BISBEE — Representatives of some activist groups are not pleased with the outcome of Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Corbett’s murder trial.
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On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge David Bury declared a mistrial because the jury was unable to decide on a verdict. Prosecutors intend to retry the case.
Edward “Bud” Tuffly, president of the Local 2544 National Border Patrol Council in Tucson, said the union will continue to stand by Corbett’s side.
“We are extremely disappointed that this trial did not result in an acquittal for agent Corbett. We remain 100 percent committed in our support of agent Corbett. We are saddened that he has paid such a high price for doing his job,” he said in a statement.
Cecile Lumer of Citizens for Border Solutions, a Bisbee group that is part of the No More Deaths Coalition, said a conviction in this case is important. “We are glad there is going to be a retrial,” she said.
“feel that if he is freed, it says to the Border Patrol that you can do whatever you want and you can kill people,” she added.
Al Garza, national executive director of Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, said he does not think Corbett’s case should be in court.
“If our federal government had done what it was supposed to do, we wouldn’t have this aftereffect,” he said. “The borders are wide open, and they are dangerous. These guys in the Border Patrol are constantly suffering the consequences of the dangerous elements that exist throughout the borders.”
Efforts were unsuccessful to get comments regarding the Corbett case from an official at the Mexican Consulate in Tucson.
Corbett claims he fatally shot Dominguez-Rivera out of self-defense to prevent the victim from smashing his skull with a rock last year. Prosecutors, however, say the killing was not justified.
Judge Bury scheduled a new trial for April 22, but that date will likely be changed due to a scheduling conflict with one of the defense attorneys.
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