Farmer jailed for killing intruder

[Byron Quick]

Read the story, Top Gun. There was NO forcible entry; neither was the intruder in the home when shot.

Tell you what, ACE, the reason that I explicitly put 'forcible entry' into my post was twofold: 1) that's the law in GA and SC, and 2) I knew that there was no forcible entry in the story. I included that to keep things clear. Apparently, I failed with you. Sorry, old hoss.

 

[TrapdoorBilly]

Am I the only one who thinks that shooting someone in the back as he attempts to flee is not justifiable by any stretch?

No.

"When Ward tried to flee the area Nally reloaded the gun and shot him in the back, killing him."

Sounds like it could be big trouble for the shooter to me.

 

[HankB]

It's looking as if in the British Isles, a bloke who terminates an intruder is better off tossing the blighter's remains in the boot of his car, and driving out and dumping them in the moors somewhere, rather than summoning the local constabulary.

He might avoid prosecution that way (especially if he's in a rural area anyway with no close neighbors to be witnesses against him) and if he's caught in the process, well, he was jail-bound anyway.

A sorry state of affairs indeed.

 

[Tokugawa]

A hundred years ago that farmer would have been given an award.

 

[Sinsaba]

One thing I see a lot here and I must say it bothers me. We talk about a "bad shoot" as if it were some absolute. In the legal arena one can say it is. However, that only applies to how laws are written, not what is right or wrong. If the law stated that you were only allowed to use your weapon to defend yourself if the other person had a superior weapon (I know of no such law but I can see someone trying to pass one), then it is a "bad shoot" if you have a shotgun and the other person only has a 9mm.

Absurd.

If a person uses a shotgun to murder your family, throws down the shotgun, and starts to walk away. Is it a bad shoot if you take aim on the back of his head and rid the world of his lousy person? Is it wrong? If the police can shoot someone in the back as they flee, why is it wrong for you to do so (I said wrong not unlawful)?

I think we (all of us in this so called "civilized" world) are too caught up with lawful/unlawful and not right/wrong. I think some of us are too caught up with the concept that unlawful=wrong in ALL cases.

Just my $.02

 

[Missashot]

It is sad that we are only supposed to use our guns to defend our persons. I wish that the laws would include our personal property.
I honestly think that the farmer was justified in his shooting. He had been robbed before. And obviously the intruder was trespassing. I doubt he was there delivering a pizza. If the intruder had gotten away, he may have come back with reinforcements and killed the farmer.