Woman who filmed fatal shooting acted in self-defense

An Avondale woman who recorded herself on video fatally shooting one woman and wounding another acted in self-defense, her attorney said Wednesday.

Akira Fletcher, 23, faces charges including aggravated murder in the death of Nyeme Norton, who was shot in mid-July and died Aug. 24. Fletcher was indicted Aug. 30 by a Hamilton County grand jury and arraigned Wednesday on charges including aggravated murder and felonious assault.

Fletcher said in a Facebook post that the two women she shot had attacked her and that she called 911 before the shooting.

Her attorney, Brandon Fox, told The Enquirer on Wednesday: “My client clearly acted in self-defense. This is evident in the videos that have already been released. Through our preliminary investigation into this matter, we have uncovered further evidence that strengthens our case. Ms. Fletcher looks forward to her day in court.”

Court documents show Fletcher and Norton had conflicts before the shooting and that Fletcher had been ordered to stay away from Norton.

The videos

On August 30, Fletcher posted two videos on Facebook showing the incident. Fletcher said that in the interval between the videos, he called 911 “to ask them to send someone.”

Fletcher said in a Facebook post that a woman “smashed my driver’s side window to attack me” and that she “kept trying to get into my car to stab me.”

About 30 seconds into the first video, Fletcher exits the vehicle. When he does, there are two women waiting near the vehicle.

“You’re going to jail,” Fletcher tells a woman who appears to be slashing the vehicle’s tire with a knife. The woman then appears to throw a rock at the camera.

Eventually, the rear window of the vehicle shatters and Fletcher exits the vehicle. The women yell at each other. The video ends with Fletcher driving away.

Another broken window, 4 shots fired

As the second video begins, Fletcher’s driver’s side window is broken.

“You’re going to jail,” she says over and over.

Eventually, one of the women approaches the window and Fletcher appears to fire four times before the video cuts out.

Norton died on August 24. Fletcher was charged a week later.

Past conflict

About three weeks before the shooting, Fletcher was accused of smashing the windows of Norton’s vehicle.

According to court documents, Fletcher was charged with criminal mischief, a misdemeanor, and was released on her own recognizance. A Hamilton County Municipal Court judge ordered Fletcher to stay away from Norton.

That case is still pending.

Changes in the law on self-defense

Ohio law regarding self-defense changed significantly in 2021 when the state passed so-called “stand your ground” legislation that removed a person’s duty to attempt to remove themselves from a situation before using deadly force.

The law also changed the burden of proof. Before the 2021 law, a defendant claiming to have acted in self-defense had to prove in court that he or someone close to him was in danger. Now, the burden of proof falls on prosecutors to prove otherwise.

Hamilton County District Attorney’s Office spokesman Matthew Broo said this has made it difficult to successfully prosecute violent crimes.

“As a result of this change, prosecutors must now prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not use self-defense, defense of another person, or defense of a person’s residence in taking action,” Broo said in a statement. “It doesn’t take a law degree to know that proving something didn’t happen is much harder than proving something did happen, especially when many of these cases are based on subjective concepts like “fear” of someone or “belief” that something was about to happen.”

Last year, the Columbus Dispatch reported that half of Franklin County defendants who claimed to have acted in self-defense won their cases. Statistics were not immediately available, but Broo said self-defense is an issue in more cases now than in the past.

Fletcher is being held at the Hamilton County Justice Center on $150,000 bail.

Breaking

Woman who filmed fatal shooting acted in self-defense

ByS. Jacob

The videos

Another broken window, 4 shots fired

Past conflict

Changes in the law on self-defense

By S. Jacob

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