The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
April 24, 2018

Tucson, AZ: Murder Acquittal for Border Agent Who Shot Mexican Teen
-------------------------------------------------------------------

In Tucson, Arizona, a federal jury has acquitted Border Patrol agent
Lonnie Swartz on murder charges, nearly six years after he shot and
killed a 16-year-old Mexican teenager. José Antonio Rodríguez was
unarmed and walking along a sidewalk in Nogales, Sonora, when Swartz
fired on him through the border wall from the U.S. side. An autopsy
shows Rodríguez was shot 10 times-with two bullets in his head and eight
in his back. Swartz was cleared Monday of second-degree murder, while
the jury deadlocked on two lesser manslaughter charges; prosecutors said
after the trial they were considering whether to bring a new
manslaughter trial against Swartz. Following the verdict, scores of
protesters marched from the courthouse and blocked busy intersections in
downtown Tucson.


.