Legal expert explains why dad who shot Brit daughter over 'Donald Trump row' won't face charges

A legal expert has explained her thoughts on why Kris Harrison isn't facing charges after fatally shooting his 23-year-old child.

The dad did not encounter any legal consequences in wake of the deadly shooting of his daughter Lucy on 10 January last year, which came after the pair argued about Donald Trump.

Despite a UK inquest finding that the Cheshire-based fashion buyer was unlawfully killed on the grounds of gross negligence manslaughter, a grand jury in the US previously determined there was not enough evidence to charge anyone in connection with Lucy's death.

Bodycam footage taken inside her father's home in Prosper, Texas, captured the moment that Kris told police officers how he had been showing her his gun when it 'just went off'.

You can watch the video here:

Kris, who was described as a functioning alcoholic by the coroner in Cheshire, can be heard telling officials that he had been showing Lucy his Glock semi-automatic handgun shortly before she was due to head to the airport.

He claimed he had a conversation about weapons with his daughter and said Lucy had asked to see the gun, having supposedly never discussed his gun ownership with him before.

But the inquest heard evidence from others that Lucy knew her father had a weapon in the home and disagreed with it.

In a statement, Kris - who admitted drinking wine earlier in the day - said: “As I lifted the gun to show her I suddenly heard a loud bang. I did not understand what had happened. Lucy immediately fell.”

The coroner accepted that he did not know the gun was loaded but did not accept that Lucy would have asked to see the gun, given she disliked the weapons and considered them a danger to the family.

Senior coroner Jacqueline Devonish said: "His actions have killed his own daughter and in the cold light of day it is hoped that he now recognises the risk he posed to her life in circumstances in which he had no experience of guns, had undertaken no training and had never fired a gun."

The 23-year-old was shot dead last year by her dad in Texas (Cheshire Police/PA Wire)

Kris said he purchased the gun to give his family a 'sense of security'. Due to the law in Texas, he did not need a licence to do so.

Police in the US state failed to test the dad for alcohol in wake of the shooting, despite suspecting he had been drinking after an officer reported smelling booze on his breath.

According to former prosecutor turned criminal defense lawyer Lindsay Richards, Kris did not face any charges in the US because of 'politics'.

The Austin-based legal expert told the New York Post: "I honestly believe that the fact that he was not indicted and has not had any consequences for doing this is symptomatic of a very conservative county in Texas.

"The only thing we can boil this down to is looking at our political climate. A conservative county in Texas, and this was the result."

She suggested that both Trump's name being mentioned in the case and the ongoing row over gun laws in the US have both played a part in the lack of prosecution.

Sharing her shock that he did not face manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide charges, Richards said: "I also think it should be noted that he had been drinking that day as well.

Kris Harrison did not face charges in wake of Lucy's death (Courts and Tribunals Judiciary)

"So that’s another element to this that I cannot believe was not considered in his criminal negligence. That’s obvious."

Richards, a partner at the law firm Coker and Connelly, said criminally negligent homicide would be a 'proper potential charge' for Kris - as she's seen people hauled to court for a lot less.

"I’ve seen cases in Texas where individuals that have been indicted for manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide for running traffic lights," the lawyer added.

"So certainly an individual taking a firearm, showing it to his daughter. And had to have been pointing it at her...that doesn’t typically happen."

Discussing the legalities of this case in Texas, Richards added: "We have stand your Ground laws, but I don’t see how they would have applied in this situation because that’s more of a self-defense [law]. Being in fear [for] your life.

"Not with your own daughter after you’ve been drinking wine and having an argument about politics."

Lucy's grieving mother Jane Coates said her daughter was 'failed' by Texan gun laws and decisions made by the police department in Prosper while speaking outside the coroner’s court.