Johns Hopkins student kills apparent burglar with a samurai sword

[quote name='fatherofcaitlyn']I can't believe I'm playing this side of the argument.

Let's pretend the burglar was obviously deranged such smashing his face into a wall, slobbering and screaming gibberish.

Ginsu or take pity?[/QUOTE]

Ask Smithers to release the hounds? :roll:
 
[quote name='fatherofcaitlyn']I can't believe I'm playing this side of the argument.

Let's pretend the burglar was obviously deranged such smashing his face into a wall, slobbering and screaming gibberish.

Ginsu or take pity?[/QUOTE]

If you truly fear for your life how does that change the equation?
Mentally deranged people kill sane people all the time; like pushing them in front of a subway train, or bleeding their demons out.
 
[quote name='fatherofcaitlyn']I can't believe I'm playing this side of the argument.

Let's pretend the burglar was obviously deranged such smashing his face into a wall, slobbering and screaming gibberish.

Ginsu or take pity?[/QUOTE]

Trick question, you should have already decapitated him.
 
[quote name='h3llbring3r']If you truly fear for your life how does that change the equation?
Mentally deranged people kill sane people all the time; like pushing them in front of a subway train, or bleeding their demons out.[/QUOTE]

This.

The issue here is the perceived threat on one's life. Regardless of the mental capacity of the criminal in question, if the student feared for his life (and who's to say he didn't? How would any of us react to a strange person in our home who is clearly there with bad intentions?), all bets are off. If the criminal had some kind of history of mental illness, or even an adult-child disability, then you could maybe make a case. But even so, the person he's trying to rob isn't aware of that. In that instance, I think it just becomes an unfortunate accident. It's hard to say how threatened a person should feel with an intruder in his home.

The fact of the matter is, the history of the criminal alone should be enough to protect the student from any charges. It's not like some mentally handicapped teenager with no criminal record just wandered into the guy's garage, and he freaked out and chopped him to bits with his katana. The burglar made a conscious decision to break the law and steal from this guy, and he got more than he bargained for. To sum up: too bad, so sad. The last thing we need to be worrying about are the rights of people who completely disregard the rights of everyone else.
 
OK, this is how I was taught the difference between self-defense, and murder

A man hears rumblings in his kitchen. He sneaks into his kitchen quietly with his bat. He sees someone walking around. He tells the person to leave. GO! GET OUT MY HOUSE!

The person doesn't respond to his commands. He got something in his hand too. This enrages the homeowner, who proceeds to strike the stranger in the head. A clean swing. BOOM!

He turns on the light. It's his neighbor in his bathrobe with his (the neighbor's) remote in his hand. The neighbor had a sleepwalking problem and the homeowner had a home just like his with a front room like his and a door that was unlocked.

This is why you can't just go "well, if someone is in my house...." because mistakes happen. You can detain a person. You can of course call the police. You can defend yourself if YOU'RE in harm's way...but you can't just go shooting or swinging or whatever. That's illegal.
 
[quote name='strongpimphand']

This is why you can't just go "well, if someone is in my house...." because mistakes happen. You can detain a person. You can of course call the police. You can defend yourself if YOU'RE in harm's way...but you can't just go shooting or swinging or whatever. That's illegal.[/QUOTE]

100% wrong.

In a self-defense/ justifiable homicide case all that matters is a person's reasonable perception of bodily harm. A non-responsive figure, recognized as someone who was not part of the household, in your home brandishing a dark object is a cut and dry slam-dunk case. You couldn't even get that past a grand jury in Brentwood.


You cannot apply the benefit of hindsight in a situation like that. It is unreasonable to expect a person to be omnipotent and an unreasonable expectation for them to risk their (and possibly by extension their family's) life and limb while you wait for all the facts to bare themselves out in a split second decision like that.

_____________

Also, try detaining someone against their will these days and see where that gets you- you'll get charged with kidnapping on top of everything else, even if they were committing a crime.
 
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[quote name='strongpimphand']OK, this is how I was taught the difference between self-defense, and murder

A man hears rumblings in his kitchen. He sneaks into his kitchen quietly with his bat. He sees someone walking around. He tells the person to leave. GO! GET OUT MY HOUSE!

The person doesn't respond to his commands. He got something in his hand too. This enrages the homeowner, who proceeds to strike the stranger in the head. A clean swing. BOOM!

He turns on the light. It's his neighbor in his bathrobe with his (the neighbor's) remote in his hand. The neighbor had a sleepwalking problem and the homeowner had a home just like his with a front room like his and a door that was unlocked.

This is why you can't just go "well, if someone is in my house...." because mistakes happen. You can detain a person. You can of course call the police. You can defend yourself if YOU'RE in harm's way...but you can't just go shooting or swinging or whatever. That's illegal.[/QUOTE]

That hypothetical can't even compare to the reality to those students dealt with.
 
I'm glad I have my sword :). In all seriousness though, the guy got what he deserved. The only sad thing is, yes in America, the burglar could have sued. Our judicial system is very fucked up.
 
I'm pretty liberal but there are few things that enrage me more than some "bum" trying to steal from someone who had to work hard to get the things they have. Unless you are stealing food to feed your family, I have little sympathy for thieves. Further, unless the thief is running out the door, there is always going to be danger to the property owner. The thief may decide that he can hit the homeowner over the head and get away or maybe just kill them. Even with no record, there is no way to know what the thief has gotten away with.

Bottom line: If you come into someone else's house with malice on your mind, all bets are off.
 
[quote name='gamenlegend']I'm glad I have my sword :). In all seriousness though, the guy got what he deserved. The only sad thing is, yes in America, the burglar could have sued. Our judicial system is very fucked up.[/QUOTE]

As a cog in that judicial system, I will say it does have its issues, but if the burglar had lived and sued, he would not have gotten far. The only cases where I imagine there would be any kind of success would be if the burglar was running away and maybe got slashed in the back or had surrendered. Except in Texas where anything goes.

The flip side of this is felony murder. M ost if not all states have this. It means that if you are committing a felony and someone dies, that death is on you. That potentially means that if rob a store and the police accidently shoot the storeowner trying to get at you, you may be on the hook. Or if you cause an accident fleeing the scene and someone dies, you may be charged. Those are the text book extreme kinds of cases, but it does add an extra layer of "come-uppance" to would be criminals.
 
[quote name='Stryffe2004']As a cog in that judicial system, I will say it does have its issues, but if the burglar had lived and sued, he would not have gotten far. The only cases where I imagine there would be any kind of success would be if the burglar was running away and maybe got slashed in the back or had surrendered.
[/QUOTE]

"As a cog in the legal system" you are probably aware that you don't have to lose your lawsuit to undergo huge expenses, stress, strain and "strife" in cases where someone litigates against you. My HOA just won both suits we were involved in. The first cost us >$3k and the last resulted in another $8k in legal fees. We will have it paid off in five years, and everyone in the neighborhood gets their dues doubled.

All you have to do is google about criminals that have sued and read page after page of it, and yes some have been successful. However, like I said they don't have to win to nearly bankrupt you.
 
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