Justice


Vang's lawyer sees no ground for appeal in hunter murders
By The Associated PressJuly 21, 2006, 7:40 PM CDT

An attorney for a man serving life prison terms for the shooting deaths of six Wisconsin deer hunters says he has found no basis for an appeal.

The decision from assistant state public defender Patrick Donnelly, appointed to handle the appeal after Chai Soua Vang was convicted last September, was announced Friday. Donnelly is to file his report next month with the state Court of Appeals, which will review his decision.

Vang, 37, from St. Paul, Minn., can contest the determination if he wishes.

Prosecutors had said a group of hunters in Sawyer County confronted Vang over trespassing in a tree stand before Vang shot six of them to death and wounded two others during the deer hunt in November 2004.

Vang, a Hmong immigrant, testified at his Circuit Court trial that he shot the hunters in self-defense, alleging one of them fired a shot in his direction after they shouted racial epithets and cursed at him.

The two survivors of the shooting testified that Vang had begun walking away from the confrontation when he turned and opened fire.

Vang was sentenced to six consecutive life terms plus 165 years in prison.

Information from: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, http://www.jsonline.com