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Man killed during break-in attempt


gen3flygirl

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Probably a CYA for the police. They send it to a grand jury, a panel of everyday folks summoned for jury duty. The evidence will be presented, and these people will vote whether or not there is any evidence of wrong doing by the resident. Most likely, they will side with him, but that will be one more notch in the post in case this dead guys family wants to pursue a wrongful death case. Then not only have the police deemed it a justified shooting, so has a grand jury.

The family could still pursue a wrongful death case. A grand jury determines if the state can bring CRIMINAL charges. the family's wrongful death suit would be a civil matter, so it won't matter what the grand jury thinks.

I'd wager that the prosecution is putting this in front of a grand jury so they can't be accused of being racists (assuming the victim was black).

There IS a legitimate and gross inequity in the charge and conviction rate when a deadly encounter involves people of different races. In this case, the prosecution will be able to say, "we tried to charge the white guy of killing the black guy, but the grand jury said no."

and as a point of clarity, there is a HUGE distinction between "let's not pursue ________ charges," and deeming it a "justified shooting."

Edited by redkow97
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The family could still pursue a wrongful death case. A grand jury determines if the state can bring CRIMINAL charges. the family's wrongful death suit would be a civil matter, so it won't matter what the grand jury thinks.

I'd wager that the prosecution is putting this in front of a grand jury so they can't be accused of being racists (assuming the victim was black).

There IS a legitimate and gross inequity in the charge and conviction rate when a deadly encounter involves people of different races. In this case, the prosecution will be able to say, "we tried to charge the white guy of killing the black guy, but the grand jury said no."

and as a point of clarity, there is a HUGE distinction between "let's not pursue ________ charges," and deeming it a "justified shooting."

In Ohio I was under the impression with the new castle doctrine legislation that if a shooting was justified you had civil immunity as well. Is that not the case anymore?

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In Ohio I was under the impression with the new castle doctrine legislation that if a shooting was justified you had civil immunity as well. Is that not the case anymore?

No, you're right still. Not that wiki is the ultimate source of legal information, but...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Doctrine_in_the_United_States

Immunity from civil lawsuit

In addition to providing a valid defense in criminal law, many versions of the Castle Doctrine, particularly those with a "Stand-Your-Ground clause", also have a clause which provides immunity from any lawsuit filed on behalf of the assailant for damages/injury resulting from the use of lethal force. Without this clause, it is possible for an assailant to sue for medical bills, property damage, disability, and pain and suffering as a result of the injuries inflicted by the defender, or for their next-of-kin to sue for wrongful death in the case of a fatality. Even if successfully refuted, the defendant (the homeowner/defender) must often pay thousands of dollars in legal costs as a result of such lawsuits, and thus without immunity, such civil action could be used for revenge against a defender acting lawfully.

The only exceptions to this civil immunity are generally situations of excessive force, where the defender used deadly force on a subdued, cooperative, or disabled assailant. A situation meeting this exception generally invalidates the criminal "castle defense" as well. In addition, someone who uses deadly force in self-defense is still liable for any damages or injuries to third parties who were not acting criminally at the time of the defensive action.

...

Adoption by States

Alabama,[9] Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah,[10] West Virginia and Wyoming have adopted Castle Doctrine statutes, and other states (Montana, Nebraska (http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?ID=5348), New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington) are currently considering "Stand Your Ground" laws of their own.[11][12][13]

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This is good to know. Next time some stupid low life tries to steal my truck and jacks up my ignition he will have a nice warning shot in the general direction of his foot. Next one wont be as friendly.

Can't do that, your life wasn't threatened. You cannot use deadly force to protect property.

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I think the term "castle doctrine" can cause confusion. The phrase sparks the thought "I can use deadly force to protect my castle". What you need to think is "I can use deadly force to protect my family and my life while in my castle", where your castle is your house or car. For some reason, I don't think "Protecting My Family Doctrine" would go over with the public as well. Kinda makes it sound like we don't have the right to protect ourselves, huh?

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Can't do that, your life wasn't threatened. You cannot use deadly force to protect property.

in texas you can lol. you can also use it to protect a third party's property (i.e. your neighbor).

but yeah, not in ohio. there was just a thing a week or two ago in the campus area. dude was breaking into a car. car owner came outside and shot him. both of them ended up going to jail.

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in texas you can lol. you can also use it to protect a third party's property (i.e. your neighbor).

but yeah, not in ohio. there was just a thing a week or two ago in the campus area. dude was breaking into a car. car owner came outside and shot him. both of them ended up going to jail.

:nono: two things wrong, the victim went to jail and the perp survived

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Third: What if a skinny person is trying to get in your kitchen when you are trying to work? I'm sensing a bit of discrimination here. Not that it's wrong. Just noting for the rest of your audience.

Here, here IP! Are we saying now that all perps are fat people, or those that are "gravity friendly" are more likely to be intruders than those who are a tad more svelt? At least she understands that as a woman, her proper workplace is the kitchen. :D

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