Teens charged in Royta Giles’ death were defending themselves, lawyers say

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Birmingham attorney Victor Revill represents Jackson, who he said is a graduate of Huffman High School. “He is a son, a grandson, a cousin, and a friend. This young man has never been arrested, charged, nor convicted of a crime in his young life,‘' Revill said.

Jackson, he said, was put in a position where he was forced to defend himself against “the violent actions’' of Coleman, whom he didn’t know. “Mr. Jackson has been charged with capital murder and assault for defending his own life and for refusing to be victimized by a person who clearly had no regard for human life.”

“Mr. Jackson is yet another victim of a system that maintains a blatant double standard between the actions of members of the public and actions of police officers. Instead of searching for answers and cloaking Mr. Jackson in the presumption of innocence which the law requires, law enforcement chose to arrest Mr. Jackson without gathering all of the evidence,‘' Revill said.

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“While many members of the law enforcement community are given the benefit of the doubt when a shooting occurs, it is deeply disturbing that Mr. Jackson was not given the benefit of a full investigation prior to him being charged. Regardless of the assumptions being made in this case, we are confident that justice will prevail, the truth will be heard, and Mr. Jackson’s actions in self-defense will be vindicated.”

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