From WLKY

Gun-Toting, Pro-Pot Lawyer Discusses Killer's Trial

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- A man who shot his drinking buddy to death was too drunk to mean it, a Lexington jury concluded. The attorney who swayed the jury, colorful Kentucky politican Gatewood Galbraith, spoke exclusively to WLKY.com after the verdict.

"I thought it was a fair verdict. It’s certainly in accordance with the law, as the jury was instructed," Galbraith said. "There’s no evidence that there was murder. There was all kinds of evidence that it was exactly what they found him guilty of: second-degree manslaughter. It was a tragedy. But it was dealt with, I thought, at the proper level. I thought the father of the deceased was a class act, a class gentleman.”

A Fayette Circuit Court jury convicted Michael Kollros, 54, of second-degree manslaughter Wednesday for the fatal shooting of Daniel Butcher, 45. Witnesses testified that Butcher was staying at the Kollros residence after the two men had spent a day of heavy drinking.

Kollros said he shot Butcher in self-defense.

Galbraith said he got the idea of arguing his client was too drunk to commit murder from the law itself, which he argued exonerates an intoxicated person from having the intent to kill someone -- and intent is required for a murder charge.

"Well sure (the defense is) used, but lots of times jurors don’t buy it," Galbraith said. "In this particular matter, the evidence was overwhelming. The fact was that this man was absolutely ranting and raving. He’s been hospitalized in the past for various episodes. He was an alcoholic and it was just a tragic situation fueled by alcohol, like about 50 percent of my criminal defense business is.”

The jury also had the option of convicting Kollros of reckless homicide or first-degree manslaughter.

Galbraith asked jurors to convict Kollros of a lesser charge than murder, or acquit if they thought he acted in self-defense.

The jury recommended Kollros serve the maximum sentence of ten years in prison. A formal sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 21.

Galbraith recently lost his primary gubernatorial bid, with a platform that included legalizing marijuana, to fellow Democrat Steve Beshear. His autobiography, “The Last Free Man In America: Meets The Synthetic Subversion,” includes a cover portrait of Galbraith lugging an M-60 machine gun with two bandoliers of ammunition strapped around his chest. Galbraith said he put the photo on his book "because I'm a serious man."

His most recent campaign marked his fifth run for the governorship and he said, if Beshear doesn't follow through with cleaning up Frankfort, he'll run again.

"The reason I keep trying is because I’ve never stopped caring," Galbraith said. "People say ‘Galbraith, you’re a perennial candidate' and I say 'Kentucky’s got perennial problems.' The people who have beaten me have never beaten the problems. If somebody solved the problems, I wouldn’t run again. If somebody actually did what they say they’re going to do, I would do different things with my life. But the truth is, Kentucky has remained poverty ridden and undereducated all of my life.

"Like I said, I’m a serious man.”

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I think Windsock could start a new career as a hitman.

Good to know!