This Prosecutor Tried to Say Rap Music = Guilty of Murder

The jury wasn't having any of it. St. Louis rapper found not guilty of murder after claiming self-defense in 2022 road-rage shootout

I usually say that prosecutors hate self-defense, because they do, but this prosecutor also - apparently - hates rappers and rap music.

Henderson told the jury that he and his friends were riding their minibikes on Aug. 26, 2022, when a Jeep going in the opposite direction made a U-turn. After the Jeep pulled alongside them and engaged them, Henderson said he saw a gun and heard gunshots. Henderson responded by drawing his own weapon, striking and killing the 42-year-old driver, Joseph Raymond Shaw.

Police found a revolver with "8 spent shell casings" in the vehicle. The only revolver I know of that holds that many rounds is a .22 long rifle revolver, but the article does not say what kind or caliber it was. The driver of the vehicle was found to be high on meth at the time he was shot and killed.

Prosecutors tried to discount the portrayal of Henderson as an innocent kid, referencing his rap lyrics that describe guns and violence and suggesting his recklessness led to a deadly game of chicken.

I don't like most rap, because as is noted in the article, most of the lyrics are not good. But as Ice-T said in an interview once, "It's all entertainment."

As for the jury, they deliberated for a whole 2 hours before returning with "not guilty."

Prosecutors hate self-defense. In this case I think the prosecutor thought he could get enough jurors to hate the defendant just based on his music. I don't think the question of Justice, ever came up. The System™ likes to win, and I believe that this prosecutor thought he could win.