!

When your precious porcelain vase is found shattered in pieces, is it justied to

accuse the child that was messing around nearby? All events without an undeniable source of cause, even the smallest of accidents, must be thought through to nd the actual cause. It is unacceptable that the blame is shifted one way, because it seems the most probable cause of the event. ! On the trial of February 13th, 2013 regarding the death of Luis Cruz, the District

Court of Tangerine County found Arthur Bauer Jr. guilty of the second degree murder of Luis Cruz. However, it is my belief that there was not enough evidence to prove my son guilty of murder. Arthur acted purely out of self defense, without the breaching of any laws. ! Luis Cruz was a man years older than either Erik or Arthur. His height was a

towering 182cm, with a muscular physique from arduous work in the elds. His interrupting the boys football practice to have a talk with Erik and Arthur, was without a doubt, an intimidating occurrence for the two. Here was a man, seeking his revenge on them for smacking his precious little brother. As testied in the trial by witnesses such as Antoine Thomas, Luis had threatened them by saying, You would smack a little kid in the face, right? Why dont you come over here and try to smack me? And my son Arthur, worried for the safety of himself and his best friend, acted upon the justiable reason of selfdefense to use the blackjack. ! The blackjack Arthur used was a weapon meant purely for self defense, which was

given to the boys under the agreement of both myself and Mr. Fisher. A blackjack, as stated by the Florida State Law, can be in the possession of someone under the age of 21 if they receive consent from their parents, and if it is carried in a concealed state. Now, it had come to the knowledge of both Mr. Fisher and myself, that the other football players were not too fond of our sons. As parents, we believed that our children had the right to be protected, and we allowed them to carry the blackjack just in case they faced a possible threat. Luis Cruz was that threat. Showing up at football practice alone and attempting to

provoke two high-schoolers, and taunting them with the words Why dont you try to hit me?, proved that Luis Cruz was condent that he could handle the boys. The fact that Luis was the one who approached Erik and Arthur, also cannot be pushed aside. ! Many of those living in Tangerine County believe in the words of Paul Fisher, which

are straight from his personal journal. In it, he describes Erik and Arthur as malicious people who also think lower of everyone else around them. The scene where Arthur hit Luis on the head with a blackjack was illustrated as purposefully violent. However, Paul has always had a negative relationship with his brother, and this caused him to also have a negative view of Arthur who happened to be Eriks best friend. This diary also happens to be something very personal, where Paul wrote down all his inner feelings. Therefore it is impossible to say there is no bias in how he picture Erik and Arthur and creating negative images of both. ! My son Arthur is not guilty of the second degree murder of Luis Cruz. He acted

purely out of self defense, as Luis Cruz was a big threat to the safety of both himself and Erik. There was not enough evidence that Arthurs action was the cause of Luis Cruzs death since there were so many other factors such as the harsh weather and working conditions caused by the snowstorm around the time of his death. A man is innocent until he is proved guilty, and it is my strong belief that my son Arthur was not guilty of this crime.