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The thing is Floridasandy is that what separates a reasonable defense of life and property and that with being a murderer is that our actions are reasonable and not focused on just killing. The killing serves a purpose and when it stops serving a purpose (defense of life and property), then it is simply killing.
I am completely for using lethal force in defense of life AND property, but you have to be responsible about its use. In his case, from what is described, he had already shot them and they were incapacitated. The first teen, he shot and he was down, but he continued to shoot him in the face. Now... it is reasonable if he feared for his life and saw an action from the injured teen that would suggest he was armed or in the process of attacking (it is hard to tell as those details are not apparent in the story), but as it is mentioned, he simply walked up to the fallen teen and shot him in the face.
Now, you could argue over that one to an extent due to the circumstances, but keep in mind that the idea of lethal force is not to "kill", but to stop any action that would produce a threat to his life OR stop someone in the action of taking property. Did this happen in that case? It doesn't appear to be so.
Then, you also have the issue of the second teen coming down the stairs AFTER he had already sat down in his chair to which he shot and she fell down the stairs. He then continued to fire of numerous rounds into her chest to which he then placed the weapon under her chin and fired it into her head for a "kill" finish.
He did not report this until the end of the day, claiming he didn't want to bother the police.
These are not actions of a mentally stable person who acted in a reasonable manner of defending his life and property. His actions are more common to that of many killers (his actions are similar to many police reports of hardened without emotion killers).
The point is, this story does not display a reasonable intention of the lethal force law. It was designed to protect your life (giving you the best possible chance to defend yourself without bureaucracy endangering you) and your property. In this example, I really don't see a reasonable means of justification for the actions he took.
This.
And also, people are beginning to make much of the girl "laughing" after she was shot and fell down the stairs. Firstly, this is what the man who shot her said, and may not be accurate. She could have been grimacing and gasping, which can superficially look like laughter. Also, some people do have a laugh reaction to injury and fear. So it could also have been that reaction that he was describing.
I personally don't have a problem with the proper use of lethal force, distasteful as I find it. Seeing the almost giddy reaction of posters here and commenters on the OP's linked article is simply frightening. Responsible gun owners do not cream their jeans when someone misuses their weapons in such a way and ends lives. These teens were very wrong, and deserved the first shots, but they did not deserve to be executed. Hell, there isn't even a death penalty in MN! So the man who executed them will not be subject to that same punishment, lucky guy.
Why he didn't call 911 after he shot the first teen, I'll never understand.
so you can't kill them "accidentally" with one shot, or fire more than once?
what is your defining line for defense?
what if it was your home and your family?
i do see the media, as usual, had the pity party slant for the criminals-never mind the victims who are probably scared out of their minds and acting on impulse.
if people have enough nerve to march into your home when you are there, what else do they have enough nerve to do?
it might be nice if you don't kill someone, but who is to judge what the other person's level of fear and fear of retaliation is.
teenage kids can and do kill people.
No, not "accidentally" How many times you fire depends on how many times you need to to defend yourself or your home (might have lousy aim)\
Line of defense? I have no idea but it doesn't include killing people in cold blood
Even in Texas he'd probably be indicted by a grand jury. It's one thing to shoot in self-defense, but what he did was execute those kids when it was completely unnecessary. If he had just shot each of them once and called 911, both of them would probably be alive (and facing charges for their crimes), while the old man wouldn't be facing prison.
Texas has one of the most favorable-to-homeowners castle laws in the nation and you still are not allowed to execute an injured/incapacitated intruder with shots to the head. Period.
As a gun-owner, supporter of the second amendment, and supporter of Texas's castle laws, I hope they throw the book at this kook. He makes the rest of us look bad.
I don't think too many recover from a .223 round to the chest at close range. Maybe if it was FMJ.
so you can't kill them "accidentally" with one shot, or fire more than once?
what is your defining line for defense?
what if it was your home and your family?
i do see the media, as usual, had the pity party slant for the criminals-never mind the victims who are probably scared out of their minds and acting on impulse.
if people have enough nerve to march into your home when you are there, what else do they have enough nerve to do?
it might be nice if you don't kill someone, but who is to judge what the other person's level of fear and fear of retaliation is.
teenage kids can and do kill people.
I'm all for the use of lethal force if necessary to defend my home. This was excessive, and now it becomes flat out murder.
Well maybe it's time that drug addicts doing a home invasion stop assuming everyone is mentally healthy.
Break into someone's home while the homeowner is in it and you won't always get lucky. This guy could claim temporary insanity or claim to be a victim of bullies because of the way they kept targetting him. They drove him to it.
The kids were dumb and stupid criminals but this guy is a ****ing nut ball that needs to be put away from the rest of society.
Can't add to that.
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