Fred Fuller
Moderator Emeritus
I found this column by way of a post on attorney David Hardy's blog, Of Arms And The Law (http://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2012/04/article_bemoans.php). It brings up several points we have addressed here fairly regularly in the past, and I think demonstrates the need to keep revisiting those issues as time and the debate over legitimate self defense wears on.
First of all, the item itself can be seen at http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2012/04/stand-your-ground_shootings_se.php. It's titled "Stand-Your-Ground Shootings: Seattle-Area Gunners Cheer Four Deaths in Four Months."
Writer Rick Anderson discloses his apparent bias and lack of real world education or experience on the subject by such statements as this one: Could the North Bend homeowner at least have tried to wound Henderson rather than kill him? Despite this, we can glean some useful insight from examining the article.
Among the several points to address here: first of all, though it should be obvious to any regular contributor here, the use of lethal force should be considered a last resort, and not an option to be deliberately sought out whenever opportunity arises. It's apparent from some cases that come up from time to time that self defense is claimed as an excuse or justification by a few actors who engaged in some level of criminal activity in the shootings in which they were involved. I quote from the article again:
Nor do armed homeowners always act within the law. Snohomish County prosecutors said in January said that the 2011 shooting death of Dylan T. Jones, 23, by an Everett homeowner could have been avoided, and that the shooter didn't need to use fatal force to prevent Jones from taking a boat from his property. But they lacked enough evidence to prove the homeowner committed a crime.
As well, this month a Marysville man who shot at two teen boys who'd triggered a motion detector as they walked by his home was himself arrested. The Associated Press reports that Kenneth Aubry told police he'd recently been burglarized and thought his car was being prowled, so he fired two shots in the dark. Charged with assault, Aubry has pleaded not guilty.
And sometimes when a homeowner shoots an intruder, it's murder. Last July, Keira Earhart, 39, of Arlington, was convicted of killing Ryan Rzechula, 25, who broke into Earhart's home. Essentially, Earhart hunted down Rzechula, shooting him in the back three hours after the break-in about a quarter-mile away.
It took two trials, but jurors convicted Earhart of second-degree murder. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
As in all these cases, they are tragedies, or near-tragedies, of the intruders' making. But homeowners are not automatically without fault. As deputy Snohomish County prosecutor Mara Rozzano said after the Earhart trial, "This is a tragedy of Mr. Earhart's making. He elected to pull the trigger."
None of this says that legitimate self defense is wrong, of course. But, as we know, criminals often claim self defense as a justification of their own acts that lead to someone else being seriously injured or killed as a result. It is therefore up to each of us to be mindful of what we are doing, even under severe stress, and to always do the best we can to leave no doubt that our use of force was completely legitimate and unavoidable. It's a near certainty that all our actions leading up to any use of deadly force will be scrutinized extensively by law enforcement and may well be subjected to further scrutiny later by the justice system as well.
Anderson also says, Apparently there is bad gun violence and good gun violence. Well, duh. OBVIOUSLY there is. Even so, discussion of legitimate self defense is too often mischaracterized (as in this article's headline) as 'cheering' the deaths of other human beings. The attitudes and comments of a certain number of self defense proponents in this regard are indeed sometimes over the top. None of us take joy in seeing another person hurt or killed, but it is still a more appropriate outcome to see a would-be assailant thwarted in the conduct of whatever nefarious intent, than to see him succeed and thereby victimize yet another innocent.
And the idea that the recent accidental shooting deaths of several children were balanced out by the increased body count of home intruders is nothing short of ridiculous. Tragedies are tragedies, and there is no way to 'balance' tragedies in the larger world. It's a sad fact that some percentage of people will be careless with their firearms, as they are with their automobiles, lawn mowers, home appliances, or even their keyboards, and that tragedy will result in some cases. The only proper response is to strive to do better, to learn from the mistakes of others and not to repeat them. Accidents do indeed happen, rarely, but lack of deliberate intent to cause harm combined with unsafe behavior cannot be easily dismissed as 'accident' when it results in tragedy. Acting in a responsible fashion to avoid further tragedy is the only proper response to tragedy that has already occurred IMHO.
It's a good thing for each of us to be mindful on a daily basis that we are representatives of a larger community. That's one of the main reasons THR is here, to foster and encourage that sense of community among members as well as the larger group of firearms owners who are not members here.
I often sign off here with the admonition to "Stay Safe." It's not done lightly...
First of all, the item itself can be seen at http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2012/04/stand-your-ground_shootings_se.php. It's titled "Stand-Your-Ground Shootings: Seattle-Area Gunners Cheer Four Deaths in Four Months."
Writer Rick Anderson discloses his apparent bias and lack of real world education or experience on the subject by such statements as this one: Could the North Bend homeowner at least have tried to wound Henderson rather than kill him? Despite this, we can glean some useful insight from examining the article.
Among the several points to address here: first of all, though it should be obvious to any regular contributor here, the use of lethal force should be considered a last resort, and not an option to be deliberately sought out whenever opportunity arises. It's apparent from some cases that come up from time to time that self defense is claimed as an excuse or justification by a few actors who engaged in some level of criminal activity in the shootings in which they were involved. I quote from the article again:
Nor do armed homeowners always act within the law. Snohomish County prosecutors said in January said that the 2011 shooting death of Dylan T. Jones, 23, by an Everett homeowner could have been avoided, and that the shooter didn't need to use fatal force to prevent Jones from taking a boat from his property. But they lacked enough evidence to prove the homeowner committed a crime.
As well, this month a Marysville man who shot at two teen boys who'd triggered a motion detector as they walked by his home was himself arrested. The Associated Press reports that Kenneth Aubry told police he'd recently been burglarized and thought his car was being prowled, so he fired two shots in the dark. Charged with assault, Aubry has pleaded not guilty.
And sometimes when a homeowner shoots an intruder, it's murder. Last July, Keira Earhart, 39, of Arlington, was convicted of killing Ryan Rzechula, 25, who broke into Earhart's home. Essentially, Earhart hunted down Rzechula, shooting him in the back three hours after the break-in about a quarter-mile away.
It took two trials, but jurors convicted Earhart of second-degree murder. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
As in all these cases, they are tragedies, or near-tragedies, of the intruders' making. But homeowners are not automatically without fault. As deputy Snohomish County prosecutor Mara Rozzano said after the Earhart trial, "This is a tragedy of Mr. Earhart's making. He elected to pull the trigger."
None of this says that legitimate self defense is wrong, of course. But, as we know, criminals often claim self defense as a justification of their own acts that lead to someone else being seriously injured or killed as a result. It is therefore up to each of us to be mindful of what we are doing, even under severe stress, and to always do the best we can to leave no doubt that our use of force was completely legitimate and unavoidable. It's a near certainty that all our actions leading up to any use of deadly force will be scrutinized extensively by law enforcement and may well be subjected to further scrutiny later by the justice system as well.
Anderson also says, Apparently there is bad gun violence and good gun violence. Well, duh. OBVIOUSLY there is. Even so, discussion of legitimate self defense is too often mischaracterized (as in this article's headline) as 'cheering' the deaths of other human beings. The attitudes and comments of a certain number of self defense proponents in this regard are indeed sometimes over the top. None of us take joy in seeing another person hurt or killed, but it is still a more appropriate outcome to see a would-be assailant thwarted in the conduct of whatever nefarious intent, than to see him succeed and thereby victimize yet another innocent.
And the idea that the recent accidental shooting deaths of several children were balanced out by the increased body count of home intruders is nothing short of ridiculous. Tragedies are tragedies, and there is no way to 'balance' tragedies in the larger world. It's a sad fact that some percentage of people will be careless with their firearms, as they are with their automobiles, lawn mowers, home appliances, or even their keyboards, and that tragedy will result in some cases. The only proper response is to strive to do better, to learn from the mistakes of others and not to repeat them. Accidents do indeed happen, rarely, but lack of deliberate intent to cause harm combined with unsafe behavior cannot be easily dismissed as 'accident' when it results in tragedy. Acting in a responsible fashion to avoid further tragedy is the only proper response to tragedy that has already occurred IMHO.
It's a good thing for each of us to be mindful on a daily basis that we are representatives of a larger community. That's one of the main reasons THR is here, to foster and encourage that sense of community among members as well as the larger group of firearms owners who are not members here.
I often sign off here with the admonition to "Stay Safe." It's not done lightly...
