My opinion on head shots: full spectrum of possibility. Fortunately I've only dealt with a handful--a couple of which were self-inflicted. One a teenager shot in the face with a 410 w/ birdshot--survived but later pronouced a non-survivable injury by a neurosurgeon and care w/drawn. Another birdshot to the face was wide-awake with globe rupture and multiple intra-cranial pellets left in place, as there was no benefit to removing them.
As mentioned earlier in the thread, being shot is nothing like the movies where a person just drops and its lights out, even if shot in the head. There can be gargling of blood, avulsed ears, and ruptured globes--along with any possible soft tissue mutilation you can dream of and a variable change in mental status.
My thoughts are that consciousness in this case would be related to any of several things. Were there bullet fragments in, or did they pass through the brain, violating the dura. Was there (on autopsy) contusion or intracranial hemorrhage which would signify a significant blunt force injury to the brain. Did the patient have signs of stroke or vascular compromise from traumatic dissection. What kind of projectile hit where and were there skull fractures, CSF leaks, etc. The sinuses and maxilla can act like the crunch zone of a car and absorb a modest amount of injury, protecting the brain. Obviously the skull is a sphere, which is the most resiliant shape a structure can have (remember the squeeze an egg trick). Was the intruder on drugs? That can clearly affect mentation after an injury or the threshold at which one loses consciousness.
For the injury to be labeled simply "survivable" to me is meaningless, as anyone can survive with a brainstem, ventilator, tube feeds and a 16 year-old's heart/lungs. As mentioned, though, the autopsy could show signs of intracranial trauma (either blunt or penetrating) which would most likely correlate with state of global impairment (or threat neutralization). In the absence of intra-cranial contusion or hemorrhage (to me the "full recovery" group), however, one could never prove that he wasn't wide awake, screaming "I'm going to kill you", and searching for a weapon while down on the floor.
I think that the pathology is going to be the deciding factor for this guy, should it conclude that there was significant head trauma, which would have rendered this man unquestionably "out of commision," he has no case for finishing him off. If the trauma was minor, however (such as that sustained from bird shot), he could very clearly be justified in neutralizing a potential threat.
I hope that my opinion is unbiased. As an aside, IMO, BB and smaller sized shot are a poor choice for self defense.
As mentioned earlier in the thread, being shot is nothing like the movies where a person just drops and its lights out, even if shot in the head. There can be gargling of blood, avulsed ears, and ruptured globes--along with any possible soft tissue mutilation you can dream of and a variable change in mental status.
My thoughts are that consciousness in this case would be related to any of several things. Were there bullet fragments in, or did they pass through the brain, violating the dura. Was there (on autopsy) contusion or intracranial hemorrhage which would signify a significant blunt force injury to the brain. Did the patient have signs of stroke or vascular compromise from traumatic dissection. What kind of projectile hit where and were there skull fractures, CSF leaks, etc. The sinuses and maxilla can act like the crunch zone of a car and absorb a modest amount of injury, protecting the brain. Obviously the skull is a sphere, which is the most resiliant shape a structure can have (remember the squeeze an egg trick). Was the intruder on drugs? That can clearly affect mentation after an injury or the threshold at which one loses consciousness.
For the injury to be labeled simply "survivable" to me is meaningless, as anyone can survive with a brainstem, ventilator, tube feeds and a 16 year-old's heart/lungs. As mentioned, though, the autopsy could show signs of intracranial trauma (either blunt or penetrating) which would most likely correlate with state of global impairment (or threat neutralization). In the absence of intra-cranial contusion or hemorrhage (to me the "full recovery" group), however, one could never prove that he wasn't wide awake, screaming "I'm going to kill you", and searching for a weapon while down on the floor.
I think that the pathology is going to be the deciding factor for this guy, should it conclude that there was significant head trauma, which would have rendered this man unquestionably "out of commision," he has no case for finishing him off. If the trauma was minor, however (such as that sustained from bird shot), he could very clearly be justified in neutralizing a potential threat.
I hope that my opinion is unbiased. As an aside, IMO, BB and smaller sized shot are a poor choice for self defense.
Interesting handle also, reminds me of the book 2001: A Space Odyssey.
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