The family of Ethan Liming issued a statement Tuesday puzzling over a jury's decision that led to a jury acquittal and mistrial on involuntary manslaughter charges relating to the 17-year-old's death last year.
The statement was released by the family's attorney on their behalf.
You can read the full statement below:
"The Liming Family is completely devastated by the outcome of this trial and cannot understand how three young men can get away with viciously beating their son, Ethan, to death.
Ethan didn’t get a fair shot that night when three men brutally attacked him and now again Ethan did not get a fair shot in court.
They feel like Ethan has been killed again and now the Liming Family is victimized by the system and the media for publishing articles that were not only hurtful to the Liming Family, but were also simply not true.
This case had nothing to do with race when it happened. The community picked sides and in a symptom of our society, lost sight of what is simply a matter of right or wrong. Clearly the jury lost its way and the Liming Family cannot understand that if they convicted the defendants of assault and aggravated assault then what killed Ethan, the concrete? That is like saying I just happened to be holding the gun that killed someone. The Liming Family yet again was victimized by jury nullification where the jury ignored proven facts to come back with an inconsistent verdict. As their attorney, to witness the injustice, to witness the grief, the harassment, the cruel and unimaginable things said on social media reflects how broken we are as a community, as a city, and as a nation. Nothing will bring back Ethan. His death goes without justice. The people who killed Ethan go without consequence and our community remains crippled in its failure to recognize the simple concepts of fairness and compassion.
At this time the Liming Family would like to thank all those that have stood with them during these devastating times and the support and comfort they’ve provided."
— James A. Gutierrez esq.
On Monday, after nearly three days of deliberations, the jury hearing the case found Deshawn and Tyler Stafford not guilty of one count of involuntary manslaughter for Liming's death in the summer of 2022. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on the other involuntary manslaughter charge against Deshawn Stafford, and a mistrial was declared for that charge.
Deshawn Stafford was found guilty of aggravated assault and assault. Tyler Stafford was found guilty of assault. Both were found not guilty of a third-degree charge of involuntary manslaughter as a proximate result of committing or attempting to commit assault.
Liming died from a head injury during a fight with the brothers after he and his friends shot gel pellets at them from a toy gun while they played basketball outside the I Promise school in Akron.
