The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Staff, Wire Reports
Posted: Sunday, January 21, 2018 07:25 PM
President Trump: Kate Steinle Verdict "Disgraceful" Saying "No Wonder People Of Country Angry With Illegal Immigration"
President Trump late Thursday tweeted
that the not guilty verdict in the Kate Steinle murder trial was
“disgraceful,” highlighting his apparent frustration at the resolution
of a case he had cited during his presidential campaign as a
justification for tougher immigration enforcement.
“A disgraceful verdict in the Kate Steinle case!” Trump tweeted after
the jury rejected possible charges ranging from involuntary manslaughter
to first-degree murder. “No wonder the people of our Country are so
angry with Illegal Immigration.”
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
A disgraceful verdict in the Kate Steinle case! No wonder the people of
our Country are so angry with Illegal Immigration.
Early Friday, Trump reaffirmed his support for the border wall and
warned Democrats they will pay a "big price" in future elections for
being "weak" on crime.
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
The Kate Steinle killer came back and back over the weakly protected
Obama border, always committing crimes and being violent, and yet this
info was not used in court. His exoneration is a complete travesty of
justice. BUILD THE WALL!
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
Republicans Senators are working hard to pass the biggest Tax Cuts in
the history of our Country. The Bill is getting better and better. This
is a once in a generation chance. Obstructionist Dems trying to block
because they think it is too good and will not be given the credit!
Jim Steinle, who was walking with his 32-year-old daughter when she was
killed, echoed Trump’s sentiments, telling the San Francisco Chronicle
the family was saddened and shocked by the verdict.
"There's no other way you can coin it. Justice was rendered, but it was
not served," he said in what he called the last interview he would do
about the case.
A jury earlier Thursday found Jose Ines Garcia Zarate not guilty in
Steinle’s killing on a San Francisco pier during the presidential
primary campaign in 2015.
U.S. immigration officials said they will deport Garcia Zarate, who had
been deported five times and was wanted for a sixth deportation when
Steinle was fatally shot in the back while walking with her father.
The killing touched off a fierce national immigration debate, and was
used by then-candidate Trump to push for a wall on the Mexican border.
"From Day 1 this case was used as a means to foment hate, to foment
division and to foment a program of mass deportation. It was used to
catapult a presidency along that philosophy of hate of others," defense
attorney Francisco Ugarte said after the verdict. "I believe today is a
day of vindication for the rest of immigrants."
The case spotlighted San Francisco's "sanctuary city" policy, which
limits local officials from cooperating with U.S. immigration
authorities.
Politics, however, did not come up in the month-long trial that featured
extensive testimony from ballistics experts. Defense attorneys argued
that Garcia Zarate was a hapless homeless man who killed Steinle in a
freak accident. Prosecutors said he meant to shoot and kill her.
Garcia Zarate did not deny shooting Steinle and said it was an accident.
Jurors did find him guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm,
meaning he knowingly had a firearm but there was no intent for him to
hurt or shoot anyone. Public Defender Jeff Adachi said the count carries
a potential sentence of 16 months to three years behind bars.
The family did not attend the reading of the verdict. Jurors left
without comment and the judge sealed their names.
Before the shooting, Garcia Zarate finished a federal prison sentence
for illegal re-entry into the United States and had been transferred to
San Francisco's jail in March 2015 to face a 20-year-old charge for
selling marijuana.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.