Atlanta homeowner charged with murder after allegedly shooting stranger found sleeping inside home

[GFB]

Castle doctrine just means you don’t have to retreat if you are threatened with death or great bodily harm. It doesn’t mean you can just blam blam someone in your house.
Its actually stronger defense than most states, but it is also mistook for something it’s not.

Having lived in CA, I know the difference. Just seems homeowner should get maximum leeway. Not commenting on article in question because I have no idea.

 

[killerv]

Doesn't Barney just have one bullet?

 

[palmettomoon]

 

[Ken Ford]

I read this in the article and this might be why the homeowner was arrested :

"When police got there, they found a man between 25-30 years old dead in the front yard. Police said he was dead of an apparent gunshot wound."

If the criminal is unarmed running away / trying to flee there is no reason to shoot him down in the front yard. He should have shot him while he was inside of the house.

Be real curious where the wounds were. Chest area would suggest he was possibly an attacker. In the back would suggest he was trying to escape and not a threat.

 

[Ken Ford]

Having lived in CA, I know the difference. Just seems homeowner should get maximum leeway. Not commenting on article in question because I have no idea.

Sounds like they did give him the benefit of the doubt and possibly the evidence showed otherwise.
Or it’s a political hit. I reserve judgement til more information is forthcoming.

 

[GFB]

Sounds like they did give him the benefit of the doubt and possibly the evidence showed otherwise.
Or it’s a political hit. I reserve judgement til more information is forthcoming.

Like I said, I was not commenting on this specific case because I don’t know.

 

[Jblue]

Are you saying your sister has knowledge that the DA is going to wrongfully push charges to set an example against people defending their homes?

That was my exact first thought when I saw this considering the jurisdiction. Dekalb and Fulton county cannot wait to make examples of anyone they can prosecute defending themselves. This will become a trend....

I am saying exactly what the comment said. I am not a law man or even well read on the story. All I know is what I said. Probably shouldn't have even said that.

 

[BobbyJack]

Kid sister working for Atlanta DA. …… They are drooling over getting to prosecute.

.
What? ..Why are they so excited about this tragic event?. . Tell us what you know.

 

[Glock 21]

I am saying exactly what the comment said. I am not a law man or even well read on the story. All I know is what I said. Probably shouldn't have even said that.

I would probably ask a mod to scrub it and highly recommend your sister contact an attorney with the information she has so they can guide her to the right authority to alert if their is enough evidence to prove this could have motives beyond seeking Justice while also protecting herself from being named in a civil rights lawsuit.

 

[spencer60]

I know someone who shot someone 9 times when he came home in middle of day. Opened the door and a guy was in the back of the house, downtown Macon. He unloaded a mag in him, guy jumped through back window trying to get away. No charges, he told me guy lived and is in a wheelchair now with a crap bag.


As far as comment above, how would you not be the aggressor if you came home to a stranger in your home, supposed to make them milk and cookies first and discuss why they are there? The confrontation was started by a person breaking into his home that wasn't his, not the home owner coming home.

According to the article he found the guy in there sleeping. And while breaking into an unoccupied home is a crime, it's not a justification for lethal force.

In self-defense law there's a thing called the 'mantle of innocence'. If the homeowner attacked this guy, or even just laid a hand on him that's technically assault and that 'mantle of innocence' is lost.

Like I said above, he would have been worlds better off just calling the cops and letting them deal with it.

The average self-defense case costs $60-80K to litigate last I saw (probably higher now). Even if he gets found not guilty he'll be selling that house in Kirkwood to pay his lawyers off.

As for your friend in Macon... he was lucky that he didn't get charged as well. Like someone else said... 'friends in high places' or the cops just really hated the guy who broke in. They have a lot of leeway on these cases.

Isn't the Castle Doctrine basically the same thing as SYG just specific to your home or vehicle? And yes, SYG is seriously misunderstood by the majority of people regardless of what side of the issue they are on. All SYG does is remove the requirement to retreat if you can do it without increasing your risk. It doesn't otherwise change the legal requirements for Justifiable Homicide at all.

Or do I have that wrong?

Yup, you are 100% correct. So-called SYG laws only remove the 'duty to retreat' requirement for a self defense claim.