Opinion time.
There were 2 young men breaking into a home in Utah. One through the back door using a screw driver, the other through a window. The owner of the home came down and saw the man at the back door and fired his weapon at the would-be robber. Both men ran off. The young man he fired at died at the edge of the yard from the gunshot. He was 19. The home-owner could face some serious charges because of his actions. You are only allowed to attack with equal force. so he could have used a screw driver on the boy.
First I want to say that this young man was 19 years old and I totally believe people can change. His chance to turn his life around is now over and that is an awful tragedy.
BUT
what would I do differently? The owner had his wife and children in the home with him. Do you call the police, hide, and pray with all that you have that these men only want to rob you and don't want to harm your family? Could I live with killing some one? No. Could I live with having my child killed because I failed to act? No. So What now? In my home I would flip on lights, but in order to do that I'd have to walk where the burglar could see me. How do I know if he has a gun or just a screw driver? How do I know his intent? And now what if this man goes to jail and leaves his family anyway?
Where's the line? What would you do?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Your pretty loaded with your questions here. What about calling out, informing the burgler that you have a gun. I would think if the intruder wasn't violent, he would flee. Police have to identify themselves, I believe we should as well.
Tom and I have an arrangement to agree to disagree on gun control. We have guns, I grew up with guns. My father and husband have both been peace officers......I am as torn as you. I feel we have the right to protect ourselves, but...I'd be one shot with my own gun I'm afriad because a real person is not a target. :0(
I want to hear what others think as well. Good discussion Leslie.
You do have a right to use force if necessary- but I think that the necessary times are VERY rare. This man should not have shot the kid. His use of force was excessive. I don't know what went down, but what he had to say was that he had a gun and that the police had been called. At which point I'd get my kids in one room and protect them should the intruder plan on doing real harm. He seems to have been on the offense- not the defense (if you get what I'm saying...I just suck at saying it). OR he could have shot the wall next to the kid. Why did he have to hit the kid? I don't care if he's 19 or 40. He should not have shot him until the intruder showed that he would do terrible things. MOST of the time intruders are just there to steal stuff and get on with it. Like this kid- if he had meant harm, he would have had an actual weapon.
I won't allow a gun in our home-at this time. I'm not afraid to say that circumstances might change and we might think about getting one- a very protected one (like in that honeymoon show where he had to use his thumb print). MORE often guns in the home are used AGAINST people in the home, not intruders. (pools kill more people per year than accidental gun injuries- yet we'll let our kids go over to people's houses that have a pool no questions asked...but if they have a gun...)
See? I'm all over the map on the gun issue. I'm not on the original guys use of force.
Here's the thing though, the home owner didn't know that the kid only had a screw driver. I agree that the kid didnt DESERVE to die, but that was the consequence of his actions. He took that risk by choosing to try to rob a house. a house he KNEW was occupied (they rang the door bell just an hour or so earlier and the home owner went out in the open for all to see). It IS so so sad that he died but in NO way do I think the owner should be charged. By calling out to the intruder, the home owner puts himself at great risk, giving away his position. What if the kid had actually been an armed violent attacker? What if by giving away his position the owner himself was shot? He didn't mean to kill him, just wanted to protect his family. While I think this is so so sad. I stand by the home owner in doing what he thought was best - with the only information he had, which was someone was trying to break in to his home and possibly harm his wife and children
I'm on the homeowners side. its definitely a tragedy that the kid died. but being in the criminal justice profession all i talk about is murder and rape and horrible things happening to people. on monday in class i saw a picture of a nude 11 year old girl hung in the basement (sorry if that is TMI for anyone) but this is the world we live in. there are horrible horrible people out there and that guy couldn't have known if this was a psychopathic murder or just some kid trying to burglarize him. people have to do what they have to do to protect their families...
hmmm... interesting thoughts. I agree. This man should not be in trouble for his actions. BUT I could not do the same. and I also agree his force was EXCESSIVE. I agree we should hide and yell out, or fire a warning shot from a hidden place first. if they then shoot or pull out a gun you are ready for them. But Dani, you're right, how do you know if it's a realy psychopath or just a robber? Good ideas. I also spoke with Casey about this. He got very protective and was saying if he thought someone was going to hurt his family he might shoot them... I don't think he could do it but I guess you never know til your in the situation...
Post a Comment