NAACP Free John McNeil Atlanta, GA
THE COST OF SELF DEFENES
For the past five years, a Georgia business owner has sat in jail for
doing what many of us would - defending himself and his family against a trespasser on his property.
Brian Epp trespassed onto John McNeil's Cobb County, Georgia property in December 2005. McNeil testified that he asked Epp - who was in possession of a boxcutter - to leave his property multiple times before firing in self-defense. Police later confirmed Epp indeed had a boxcutter, while testimony indicated that Epp threatened McNeil's son with the boxcutter. Prosecution did not refute McNeil’s claim that Epp was the aggressor in the encounter.
274 days after the incident, despite the fact that police had ruled the incident as self-defense, the prosecutor charged McNeil in the shooting death of Epp. And although Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears concluded that no rational trier of fact could disprove McNeil’s self‐defense claim, John McNeil was sentenced in 2006 to life in prison. Photos By: SWarrenphotography
Read MoreFor the past five years, a Georgia business owner has sat in jail for
doing what many of us would - defending himself and his family against a trespasser on his property.
Brian Epp trespassed onto John McNeil's Cobb County, Georgia property in December 2005. McNeil testified that he asked Epp - who was in possession of a boxcutter - to leave his property multiple times before firing in self-defense. Police later confirmed Epp indeed had a boxcutter, while testimony indicated that Epp threatened McNeil's son with the boxcutter. Prosecution did not refute McNeil’s claim that Epp was the aggressor in the encounter.
274 days after the incident, despite the fact that police had ruled the incident as self-defense, the prosecutor charged McNeil in the shooting death of Epp. And although Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears concluded that no rational trier of fact could disprove McNeil’s self‐defense claim, John McNeil was sentenced in 2006 to life in prison. Photos By: SWarrenphotography
