A Colorado man who faced two first-degree murder charges for shooting and killing two aggressors during a road-rage incident has finally had all charges dropped against him.
In June 2023, Stephan Long was driving on Interstate 25 in Denver when two men—brothers Blake and Damon Lucas—pulled up beside next to him on the highway, yelled at him and then swerved in front of his car and came to a stop. One of the brothers, Blake, then jumped out of the passenger side of the vehicle he was traveling in and attacked Long through his open window. At that point, Long grabbed a handgun he had in his car and shot him in self-defense. His brother Damon exited the driver’s side of his vehicle and grabbed onto the driver’s side of Long’s car as he was trying to get away, at which point Long shot him as well. Long then fled the scene and didn’t call 911, mitigating factors that likely led to the initial charges. Complicating the issue, Long is black and the Lucas brothers were white.
Following the incident, Long was immediately arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder, one of which was dropped not long afterward. He spent months in jail before finally being released on bond.
On Aug. 21—14 months after the shooting—the Denver district attorney finally dropped the remaining murder charge against Long, ending a long nightmare that turned his life upside down.
“After a careful and comprehensive review of all the evidence in the case—which included numerous consultations with members of my office—and after applying Colorado law to the evidence, I have concluded that we could not prove Mr. Long’s guilt to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt,” Denver DA Beth McCann said in a released statement. “The evidence establishes a strong and valid self-defense claim pursuant to Colorado law. As a result, we will ask the court to dismiss the remaining charges against Mr. Long. This was an extremely difficult and heart-wrenching decision but, ultimately, in my opinion, the correct one.”
Following the decision, the Denver Justice Project, which had been advocating for charges to be dropped, voiced support for the decision.
“This dismissal represents the justice Stephan deserved from the very beginning,” the organization said in a released statement. “Unfortunately, the delayed injustice he has endured throughout his criminal proceedings has brought to light significant systemic inadequacies and racial disparities in the application of self-defense laws, particularly when Black men are forced to defend themselves against white aggressors.”
The organization also said it was hopeful the Long case might change the way some law enforcement issues are handled in the future.
“It is our hope that this dismissal not only rectifies the wrongs done to Stephan but also serves as a crucial step toward addressing these broader issues,” the group said. “We believe this case could set an important precedent in the legal system, paving the way for fairer and more equitable treatment for all.”
For his part, Long was thrilled to have the charges dropped and the cloud removed from overhead.
“First and foremost, I want to give all glory to our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ,” Long said upon the dismissal of the charges. “Without him, nothing would have been possible.”
Read the full article here
