A Portland jury acquitted a man who admitted to stabbing a stranger after video captured the victim using a racial slur in the aftermath of the attack.
Multnomah County prosecutors charged Gary Edwards, 43, with second-degree assault for the July 7 knife attack on Gregory Howard Jr. near the Union Station MAX stop, according to Oregon Live. Edwards faced five years and 10 months in state prison under Oregon’s Measure 11 sentencing law.
Edwards testified he acted in self-defense after Howard yelled the slur at him. Howard denied using the word before the stabbing.
Transit cameras showed Edwards approaching Howard from behind with a fixed-blade knife as Howard sat on a bench. Howard jumped up and pushed Edwards when he saw him. The two scuffled briefly before Edwards stabbed Howard in the shoulder. (RELATED: Previously Deported Illegal Reportedly Stabbed Victim On Same Rail System Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Was Killed)
Jury nullification: A Portland, Ore. jury acquitted a violent black career criminal who admitted to stabbing a white man because the victim said the N-word after being stabbed. The defence argued the stabbing was self-defence against racism. pic.twitter.com/Z6O8G4RkLW
— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) December 6, 2025
Defense attorney Daniel Small told jurors the key evidence came later, when security officers recorded Howard shouting the racial slur on body cameras.
“What other than racism could explain why Mr. Howard perceived hatred, animosity and aggression from a complete stranger,” Small asked the jury.
Prosecutor Katherine Williams argued the slur was irrelevant since Howard said it after the attack.
“The defendant is not scared for his life. He didn’t retreat, he sauntered up — and he sauntered away after he stabbed someone,” Williams said. “The defendant created the situation.”
The jury sided with Edwards.
Both men are homeless with violent criminal histories. Edwards was sentenced to three years for a 2020 stabbing at a different MAX station. Howard was convicted of felony rape of a child in Washington state in 1997.
The stabbing occurred shortly after 9:30 a.m, KPTV reported. Portland police arrested Edwards through the Central Bike Squad.
