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From: davy@pur-ee.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.auto
Subject: Re: Orphaned Response - (nf)
Message-ID: <520@isrnix.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 12-Aug-83 20:26:03 EDT
Article-I.D.: isrnix.520
Posted: Fri Aug 12 20:26:03 1983
Date-Received: Sun, 14-Aug-83 10:29:35 EDT
Lines: 38

#R:tekid:-135900:pur-ee:2900019:177600:1650
pur-ee!davy    Jul  1 11:04:00 1983


   Here we had a very similar case. A man left his mobile home booby 
trapped, such that if you opened the screen door, a 12-guage shotgun 
went off. 

   A young boy, about 15 or 16, opened the door, received a shotgun 
blast in the chest, and because nobody was home, bled to death on the 
front porch. The man was arrested and brought to trial on manslaughter 
or something similar (it wasn't 1st degree murder, anyway). 

   The man's main line of defense was that the boy was breaking into 
his trailer in order to steal something. There was no evidence to 
support this, other than the fact that the boy had a previous record 
of breaking and entering. After a great deal of controversy, the man 
was deemed innocent by a jury. 

   I personally feel that the use of deadly force to protect your home 
is fine, UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS. Had the man been at home, and had 
the boy actually threatened his or his family's LIFE, I would agree 
with the verdict. But, booby trapping your door with a shotgun is 
absolutely ridiculous. What if the first person to open the door would 
have been the Avon lady? Would he still have gotten off? Remember, it 
was never PROVEN that the boy was breaking in. 

   The question breaks down to "how far may a person go in order to 
protect his property?". Is manslaughter legal under these circum- 
stances? Is it right to kill someone in order to save your Sony 
Trinitron? Should it be? Why or why not? 

   This is an interesting topic for discussion, and I'd like to see it 
continued. But, net.auto is hardly the place. Can someone recommend a 
more appropriate newsgroup? 

--Dave Curry
pur-ee!davy