Title says it all. I just want to point out some pertinent points:
* Some people might be cynical enough to say that if you defend yourself in your own home the perpetrator has a right to sue you- in some cases this appears true.
* If the purported victim hadn't been a 71-year old, this probably would be much less likely to be considered a case of self-defence and more a case of unreasonable force...
* However it's also true that the assailant used a bladed knuckle-duster, which is a little more purposeful and exotic than your average machete.
Basically what I'm saying here is that there is a little method to the madness- self-defence only counts as self-defence in the courts if you're under physical threat and the force you use is somehow commensurate with the force you are being attacked with. Hence if you're a martial-arts expert the onus is on you to respond appropriately, and also, if you kill or incapacitate your assailant, that will strongly count against you.
Also you might be thinking "he might be an ex-boxer but he's freakin' 71!" I'll tell you now, no matter the age, any boxer who's still basically competent will have a punch like a freight train.
Within someones home, if it is obvious the person went in with an intention to harm, then I don't think they have any right to sue. I heard about someone who got sued when a person broke into their house and somehow got stabbed, even though no one was home. Is that really justifiable to sue someone for that? I don't care what the law says about it, its ridiculous that people expect money when they went in there to cause harm or take possessions. I can understand people believing that extreme force is punishable, but still, often times extreme force is necessary. If a person breaks into your home with a knife, are you going to wait for them to try and stab at you? Some people might try to take advantage of this, I.E say that someone tried to break into their home so they shot them to cover up an act of murder, but in 95% of cases, I don't think its justifiable to sue someone for being injured when you broke into their property and have a weapon like that
I personally would've crunched his skull, but that's me. Revenge is a way at getting back at people for serious wrongs, not noise complaints. Not to mention the coward did it at night with a lethal weapon. Coward. . . .
Basically what I'm saying here is that there is a little method to the madness- self-defence only counts as self-defence in the courts if you're under physical threat and the force you use is somehow commensurate with the force you are being attacked with. Hence if you're a martial-arts expert the onus is on you to respond appropriately, and also, if you kill or incapacitate your assailant, that will strongly count against you.
The problem being, it's not so cut & dry as that. Sure, it's easy to look at that stuff after the fact, but for the people experiencing the home invasion, it can be (and probably is) far more frightening.
Say you are in your house and someone breaks in; you grab a.. say rolling pin to defend yourself. You hide, the invader walks past you - do you hit them in the back of the head? What if they have a knife? Or a gun? It's not like they have to play by the rules. You can't just politely ask. And what if there's no intention to harm you at all, and they just want to steal your stuff? I think it's ridiculous that you wouldn't be allowed to stop them on your own property. Should I just stand there, watch them take my TV & hope the cops arrive in time, or that they don't notice me?
Those are chances I'm not really willing to take with my own life, and the lives of my family. I think there should be tougher sentencing for home invasion, and also leiniency on those defending their homes from these vile interlopers.
He got what was coming, he should not be breaking into people's houses, in fact, he got let off easy. I'd have shot him for breaking into my house. I still can't believe someone could sue someone for breaking into their house and getting hurt in the process, that's insane. Good to see the old guy's still got it, can't wait for the burgular to go to prison and get to tell everyone what a 71 year old man did to him.
That's what you get for breaking into somebodies home, Good thing the old guy didn't get hurt in the process, If i was that old man I'd get a gun license and go to sleep with a gun under my pillow.
@Mike I think I know what story you were talking about. A man tried breaking into a house via skylight, and landed on some knives in the kitchen. He somehow managed to sue the owner and win. I can't remember where I heard this so I cant validate it. But if it is true I think the judge must have been on crack.
@Hiddendistance That's why Im glad we have the "Make My Day" law in my state.
First, I'm gonna say that guy got what he deserved. Ha, wish things like that would happen more often. It is usually someone breaking into the house of someone who can't defend them self.
Basically what I'm saying here is that there is a little method to the madness- self-defence only counts as self-defence in the courts if you're under physical threat and the force you use is somehow commensurate with the force you are being attacked with. Hence if you're a martial-arts expert the onus is on you to respond appropriately, and also, if you kill or incapacitate your assailant, that will strongly count against you.
Ya, you're right. But I think that when a weapon is involved it is a bit different. You don't know what could happen, so it's safest to take complete control of the situation. If you went easy on the guy he might get the upper hand and end up killing you. Also, it's not going to be easy to control yourself when someone just broke into your house. You're going to be frightened, so the first thing in your mind isn't "don't kill the guy". It's "rotect yourself".
Also you might be thinking "he might be an ex-boxer but he's freakin' 71!" I'll tell you now, no matter the age, any boxer who's still basically competent will have a punch like a freight train.
And being an ex-boxer, he probably kept himself in shape. I'm willing to guess that he wasn't some old frail guy.
First of all, I gotta say... EPIC FAIL on the burglar's part, and good job to the old guy! This is a good example for teaching people to never underestimate something! XD
There is a difference from self-defense, and killing. The victim will become a criminal if he kills the criminal, but in this case, the old man did the right thing. The criminal didn't die, but he got beat up.
