Leslie Stahl of CBS News Investigates the Rem 700 & a Teen's Manslaughter Conviction Tonight 7pm

[U8395279]

CBS News reporter Leslie Stahl will present an investigative report at 7pm tonight on the 60 Minutes News Magazine, about the 2011 conviction of then 15 yr old Zac Stringer, for killing his younger brother with a 25-06 Remington 700 hunting rifle. Originally charged with 1st degree murder, Stringer was only found guilty of manslaughter, as the jury rejected the prosecution's allegations of premeditation. He was tried and sentenced as an adult, despite being only 15, and was given a mandatory 10 year sentence in state prison, with another 10 years of probation to be served after that.

During the trial, young Stringer had been adamant that the incident was a total accident, and that the gun ( which unfortunately had been stored still loaded ) had somehow gone off all by itself, without the trigger ever being touched. After the trial, the jury was adamant in stating that they found Stringer's testimony of the gun going off by itself to not be credible.

Was justice served, or denied? The prosecution originally wanted a murder conviction with a life in prison sentence for the 15 yr old Stringer. Stahl will also talk with multiple firearms experts regarding the very troubled and disturbing history of the Remington 700's trigger.

Could Zac Stringer actually be totally innocent, as he has always claimed? Watch tonight's show, and decide for yourself.

Preview: The Remington 700

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[therealhitman]

OMG. I've got a bad feeling about this. The rifle very well could be (and observed through the lens of current knowledge about the 700) probably was at fault...wow. That poor kid.

 

[slimmer13]

OMG. I've got a bad feeling about this. The 700 very well could be at fault...wow. That poor kid.

How could the 700 be at fault? Somebody had to load it and point it. At the very least safety rules were ignored and manslaughter seems appropriate.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Safeties fail at times.
Somethings that should never fail are:
Clearing the gun when handled.
Muzzle discipline and trigger finger control.
Unfortunately these also fail at times.

From what I remember of the case ... Manslaughter seems to fit the bill more than murder.
Andy

 

[Roop]

Stored loaded...

Trigger recall...

 

[DirectDrive]

Too bad for that kid.
Wonder why that prosecutor was so aggressive in asking for murder ?

Makes me wonder what this guy will be charged with ?
Similar incident it seems...
Man accidentally shoots, kills friend with AR-15, deputies say

 

[bbbass]

Too bad for that kid.
Wonder why that prosecutor was so aggressive in asking for murder ?

Makes me wonder what this guy will be charged with ?
Similar incident it seems...
Man accidentally shoots, kills friend with AR-15, deputies say

Seems like all prosecutors are aggressive nowadays.

 

[jbett98]

Didn't the whole 700 recall come about when a mother killed her son while she was yanking on a the bolt that had a stuck 30/06 cartridge, while her teenage son held the end of the barrel.
Supposedly it went off with the safety engaged.
She then sued Remington and won.

 

[No_Regerts]

I have been able to get remington 700s to go off at the range by adjusting the xmark trigger as it was advertised, and then working the bolt hard. This was a purposeful experiment and it was interesting seeing the striker drop without touching the trigger.

Using a clear gun, I was also able to bump the recoil pad on the floor and have the striker drop.

Timney trigger solved the problem.

 

[Brutus57]

So here's a question....Are the Rem. Model 700 trigger issues apparent in both long and short actions? And do they date from the model's introduction or a certain era?

Brutus Out

 

[mjbskwim]

As far as I'm concerned,the gun didn't do anything wrong but sit in the closet loaded. Maybe it should have told the kid it was loaded?
The gun can't talk you silly people!
The one thing that has to happen (PLEASE forget ricochets) to shoot someone is the muzzle has to be pointed at them.
AmIright?
Bad trigger or not,faulty safety or not,if you NEVER point the muzzle of a gun at another person you can't shoot them.
That's all.

 

[DunRanull]

Seems like all prosecutors are aggressive nowadays.

Well having worked in the "justice system" and dealing with prosecutors, I agree with THIS. For many prosecutors, whether DA or asst DA, CONVICTION is the whole point of charges. Not justice or the pursuit of truth. CONVICTIONS bring accolades, attention, re-election or continued employment. Convictions are a "career move", and they are actors on a stage, each trial being a new production, a stage play starring....
In addition many prosecutors bring their own agendas into their decision-making. One example known to me personally (small community) and by repute from an attorney who dealt with her in court- in R Lil Town was a female bubblegum't DA, lesbian, who had some serious issues with MEN. Resulting in an inordinate number of prosecutions for "molestation" and "sexual assault"... many of which went to trial and exonerated the victim... err, I meant the party charged. Hard to say how many simply copped a plea cuz it was easier and less expensive than fighting...
That bubblegum't DA moved to another area of the State to inflict herself on the male population there. POINT being, it's about career and looking good, not finding of fact or justice. Judges, prosecutors, attorneys, and yes, cops too- are human and subject to all the ills which inflict the human race. They all need "riding herd on" in an ostensibly free society. Dun

 

[bbbass]

Well having worked in the "justice system" and dealing with prosecutors, I agree with THIS. They all need "riding herd on" in an ostensibly free society. Dun

Yup, everything you said. We had a straight female ADA here about the time of the sexual abuse hysteria who adopted that as a mission. It seemed like ALL the little girls interviewed resulted in charges being filed. And tho the testimony was sometimes recanted, the conviction was NEVER set aside.

 

[bbbass]

So here's a question....Are the Rem. Model 700 trigger issues apparent in both long and short actions? And do they date from the model's introduction or a certain era?

Brutus Out

I've owned both short and long action '60s & '70s era 700 ADL and BDL... never had a problem. Just me? IDK.

Edit: Undated. "Remington Arms Company, LLC ("Remington") is voluntarily recalling Remington Model 700™ and Model Seven™ rifles which were manufactured from May 1, 2006 through April 9, 2014 and which have an X-Mark Pro® ("XMP®") trigger. Rifles manufactured after April 9, 2014 are not subject to recall."

Edit2: Dec 2014. Ostensibly to ward off lawsuits. "Remington announced on Friday that it would replace triggers on all of its Model 700 rifles made since 1962 — about 7.85 million rifles."

 

[partsed]

As our former service manager used to say: Everything fails at some point or another, look at the Space Shuttle-even that blew up.....

 

[DirectDrive]

Hmmm....
I didn't see the piece tonight on 60 minutes.
Wish I didn't tell everyone and his brother that it would be on.

 

[U8395279]

As far as I'm concerned,the gun didn't do anything wrong but sit in the closet loaded. Maybe it should have told the kid it was loaded?
The gun can't talk you silly people!
The one thing that has to happen (PLEASE forget ricochets) to shoot someone is the muzzle has to be pointed at them.
AmIright?
Bad trigger or not,faulty safety or not,if you NEVER point the muzzle of a gun at another person you can't shoot them.
That's all.

So you have never seen a Remington 700 fire all by itself, without the trigger being touched? I have witnessed it happen twice in my lifetime. Both rifles, however, did have their trigger pulls adjusted. In one case, the adjustment was made by a man taking a gunsmithing correspondence class. He had offered the adjustment free to a friend, who thought that he was getting a real good deal.

There is a BIG difference from a legal standpoint of deliberately pulling a trigger and shooting someone, and having the gun accidentally discharge on its own, without the trigger ever being touched.


.

 

[U8395279]

Hmmm....
I didn't see the piece tonight on 60 minutes.
Wish I didn't tell everyone and his brother that it would be on.

Apparently CBS changed their plans for tonight's show, in order to fit in a late breaking new story critical of Trump's Friday executive order on immigration. They used an old story that they did last year on Syrian refugee immigration, in order to support their new criticism of Trump's executive order on Friday. The news media appears to be going all out in trying to make Trump's immigration decision appear to be insane and wrong.

Perhaps we will see this Remington 700 story another Sunday night. It looks like politics got in the way of it being shown tonight. Attacking Trump's actions appears to be job one now for all the media.

Anti-Trump hysteria really seems to be sweeping our nation currently. I've even seen what I thought were pacifist liberals in Eugene make comments on Facebook recently about the possibility of armed violence breaking out. Some on the left seem to believe that Trump's election would actually justify an armed rebellion against our government.

CNN is virtually portraying Trump to be a madman.
.

 

[Roop]

well... he did call them fake news...

 

[DirectDrive]

Schitt, I got faked out !