Dallas Morning News takes aim at Castle Doctrine - UPDATE Pg.2 Homeowner Indicted

It used to be TX Law that if you were on someone's property at night (dusk till dawn) without permission (trespassing) you could be shot without the homeowner facing charges, period. Now, it doesn't matter what time of day a burglar decides to trespass, he takes his life in his hands. These kids gambled and lost. Or, more likely, didn't even think about the consequences of their actions. (which is more a teenage behavior than not). Its tragic all around, but I don't think any law has been broken here. A homeowner shot an invader who was on his property without permission. A good shoot legally, whether one likes it or not.

Lessons to be learned from this?

Teach your kids to respect private property. Especially in Texas.

Drive defensively. The other guy may be drunk.

Maybe another one is to remember your 16yo son has school the next day. One reason he may not be doing well in school is because you let him go to parties after 10PM on a Sunday night.

Legal or not, shooting someone just because they are in your yard is not usually a good idea.

Bartholomew Roberts said:

The shooter in this case was just indicted by a Kaufman County grand jury and will face charges on the shooting. It is the lead story in the Metro section of today's Dallas Morning News.

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Indicted for what?

Indicted for what?

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Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon is the actual charge.

But remember, indicted just means the grand jury thinks there is enough evidence to take it to trial.

As much as I was thinking he would be no billed it's not surprising it would go to trial really, given the circumstances.

Without seeing any evidence it's really tough to make a call on whether it's right or not.

I just don't understand all the attempts to tie this to the Castle Doctrine, that really has nothing to do with this situation.

In general, if someone were to hear noises outside and retrieve a gun to investigate, it wouldn't be unusual to suddenly spot someone in your window and fire out of surprise. Hard to say. It depends on what you saw.

I don't think I have ever heard of a teen party that required that I get within 2 to 3 feet of the house before hearing it. I wonder if I believe that story.

I don't think I have ever heard of a teen party that required that I get within 2 to 3 feet of the house before hearing it. I wonder if I believe that story.

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I don't think I've ever heard of anybody being shot in the arm, and not noticing, either. Unless maybe the teens were already drunk themselves, in which case bad judgment and stupid decisions would be par for the course.

you have to wonder why they would be crazy enough to actually go up on the guy's front porch.

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Maybe it's the only way to get close enough to the front door to knock?