a gun? What did you see?" and
thus, the self-defense was not granted.