Originally Posted by the_13th_redneck

That's not what we're questioning.
The question is: will that action result in us being put away for a good ten or twenty years behind bars?

In the United States the answer is no.

Actually the original question was: A Gunman In Your House: What Rights Do You Have?

Then no it is and I'm glad that's the case.

It's a part of what rights you have.
If you have the "right" to defend yourself, with lethal force if necessary, but the result would be that you land in prison for about a decade or so, that wouldn't be much of a right to defend yourself in the event of an armed home invasion.

Originally Posted by Chukpike

In the United States the answer is no.

Actually the original question was: A Gunman In Your House: What Rights Do You Have?

And part of those rights is whether or not defending yourself with lethal force is considered illegal. *rolls eyes* If you're going to nitpick... At least do it RIGHT.

Originally Posted by the_13th_redneck

That's not what we're questioning.
The question is: will that action result in us being put away for a good ten or twenty years behind bars?

Originally Posted by Chukpike

In the United States the answer is no.

Actually the original question was: A Gunman In Your House: What Rights Do You Have?

Originally Posted by Rob Henderson

And part of those rights is whether or not defending yourself with lethal force is considered illegal . *rolls eyes* If you're going to nitpick... At least do it RIGHT.

Sherman edit: No one was hijacking the topic. You ned to stop looking for reasons to fight other members.

Having been warned by the moderators I am not going to go any further than restate under what conditions in California lethal force is not illegal.


"The killing of one person by another may be justifiable when necessary to resist the
attempt to commit a forcible and life-threatening crime, provided that a reasonable person
in the same or similar situation would believe that (a) the person killed intended to commit
a forcible and life-threatening crime; (b) there was imminent danger of such crime being
accomplished; and (c) the person acted under the belief that such force was necessary to
save himself or herself or another from death or a forcible and life-threatening crime.
Murder, mayhem, rape, and robbery are examples of forcible and life-threatening crimes."

Rob if you need any help locating information for your state on using lethal force for self defense I will try to help you. It will be easier than trying to find laws that say you can not defend yourself.

Originally Posted by Chukpike

In the United States the answer is no.

Actually the original question was: A Gunman In Your House: What Rights Do You Have?

You should correct yourself. I know in Colorado the written law says one thing, but the judicial law says another.

Originally Posted by Rob Henderson

Part of it is what George said, but I think even in the most liberal of states (Massachusetts as it seems to be), I think if you WERE charged with a crime, you wouldn't be convicted... It would take a heartless soul to say "I believe he responded inappropriately to that threat, he should be sent to prison."

(Granted, this is all just my personal opinion, and contains no factual information whatsoever.)

Originally Posted by the_13th_redneck

That's not what we're questioning.
The question is: will that action result in us being put away for a good ten or twenty years behind bars?

The difference is whether your state is a castle doctrine state , meaning that anyone entering your home without your consent can be considered to be there to harm you, or a duty to retreat state , meaning that you must attempt to flee an intruder/attacker before resorting to deadly force, and deadly force must be the last resort.

The real difference may lie in the lawyers, the judge and the jury rather than the law itself in this case (because to me it seems that they're very open to interpretation of the situation by the parties involved).
What does your experience say 03?

I've lived in Castle Doctrine States which are by nature conservative to a large extent, however in all of these states there are enclaves of liberalism. In my experiance you are correct, a DA of a certain leaning will attempt to file charges or actually file charges to make an example, if his political affiliation dictates it.

What everyone also forgets is this......... Even if the DA doesn't file charges, or does and you beat them..........expect a civil suit from the dirtbag, or dirtbags family.

Originally Posted by 03USMC

What everyone also forgets is this......... Even if the DA doesn't file charges, or does and you beat them..........expect a civil suit from the dirtbag, or dirtbags family.

Yeah that's what I really feared.

Thats why pre-paid legal is a wonderful thing in my line of work.