OK, I just spent a very nice weekend with a friend and his wife, she is a very active prosecuting atty for a fairly big city in Wisc. The state where self defense is not very well recognized.
MY question, have you ever charged or brought to trial a guy who was a homeowner, had a clean record, and was forced to shoot an intruder.
her answer: No, we don't do that.
Do you know of any cases where a homeowner who had a clean record shot a burglar in the night and was brought to trial.
Her answer NO.
I hear lots of hearsay, I hear lots of "oh yeah, we know it has happened". I do not see cites and posts.
I say show me posts, cites, and news stories about a CLEAN homeowner who shoots and kills a burglar.
I am not talking about ex's ex who shows up drunk at the door, I am not talking about a drug deal gone bad, I am talking about mom and pop citizen who kill someone in their own home who had broken and entered or who had strong armed their way in. .
Post the links to the washington case, I don't believe it will pass muster. I have seen two cases one in MN, one in Florida, where people entered the front of the home while the homeowners were either in a detached garage and returned or on the deck and returned, where they felt their life was in danger and they shot and in once case killed the perp, and they walked clean and got an attaboy for doing it.
Maybe in california, NYS or NJ you might find some Ahole county atty who will charge you, but for the rest of us, its not going to happen.
If you feel you are being threatened with GBH, you have a RIGHT to defend yourself. Inside your home, you are already a reluctant participant, therefore the need to retreat is GONE. I have spent many hours with several MN criminal defense lawyers and LEO"S and NOT one has said I would be prosecuted for shooting an uninvited intruder in the house who I felt was a threat.
OK, I am 5'8 over 250 and fairly strong, a drunk granny who stumbled into the wrong house would not necessarily pose a threat, and if I popped her for being in the wrong house, I might get some bad results, but at 50 years old, if two teenage thugs with masks on their head break in, I am not concerned that I will be prosecuted if I remove their ability to threaten me.
All you have to be is a reluctant or forced participant to Reasonably be in fear of great bodily harm, and its ok to defend yourself.
That's it, DID You invite them in, If I know I locked the door and the front door is hanging off the hinges when I return, I am pretty sure they are not here selling Watkins door to door. If they have a weapon of any type visible, they are not here by accident from Jehovah's Witness's and are "just leaving a copy of the "Watchtower" on the divan" as a public service. We are not talking about the what if's and maybe's. IF you are in your HOME and somone kicks in the door, you have a reasonable belief that they are not there collecting for Goodwill, and that your use of force to stop the ongoing felony is legal.
PERIOD!
I am not a lawyer, but in my work, I spend a lot of time around them, and i talk to them. I manage apartments, we have pretty much an ongoing battle with bad section 8 renters and I am in court at least twice a month getting people evicted, securing their property as surety against debt, etc. When we spend four hours waiting for the judge, I am talking to my counsel, and others, and I am DAMN sure of what I am saying here.
When people make this up, it harms us all. For the other posters, how much time have you spend asking your Public Prosecutor what is the legal limit for self defense?
Edited to add,
http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=344971 woman walked in on an intruder, she attacks him with a baseball bat to point of scaring him off, she did not get charged for defending herself, despite walking in on the attacker. He returned with bad results.
BS said in an authoritative manner is still BS
