this is "nightline." >> tonight, was it a trap? >> who shot him? >> my husband. >> this homeowner says he was defending himself against a teenager who came into his garage. but prosecutors say the defendant lured his victim in and murdered him. tonight, the 911 tapes and the unlikely witness. plus, criming while white. can some people get away with breaking the law just because they're white? the hash tag raising questions tonight about race and justice -- >> somebody help me! >> and white privilege. and, searching for a miracle. wounded warriors on an emotional pilgrimage. can the holy water of lourdes really heal? but first, the "nightline" five. >> welcome to the reimagined quick books.

do more than ever before with it. make any place your place of business with it. get paid faster with it. run payroll with it. sync this stuff with that stuff with it. turn on only what you need with it. sample from our smorgasbord of apps with it. take in the big picture with it. see your finances in a whole new way with it. this is your business on quick books. run with it. >> and number one in just 60 seconds. (vo) nourished. rescued. protected. given new hope. during the subaru "share the love" event, subaru owners feel it, too. because when you take home a new subaru, we donate 250 dollars to helping those in need. we'll have given 50 million dollars over seven years. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru.

good evening. you are about to meet a man who says he was similarly protecting himself when he shot and killed a teenager who walked into his garage. but this case has a real twist. prosecutors say this wasn't self-defense. but instead, a trap, set bay trigger happy homeowner. here's abc's tom llamas for our

series, "crime and punishment." >> who shot him? >> my husband. >> reporter: on the phone, jan nel flagger, calling 911 after her common law husband shot dead this 17-year-old who entered their garage, just after midnight last april. >> where was he shot? >> um -- i don't know. he's laying face down, he's barely breathing. >> reporter: the person bleeding to death? a german-born exchange student who walked into their garage, possibly looking for alcohol. the very next day, police arresting karma for deliberate homicide. prosecutors say didi didn't know it at the time, but he walked right into a trap. that say karma and flagger, fed up with being burglarized, set up a garage to catch the burglar in the act. court documents show they set up a baby monitor in the garage and installed motion sensors. the question now for the jury, did karma truly feel his life and home were in danger, or was

he just trigger happy? >> he had to take the steps, unfortunately, to take his life. >> things that show that this case was not justifiably use of force. >> reporter: if that's the case, why are prosecutors honing in on this bait theory, they tried to bait this burglar and shot and killed him? >> if they baited him, then he's guilty. you can't lure someone into your home to try to kill them. in any state with any protective stand your ground or castle doctrine law. bottom line is, you set a trap for someone to come to your house, you're prepared there to shoot and kill that person because you've created a trap? that's murder. >> reporter: among the evidence, this surveillance image of didi inside the garage. karma says a sensor alarm alerted him so, he grabbed his shotgun, then ran outside. he says he heard threatening noises coming from inside the dark garage, so he fired four

shots, striking didi in the arm and then in the head. didi's mother, leaving the courtroom in tears. some of the images too graphic from the crime scene, including the holes in the wall from the shot gun blasts. >> certainly it is easy to second guess and question what other things he could have done, but at that moment, he believed he had no other choice. >> reporter: but not working in the defense's favor, many in karma's community. they claim flagger talked about how they were luring a robber. >> he said, yeah, we're going to beat him. >> reporter: here's the hairdresser that cult karma's hair just days before the incident. >> he said he was really tired and that he had been sitting up for three days waiting to shoot some [ bleep ] kids. >> reporter: and the morning after the shooting, a neighbor says flagger told him this matter of factually. >> she said, you do not have to worry about the burglaries anymore and suzanne said, why is

that? and she said, because he's dead. >> reporter: but karma had a history of odd behavior. his former landscaper testifying that karma came outside naked, pulling a gun on him when he set off the home's motion sensors. >> i was scared. i was frozen. >> reporter: but according to the victim's friend, also a foreign exchange student at big school high school, they had no idea that looking for beer in people's garages could turn deadly. >> no one told us that you could be shot if you went inside a garage because we don't have that kind of laws in our countries. >> okay, so, you don't think it was a crime to go into somebody else's house in the middle of the night? >> i said that it wasn't good this way and never get into a garage. i was sure that it wasn't right. >> reporter: but for karma's case, one witness who could potentially do the most damage, his own common law wife. prosecutors deciding to put her on the stand to paint the couple as a pair of vigilantes, not

victims. the night of the shooting, for instance, she told police the teenager cried out, no, no, wait, please, before karma killed him. now, she's taken the stand saying that didn't happen. >> i was absolute lly traumatiz. i was being asked questions within a half an hour of holding somebody's brain in my hand. >> reporter: while the 911 operator dreked her to give didi first aid, reportedly she responded by going through his wallet and commenting, he's not even a u.s. citizen. >> my heart breaks for them. i don't mean to come across that way. >> reporter: has the common law wife hurt xhar's case? >> oh, yeah. if the things she had previously said happened, that's a big problem for him. >> reporter: under montana law, a person doesn't have to feel his life is in danger at home to use force. they can actively think it would present an assault. also known as the castle doctrine. the law has been at the center of other high profile cases,

including the case of damon verron in texas in 2008. he, his wife and 6-month-old baby were all at home when they were burglarized. >> i heard a crashing through my window, which was this window right here in my bedroom and i got my gun. when i came around the corner, i saw the silhouette in my window, i pointed my weapon, i fired three times. >> reporter: he told abc news that he shot to kill in order to protect his family. he got off scott free. if i had to do it again, i would. it's the safety of my family over us being hurt. it's a no brainer for me. >> reporter: back in montana, karma's defense team making a similar argument. >> what other remedy did that have as far as -- they tahad to take the law into their own hands. they didn't have any other choice. >> reporter: but all of this will be up to the jury, who will hear more testimony tomorrow. for "nightline," tom llamas in new york. coming up here on "nightline," if this man were white, would the police be treating him differently?

>> my kids are right there. >> after the break. they say 'i never thought you would quit.' but chantix helped me do it. along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. it gave me the power to overcome the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. some people had seizures while taking chantix. if you have any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix or history of seizures. don' take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these, stop chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. tell your doctor if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, or if you develop new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. decrease alcohol use while taking chantix. use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. i'm a non-smoker, that feels amazing.

ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. ia cause to support the pover 65 million people who may need the trusted protection of depend underwear. show them they're not alone. and show off a pair of depend. get a free sample at underwareness.com whaoh wow!t?! hello, humans. focus on me! focus on the guard. don't tell anyone what you've seen in here. have you seen what's in there? they have - intel. this is where it all changes.

oóña0qv!tct did you get chips for the party? nope. (ding) cheese plate? cheese plate. no, i made something better. you used the oven? boom. pillsbury crescents. make the holidays pop. he loves me, he loves me not he loves me, he loves me not he loves me! warm and flaky in fifteen... everyone loves pillsbury grands. make dinner pop.

in america, will the police really let you get away with a crime just because you're white? tonight, thousands of white people are going online to tell their stories of evading the law. it is a provocative new wrinkle in the national debate about race in the wake of the grand jury decisions in both ferguson and new york city. here tonight, abc's linsey davis with the latest installment in our week-long look at race and justice in america. >> why do i have to let you know who i am? >> reporter: take a look at this.

a father about to be tased in front of preschoolers. >> i'm not doing anything! ah! i'm not doing anything! >> reporter: picking up your kids from daycare, yet another scenario that falls under the category of things you can't do while black. at least according to 28-year-old chris lolly. >> come on -- >> i'm not here to argue. >> i'm a black man and i live this every day of my life. and it sucks. >> what's your business with me right now? >> the problem is, i'm black. that's the problem. prejudice is something real in this society. they just didn't believe anything i was saying. >> reporter: we've seen the mass protests. people rallying behind sayings like -- >> hands up, don't shoot. >> reporter: celebrities donning shirts with the words "i can't breathe." and on social media, trending hash tacks suggesting eric garner and michael brown are not

isolated cases. alive while black and criming while white have sparked a national conversation, as thousands share experiences. >> i was drinking wine on by dc stoop when cops passed right by me to detain my black neighbor drinking wine on his. >> reporter:er was 20. stopped by cop at gas station. under the influence and underage. he flirted with me, then let me drive home. #crimingwhilewhite. people tweeting about crimes they allegedly committed and got away with, they say, just because of their race. >> white privilege means -- >> being given the benefit of the doubt at any turn. >> i can go through this world without having to think about my race. >> you know, i watch criming while white go viral very quickly and on some level, i

appreciated it. but it almost felt like humble bragging. like at what we're able to get away with it. we needed to hear how black people are treated by the police. >> reporter: in response, jameel started the hash tag alive while black. >> got raped and robbed. police took forever to interview me. mentioned that women sometimes lie to hide, quote unquote, gambling or overspending. #alivewhi #alivewhileblack. >> reporter: many in the black community felt theired a their own stories to tell. stories that had been ignored. alive while black quickly took off. >> my neighbors called the police to my home. they arrived and handcuffed me before realizing it was me that needed help. >> alive while black. suv full of women leaving bachelorette party. cop s pull us over with guns drawn. we fit the profile of two male robbers. we're feeling angry, we're

feeling tired. we're feeling saddened and terrified that we can't just live a normal life, that our normal is different from everyone else's. >> reporter: for chris in minnesota, these stories are eck coast of his own. >> sitting right here just waiting and even the cameras back there show it. >> reporter: he was sitting in a public seating area when a security guard approached him. >> he walked up to me and asked me what i was doing there and i told him exactly, you know, i'm waiting on my kids at new horizons. gave them the name, the place. i have to go get my kids. please don't touch me. >> you're going to go to jail. >> reporter: the police are called. >> i was excited for the police to come. more of less just because they were going to get -- i expected them to get there and say that i was in a public area and they had no reason to ask me to leave. >> put your hands behind your back. >> reporter: while chris is recording on his phone, the

situation starts to deteriorate. he is then tasers and eventually arrested. >> i'm not doing anything! stop, please! >> reporter: the same day this video surfaced, all of lolly's charges were dropped. he's now suing the city of st. paul and the three officers involved. the police officers have denied all wrongdoing. his video may have just saved him from prison. while other videos like this one now so familiar, ignited a firestorm in america that continues to reverberate. rallying around these hash tags has given way to conversations that may have never taken place. >> there's a whole segment of society that doesn't want to talk about race. and the way they try to shut that down is to say that people talking about race is actually racism. no, you know, choking a man to death is actually racism. >> reporter: some doubt how much these hash tack tags really in

change. are they just oversimplifying and labeling? director and producer of tv hits like "grey's anatomy" and "scandal" shonda rhimes says hash tacks should not be mistaken for activism. >> hash tag is not helping. it's not the same as doing something. hash tags are. >> reporter: spret on twitter. i love them. i will hash tag myself into next week. but it is not a movement. it does not make you dr. king. it does not change anything. >> hash tags were never meant to be the end all be all for solving the world's ills. the same way that putting black female characters on "scandal" and "how to get away with murder" is not a revolution. but it may be a revolutionary act. >> reporter: but it remains to be seen if discussions about #crimingwhilewhite and

#alivewhileblack will bridge a racial divide or polarize us even more. i'm linsey davis for "nightline" in new york. next on "nightline," wounded american veterans looking for a miracle in the remote village where a young girl claimed to have seen the virgin mary.

celebrate what's new, the bigger, better menu at red lobster! with more of what you love! try our newest wood-grilled combination! maine lobster, extra jumbo shrimp, and salmon! so hurry in! and sea food differently. ♪ female announcer: sleep train's is ending soon!or 3 event! get three years interest-free financing on beautyrest black, stearns & foster, serta icomfort, even tempur-pedic. plus, get free delivery, free set-up, and free removal of your old mattress,

and sleep train's 100-day low price guarantee. but hurry! sleep train's interest free for 3 event is ending soon. ...guaranteed! ♪ sleep train ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪

♪ [instrumental music] ♪ finally tonight, in this holiday season, we have a story about a fascinating trend in faith. average americans leaving their lives behind to go on a pilgrimage, from walking in the footsteps of jesus in the holy

land to, as you're about to see, searching for miraculous healing. this has never been captured on video until now. >> glad you made it. >> so am i. >> reporter: every spring, wounded warriors travel to a remote city in france called lourdes, where, in 1858, a peasant girl claimed to have seen the virgin mary. and where the waters are now believed to have holy, healing power. >> i was hit by a suicide bomber. 52 people died that day. watched my squad members die, so -- it's pretty traumatic. this trip helps me find solace. >> when i first got injured, when i was having nightmares, when i was having anger issues, i felt like i wasn't enough. like i would have been better off dead. >> reporter: these americans are joining soldiers from around the world on an annual pilgrimage.

not all of them are believers. this is corporal zachary herrick who had a grenade explode in his face in afghanistan. >> i don't really believe. i believe there's a higher power, obviously. i believe that. but you know, i don't know what it is and, so, i just keep an open mind. >> reporter: the best selling author and tv host bruce feiler accompanied the veterans. >> they have the best science. and they still are longing for something. >> reporter: this story is part of an upcoming pbs series called "sacred journeys" with bruce feiler, which follows americans on six different pilgrimages. from saudi arabia to japan to africa. >> we pray, we dancing. >> reporter: even at a time when organized religion is under siege, pilgrimages are exploding in popularity. >> we live in a time where it's sort of a diy time for faith. you have to make your own decisions and decide for yourself what you believe and what gives your life meaning, so, a pilgrimage, which at its

core is a gesture of action, is a response to that. >> reporter: so, what will happen in lourdes? where the catholic church even has a medical office on hand to document teaming. >> what we are looking for is to understand if a person was, indeed, really sick, if we have a true and real diagnosis for that disease. what was the prognosis of that disease? what was the treatment of that person receiving and was it lasting forever? >> reporter: one by one, the wounded warriors, even corporal herric, enter these small grottos, where they are bathed in what is believed to be holy water. >> the shock of the water wasn't as bad as my emotions. that in itself was something to grasp. >> the following day, i felt a change within me. i wasn't having as much back pain. i wasn't having as much pain up my shoulder.

for some reason, my face felt lighter. >> reporter: chris, who was blinded in iraq, is on his third visit. after his first bath, he was disappointed not to be cured. but in the end, his wife says, he was healed in a different way. >> he wasn't cured visually, but he was cured in another way. our family was very broken. after we came last year, he started stepping up to the plate and being the man that he was before he went to iraq. >> reporter: ultimately, these soldiers know the point of a pilgrimage is not to look for a specific outcome, but instead to step into the unknown and perhaps to learn something profound about yourself. >> i love you guy, like, all of you have been beautiful and -- it's like watching you guys smile, like, that's -- >> an ancient urge now more

popular than ever. and "sacred journeys" premieres on pbs december 16th. as always, we're goonline 24/7 abcnews.com. thanks again for watching and good night.

did you get chips for the party? nope. (ding) cheese plate? cheese plate. no, i made something better. you used the oven? boom. pillsbury crescents. make the holidays pop. he loves me, he loves me not he loves me, he loves me not he loves me!