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COVINGTON
A Clifton Forge man convicted of fatally shooting a fellow hunter will spend 10 years behind bars.
Media outlets report that an Alleghany County Circuit Court jury found Burrell Hall guilty of involuntary manslaughter and reckless handling of a firearm Wednesday night. He was found not guilty of hunting under the influence of an intoxicant.
Hall was sentenced to nine years in prison on the manslaughter charge and a year in jail on the weapons charge.
The charges stem from the fatal shooting of 27-year-old Travis Scott Persinger of Covington on Nov. 13, 2010. Hall and Persinger were among a group of people participating in a deer hunt in Low Moor.
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There's the "story" and there's the truth
Burrell Hall was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the accident. When the accident victim decided to go into the 10 foot tall thicket to flush a deer in Hall's direction he was over 60 yards away and with little more than a whistle and a hand motion went into the woods with no blaze orange on. Mr Hall saw a deer, scoped it and took the shot. Scott Persinger had come out of the thicket and walked in a crouching position in total camouflage, a black knit hat and full beard into the hardwood area Hall was shooting toward without a warning shout or call. Hall did not know where he was. It was a horrible accident. Neither person is to blame and it was not a criminal act.
Why this guy spend 10 years
Why this guy spend 10 years in prison, and some spend none for a crime such as a man drinking and driving and the death of his girlfriend, AND the DUI was dropped. No involuntary manslaughter here. It was like it didn't even happen.
Don't believe it? LOUISA COUNTY, VA a few years ago, leaving a Christmas party. The couple dated 8 months, were in their early 40's. Didn't reside together. The guy also had a PRIOR DUI 9 years before. Didn't get locked up for a day. Didn't get cuffed. Had community service though; He had to speak at a school on why not to drink and drive.
The rest of the story.
The one guy went back into the bushes to flush out some deer. Hall shot at what he thought was a deer and it was actually the guy who went into the bushes. It was not really an accident, it was someone purposely shooting at something without identifying what it was.
"HUI"
Apparently doped up also. I never understood why it was acceptable to hunt and drink.
Still doesn't justify 10 years!!!
In her opening statement to the jury, Alleghany County Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Ann Gardner argued that Hall had shown gross negligence at the scene that day, violating cardinal rules of hunting safety, and "was doped up on marijuana" when he shot and killed Persinger. She said a blood sample taken hours after the shooting revealed the presence of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.
She said Hall vacillated through the day about whether he would submit voluntarily to blood being drawn for testing for drugs and alcohol.
In turn, defense attorney Bill Cleaveland said a "perfect storm" of circumstances led to the shooting.
"This was not a criminally negligent act but a hunting accident," Cleaveland said.
Hall had not shown reckle
Huh?
Where's the rest of the story VA Pilot? No one gets 10 yrs of jail time for a hunting accident. Normally, you wouldn't do ANY time for a hunting accident.
read between the lines
Notice the hunting under the influence charge was dropped - doesn't mean he wasn't guilty of it, which may have been the basis for throwing the book at him for the involuntary manslaughter.
Read it again
He was under the influence. So it was stupidity because he shouldn't have been drinking and in the woods with a gun.
Yeah
Yeah ask Dick Cheney.
10 yrs for a hunting accident?
Must be more to the story.