Thursday, September 8, 2011

Huh! That's different.

Man shoots two police officers breaking into his room: Jury acquits.
Was he justified? Absolutely. He did what any reasonable person would have done in that situation. Our system of law recognizes the unquestionable right to defend one’s self and one’s home. The law says that you may respond with force when you reasonably believe the use of that force is necessary to defend yourself against the imminent use of unlawful force. In other words, you don’t have to wait to defend yourself until after you’ve been assaulted. You can take action to prevent it. And that’s exactly what Kenny was doing. He was trying to prevent being killed or seriously injured.

What about defending your home? What’s the law say about that? The law says that you can use force to terminate another’s unlawful entry into your home. In this case, clearly Kenny thought there were intruders in his home attempting to harm him and his family. He was hearing a family member screaming and faced with his door attempting to be busted open. Thus, Kenny was justified in three ways, defending himself, his family and his home.

The law doesn’t say you have to ask who’s kicking down your door before you take action to repel them from your home or prevent them from harming you. The law also doesn’t say you have to warn them before you shoot. And you certainly don’t have to call 911 when you think your life could be over in a matter of seconds.
H/T to Unc.

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