Stabbing a White Guy is Allowed if He Said a Racial Slur According to Portland Jury [WATCH]

A Portland jury has acquitted a man who admitted to stabbing a stranger near the Union Station MAX stop after video evidence showed the victim using a racial slur following the altercation.

The verdict was delivered in the case of Gary Edwards, 43, who had been charged with second-degree assault for the July 7 stabbing of Gregory Howard Jr., according to Oregon Live.

Edwards faced a mandatory sentence of five years and ten months under Oregon’s Measure 11 sentencing law.

Prosecutors with the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office argued that Edwards was the aggressor and should be convicted of the felony charge.

Edwards testified that he acted in self-defense and that Howard directed a racial slur at him prior to the stabbing. Howard denied using the slur before the attack.

Transit surveillance footage presented to the jury showed Edwards approaching Howard from behind while holding a fixed-blade knife as Howard sat on a bench at the MAX station.

Howard stood up and pushed Edwards when he noticed him approaching.

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A brief scuffle followed, during which Edwards stabbed Howard once in the shoulder.

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

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Defense attorney Daniel Small told jurors that the most significant evidence came from later body camera footage recorded by transit security officers.

In that footage, Howard was heard shouting the racial slur.

Small argued that the victim’s language was central to understanding his perception during the confrontation.

“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 countered that the comments captured on video were irrelevant because Howard did not make them until after the stabbing.

She argued that Edwards instigated the encounter and had opportunities to avoid violence.

“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 ultimately found Edwards not guilty.

Both Edwards and Howard are homeless and have histories of violent crime.

Edwards previously served a three-year sentence for a 2020 stabbing at another MAX station.

Howard was convicted of felony rape of a child in Washington state in 1997.

The July 7 incident occurred shortly after 9:30 a.m., according to KPTV.

Portland police from the Central Bike Squad located Edwards and placed him under arrest following the stabbing.