Stanford Griswold is accused of punching the 24-year-old Euston once. But that punch killed him.
Euston was found, bloody, at Westport Road and Mill Street around bar closing time on October 10. He suffered a severe head injury, but initially the cause of death was a mystery, with no witnesses coming forward. He died at Truman Medical Center two days later. Authorities later declared Euston's death a homicide.
Court documents gave two witnesses' accounts of what led to Euston's death. Witnesses told police that they were outside America's Pub, when Euston — whose blood alcohol level was .387, more than four times the legal limit to drive — approached. Euston was allegedly bothering people outside the bar and "getting in their faces."
The witnesses urged Euston to leave, but he refused. Griswold allegedly became annoyed and threatened to knock out Euston, who was allegedly bothering him and his girlfriend.
Griswold allegedly struck Euston once, and he and his girlfriend left the scene.
Westport Public Safety officers found Euston bleeding from his mouth. Euston was taken to the hospital where he was diagnosed with severe head injuries. He died October 12.
Prosecutors say they charged Griswold with involuntary manslaughter rather than murder because there was no evidence that Griswold intended to kill Euston.
If convicted, Griswold faces one to seven years in prison.
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Alonzo - according to the accused and his girlfriend, he tried to walk away. Many times. The victim wouldn't leave them alone, to the point that the girlfriend felt threatened. And I know that's only one side of the story, but it's not like this guy was just walking around looking for someone to punch.
Wow. So the defense for Stanturd is arguing that it is OK to punch and kill someone drunk in Westport? Holy cow, I would be punching people every night. There is no excuse. Stanturd could have walked away, instead he punched and killed a drunk, that equals murder. If I punch someone, I know that I could be charged with assault and murder, that's why I don't punch people.
Don't get me wrong, Abe - I agree with you. There's no way to know exactly what happened that night, who served him what, etc. Did friends keep feeding him shots? Did he outrace the doorman to all the half-finished beers that people left on the table at last call? There is no realistic way for a bar to be 100% certain than a drunk person can't get his/her hands on more booze.
If, on the other hand, a bartender looked at a guy at 0.387 (which I'd guess would be pass-out level for half the population) and still poured him a drink...if and only if this can be proven, then yeah--the bartender should be penalized.
How can you tell when someone is too drunk? I know people who when they get over the top drunk are often actually kind of quiet because they are too fucked up to say or do anything. Then a friend hands them another jager bomb and they keep drinking. Could have had waitresses bringing by rounds that other people at the table ordered. He could have looked drunk, but not too drunk, when going up to the bar. I know .38 is ridiculously high, but not everyone is a fall down drunk when they are that drunk. I don't think the guy was barely able to walk, as he was standing outside of a bar harassing women.
Too many factors to say the bartenders failed to stop him, even if a sleezy lawyer could win with that excuse in court.
Sad as it is that Brian had to die, there is a valuable lesson in all this-know your limitations.
If Brian was acting a fool, and directing it at Mr Griswold, I cant say as I blame him for swinging on Brian.
The pub keeper was doing Brian a favor by NOT calling WP patrol, but it seems to me that if they had, Brian might still be alive, who knows. I've never been one to use alcohol as an excuse simply because no one has ever forced alcohol down my throat. I have never accidentally gotten drunk....its always been intentional.
Once again, I feel its a very sad situation that could have been avoided.
Abe - from a legal standpoint, it is. Part of being a card-carrying bartender is not serving visibly intoxicated patrons. It does become an argument of semantics and alcohol tolerance and judgment and the inability to throw a breathalyzer into someone's Schnappshole with every drink order, but bars and bartenders can certainly be held liable for overserving.
I don't disagree with your point, but if someone is found to have provided alcohol to someone who was barely able to walk they should expect to be penalized.
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