AKRON, Ohio — The Summit County jury deciding the fate of Deshawn and Tyler Stafford deliberated throughout Thursday without reaching verdicts for the brothers accused of killing 17-year-old Ethan Liming.
The brothers are facing involuntary manslaughter and assault charges in connection with the 2022 death of Liming, who was a rising senior at Firestone High School in Akron.
The crucial focal point for the 12 jurors could be whether they believe the defendants acted in self-defense under Ohio's Stand Your Ground law, as the defense's closing statements hinged on this argument.
Prosecutors admitted during closing arguments on Wednesday that Liming and his friends made bad decisions when they got out of a car and used toy SpaltRball guns to shoot gel pellets at basketball players on the court of the I Promise School in Akron on June 2, 2022.
"Most pranks are not bright ideas. It was a joke," said Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Matt Kuhn.
The Stafford brothers, who were on the basketball court, initially ran, but prosecutors said a short time later, Deshawn approached Liming outside of his car. Liming fired more pellets which hit Deshawn, leading to a fight, according to court testimony.
Kuhn said Deshawn threw the first punch, but it became a three-on-one fight with Tyler and their cousin, Donovan Jones, joining the fight. Jones was convicted of two misdemeanor counts of assault in connection to the incident.
Liming fell backward and hit his head on the pavement, which caused his death, according to the Summit County Medical Examiner.
Kuhn believes the Staffords realized it was a prank but retaliated with unreasonable force.
"Their behavior caused the death of Ethan Liming. They were committing assault on Ethan. They were violently attacking him," Kuhn told the jury.
But defense attorneys argue the brothers were not looking for trouble that night, rather, trouble found them.
Attorney Jon Sinn, who represents Deshawn, held up one of the toy guns and demonstrated the noise it makes while making his closing argument on Wednesday.
"It didn't have to be deadly. It could have been (demonstrated toy gun) right out the window and go forward," Sinn said.
The defense argued the brothers acted in self-defense, and the burden to prove they didn't falls on the prosecution.
"They've got to prove Deshawn didn't act in self-defense in the shadows. That's on them," Sinn said.
University of Akron Law Professor Michael Gentithes said the case could test Ohio's Stand Your Ground law passed in 2021.
He said self-defense could be argued if a defendant didn't provoke the incident, along with another important factor.
"Second, that the defendant had some bonafide belief of the imminent danger of something pretty serious — of death or great bodily harm," Gintithes said.
The law professor pointed out that Ohio's Stand Your Ground law is broader than similar laws in other states as it relates to a "duty to retreat."
"As long as the defendant is in a place they're lawfully allowed to be, the duty to retreat no longer applies," Gintithes added.
Gintithes doesn't know all of the facts surrounding the death of Liming, but he said it's possible the jurors in the high-profile case could be wrestling with the self-defense versus unreasonable force debate.
He said the verdict would be one to watch and could be discussed among his law students.
"Depending on the outcome, it would be a good demonstration of the elements of self-defense and how they potentially apply," Gintithes said.
