Another Mad American With A Gun !

[mikey4444]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2705005/Homeowner-makes-astonishing-TV-boast-shooting-pregnant-home-invader-dead-pleaded-mercy-police-say-ACCOMPLICE-charged-murder.html

He shot her, despite her telling him she was pregnant. He shot her in the back, she was unarmed but he still hasn't been charged by the Police !

[Prudie]

I presume he hasn't been charged by the Police because in US law he's not committed a crime. Someone breaking into your house, inflicting physical damage and stealing stuff can have just as much psychological damage o the victim as sexual abuse, I don't know why we tend to think of burglary as petty in the UK.

[naomi24]

Neither do I, Prudie.

[DTCwordfan]

An 80 year old, yes 80 year old, comes home to a burglary. Not exactly equipped physically to take them on is he? In a country of shoot first, ask questions later, then I'm not surprised. The US is also far more 'lenient' of such incidents and the right to defend one's property.

Having said that, it's California and my experience of Californian law is that they could well come up with some half-baked crimes on both sides..... The death penalty in the State has just been determined as unconstitutional by the way, 12 days ago actually.

[mikey4444]

Wolf...you may have a point. But America is a country that worships the gun and it seems to be OK to shoot anybody dead, even when they are not an immediate danger to you, like this woman. We have had cases like this before and there will plenty in the future no doubt.

Can I point out that this woman was fleeing the crime scene and was unarmed, and was shot in the back ? These salient facts seems to have escaped some of our more blood-thirsty posters. It should be up to a Court of Law and its Jury to decide if a crime has been committed but if he hasn't even been charged, I am at a loss to see how justice can be done.

People always mention the Tony Martin case when this sort of thing happens. Can I remind everybody that the Jury that were fully aware of all the facts and even visited the crime scene had no difficulty in finding Martin guilty, a man who had previous firearms offences to his name.

But I have no doubt that people on here that were not on the Jury understood the case better !

[anneasquith]

prudie, you're comparing robbery to sexual abuse ?

[mikey4444]

Nowhere have I suggested that burglary is petty, but compared to murder it isn't even in the same category. I repeat... that if this man is not charged, then how can it be determined that a crime has taken place ? I fully suspect that he will be charged in the near future and then we can let a Jury decide on his guilt or not. It cannot possibly be right that a person can be killed and yet no crime to have happened...its counterintuitive at the very least.

[mikey4444]

Prudie...if this man didn't kill the woman, who did ?

[Prudie]

Anne it is all relative to how people cope so yes in some cases I am.

[Prudie]

Mikey I didn't anywhere suggest he didn't kill her.

[naomi24]

Mikey, a man returns to his home, finds intruders in his hallway who then proceed to attack him breaking his collarbone. How easy to assess how you would have reacted in that situation from the comfort of your critic’s armchair. This woman took her chances – and she came unstuck. I’ve no sympathy whatsoever.

[DTCwordfan]

mike - the reason for shooting and well founded is that a much higher percentage of criminals carry arms, overtly or covertly and it is the latter that often leads to firing..... There was also a test case in Houston over this and it was awarded in favour of the defendant, the person firing being a neighbour who shot someone (a black - and yes, deemed a factor in the hoo-hah) fleeing the property, one other getting away. This was deemed okay as his neighbour had asked him to keep an eye on the property - whether that was the truth, who knows, but a lot of people would cover their neighbours like that in the USA - and wouldn't we?

[jeffa]

"It cannot possibly be right that a person can be killed and yet no crime to have happened"

Ah, but crime DID happen! At least two that I can think of: burglary and assault. I totally agree with Naomi - no sympathy with the two criminals whatsoever.

[Svejk]

he wasn't sat in his armchair weighing up the pros and cons. it was probably a confused situation. I doubt I'd give them a chance to 'weapon up' and come back for a second go. Someone said the old man didn't receive a life threatening injury but I think a broken collar-bone could be to an 80 yr old.

[kvalidir]

I can understand the fear and anguish of an 80 year old coming home to find a robbery in progress and then being assaulted- absolutely terrible. I can understand him firing in self defence if there was a skirmish, what I can;t understand is him shooting someone in the back as they ran from his property after they had said they were pregnant and were very obviously leaving the scene and then gloating about it on TV. That's the unsavoury part, that's the unacceptable part. I lived in the US for a short time and their attitude to guns is utterly terrifying, as is their judicial system. It's fine to defend yourself, it's not fine to murder fleeing thieves even if they have burgled you and assaulted you. Once the threat is gone, so is the self defence excuse.

[jeffa]

That was me, and the reason I said it wasn't life-threatening is because, well, because he's clearly still alive!

[pixie373]

Mikey, how would he know whether she was armed or not? That's usually only something you know for sure later. They should not have been there.

[mikey4444]

kvalidir...well said...the voice of common sense at last !

[mikey4444]

Well pixie, that gives people carte blanche to shoot anybody then doesn't it...after all anybody might have a gun and in America they probably do !

[jeffa]

"the voice of common sense"

Or, put another way, someone who agrees with you :-)

[pixie373]

Not everybody is invading other people's property and attacking them, Mikey.