A panel of eight women and four men found him guilty on six counts of first-degree intentional homicide and three counts of first-degree intentional attempted homicide after three hours of deliberations, reported the Associated Press. Wisconsin does not have a death penalty. Eight people were shot and six died.

"Vang, who sat impassively in an oversized green suit as the verdicts were read, was charged with two counts of attempted homicide for shooting at victim Lauren Hesebeck on two separate occasions in the minutes-long ambush," said the AP.

Although I know most of you probably didn't get a chance to watch it, Vang's trial was broadcast from Hayward, Wis., on Court TV. I did watch most of Vang's testimony and that of victim Lauren Hesebeck who was shot twice in the mass murder but survived.

The murders took place after Vang was caught hunting on private property and confronted by the land owner. Vang contended that one of the seven people he shot fired at him first and used racial epithets. But Hesebeck said he fired one round at the Minnesota resident after Hesebeck had already been shot through the neck and was lying on the ground. Vang emptied a 20-round rifle magazine in the shootings.

In other testimony, it was revealed that one of the dead men had called Vang a "mud duck."

Incredibly, Vang calmly testified how he shot the men in the back, tracked down a wounded man and shot him two or three more times and asked one of his victims: "You sill alive?" before shooting him again. Vang testified that at least three of the dead men "deserved to die" for using the "mud duck" term.

Hesebeck confirmed most of what Vang said, including how he tracked down one wounded man and shot him again and again.

Although the trial was held in Sawyer County where the murder took place, the jury was drawn from Dane Co. where the state capital, Madison, is located. Jury members were then driven to Hayward for the trial. It was an all- white jury. Prosecutors said that several minority representatives on the jury list asked to be excused because they had already formed opinions in the case.

Vang's family claimed the jury was racially prejudiced because no Hmong was included on the jury.

As the prosecutor, Wisconsin Attorney General Pat Lautenschlager argued, no matter what was said, there is no excuse for murdering six unarmed men and women. Only Hesebeck had a rifle among the victims.

The murders probably could have been avoided, but two of the Wisconsin men stopped Vang to harangue him and get his hunting license number as he began to walk away. After walking about 20 yards are removing his rifle's scope, Vang turned and opened fire.

©Copyright 2005. Jordan Communications