The guilty conviction of a man who murdered a member of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection has been overturned by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, as reported by Fox News.
The victim, Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, was killed on Dec. 14, 2010, and the incident gained notoriety for exposing the flawed “Fast and Furious” gun operation during the Obama administration.
The reversal of the conviction has left Terry’s family and many Americans feeling disturbed. Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes, one of seven individuals convicted in Terry’s death, is the man whose conviction has been overturned.
Fox reports:
On Friday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals released its decision to overturn the conviction after Osorio-Arellanes argued his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination and his Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel were violated during his trial and subsequent conviction.
This reversal occurred approximately four years following Osorio-Arellanes’s conviction.
The court wrote, “Because Osorio established his Sixth Amendment claim, the panel did not need to reach his Fifth Amendment claim. The panel rejected the Government’s argument that the absence of a Fifth Amendment violation would bar Osorio’s Sixth Amendment claim.”
Osorio-Arellanes’s conviction has been overturned. In a recent interview with Breitbart News, Terry’s family expressed their disgust at the court’s decision.
“We are sickened by this overturn and how our government is handling this case,” Michelle Terry-Balough – the oldest sister of Brian Terry – told the outlet.
She continued, “Osorio-Arellano confessed he was involved and present in my brother’s death. He was part of a rip crew who were on U.S. soil robbing other drug smugglers with firearms supplied by our previous government.”
The family accused the government of “once again” failing them. They said:
Our government has failed our family once again, first by denying their involvement with Fast and Furious gun running, and now overturning a life sentence of first-degree murder of a federal agent. We strongly urge our U.S. Prosecutors to renew the case and, once again, obtain a first-degree conviction.
The government retains the option to pursue its case against Osorio-Arellanes, but it is uncertain whether it will choose to do so.
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