Killing in self-defense

Killing in self-defense
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Shooting and killing a person in his sleep can't possibly be deemed as self-defense? Or can it?

It most definitely can, as the case below from Texas - where a girl is cleared by a jury - clearly indicates. The girl was 12 at the time and shot her own father to death while he was sleeping.

I can remember a similar case here in Norway where a youth shot his abusive father to death with a shotgun, while the father was asleep. He was freed by the court on the grounds of self-defense, just like the girl here.

One of the commentators in the case here also gives a reference to another similar case of someone being cleared of murder.

Jurors Monday decided a teenage Katy girl accused of fatally shooting her father was not guilty of murder because she acted in self-defense. Mark A. Nelson, 38, died in April 2009. His daughter, who was 12 at the time, was accused of shooting Nelson in the back of his head as he lay in bed.

I'm positive you will have some viewpoints about this, right? Is it totally wrong to free someone who have shot and killed a sleeping person, or may it indeed be cases where this will be justifiable self-defense in your opinion.

Reasonable force?

It is always hard to determine how much force - and what type of force - is needed in any type of altercation.

It is very easy to be wise after the event! However, it may seem like these folks here (from Rootstown Township, Ohio) didn't have the skills and training needed to restrain a shoplifter who tried to take off - something very few have any type of experience to deal with unfortunately.

It is not too difficult if you work as a team - and if you have the proper type of techniques to hold someone (alone it is very difficult, no matter what your training might be).

What most people do wrong is to use too much weight upon a prone person - in effect choking the person to death, or using too much force on the neck or chest.

If something goes terribly wrong, you may end up being the target of a lawsuit, like the people in this case seems to be subject to.

In January 2004, a shop-lifter walked to a store parking lot after loading a cart with groceries. A manager and an employee approached the man, whereupon he attacked the employee. The two workers and two passers-by tried to restrain the man while waiting for police.

With the four men on top of him, the man died of asphyxiation from force applied to his neck and torso within minutes. A County coroner reportedly ruled the death a homicide.

Carjackers killed woman

In Texas, a woman -- a mother of five -- was brutally stabbed to death when she fought back during a carjacking in northeast Harris County (Houston). Now, one of the suspects have been arrested, according to khou.com.

The woman was walking into a mobile phone store when a man, attempting to steal her car, grabbed her car keys. It is believed that the woman fought the would-be carjacker because her 4-month-old daughter was still in the car.

The 24-year-old assailant, which authorities say are an illegal immigrant, stabbed the woman several times. He then got into a waiting car driven by an accomplice. The store's security cameras captured the brutal attack.

Not long before the deadly attack, the assailant was caught in security video stealing beer from a convenience store, police said.

The carjackers -- using knives and targeting women -- reportedly began their crime spree at convenience store Tuesday in Northeast Harris County.

A surveillance video shows the passenger of a car getting out of the vehicle and walking into the store. On of the carjackers then approached the driver, waiting in the vehicle.

Using a knife, he forced her out and she hurried inside, uninjured, police said. Then the second carjacker jumped into the vehicle, hopping in the driver's seat. The stolen car then takes off.

The next day, the same men targeted another woman, police said. Again, the carjacked victim was unharmed. The third woman targeted Wednesday night fought back, and was tragically killed.

Males being drugged

As we have reported earlier, not only women are being given "date rape drugs". After all, the point of drugging someone can be rape, robbery, abduction - or any combination hereof.

On March 14 Earthtimes.org had a story about a 45-year-old Swiss man - a former Hollywood bodyguard and karate champion - who was found dead inside a Hong Kong love hotel in the Wan Chai nightclub district.

The article also mentioned other high profile cases which involved expatriates found dead after evenings out in the notorious nightclub district.

One of these cases involved a senior Finnish policeman who died of a heart attack at a Hong Kong hotel in 2003 after being administered with the "date rape" drug Rohypnol (flunitrazepam).

Typical escalation

This is a very typical - and tragic - episode of escalating violence.

Story:
Texas -- In Conroe, a 23-year-old man was stabbed to death and two others were injured in a disturbance outside a pub, according to chron.com.

The 23-year-old victim was stabbed with a knife late Thursday, police officials said. He was transported to a medical center, where he was pronounced dead.

Three men had just left the local pub and were walking to their car when they were confronted by three men in a pickup about 10:45 p.m.

An argument allegedly broke out and one of the men from the pickup began hitting the car with a small sledge hammer. A passenger from the car then reportedly stabbed the victim.

A good Samaritan killed

I'm sure you've read or heard about the 39-year-old New York City subway conductor, Maurice Parks, who just recently fought off three muggers? The man allegedly trained martial arts at a Harlem 'elite dojo', and he used a knife to defend himself.

It is believed the robbery victim inadvertently may have killed Flonarza Byas, a young man who tried to help him during the incident. As nydailynews.com writes: "(...) a good Samaritan who waded into the bloody fight, was fatally stabbed - and investigators say it's likely that Parks delivered the fatal wound not knowing that Byas was trying to help."

Now, this is a tragic incident for all involved. I am really sorry for the young man who was killed while trying to help, and I really hope that the three young muggers will be tried as adults and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

What I would like to draw some attention to is how terribly wrong things can go if you just "wade into" an incident without knowing how it is perceived by the one (or ones) you are trying to help.

It is virtually impossible to distinguish who is who in the middle of a fight like this! Why do you think police uses verbal commands during their interventions?

So if you decide to intervene (which I really hope you will do), please make sure you state up front who you are and what you are doing - in a loud and clear voice. Of course it is always (if there's time) your best bet to call police first, and then try to help in other ways. You may also want to state loudly that you have called police, and that they are on their way (this goes even if you haven't called police...).

If you can not see who the attackers are - you can not distinguish the victim (or victims) from the attacker (or attackers) - it is not very wise to intervene directly/in a physical sense. If, on the other hand, you do know who you are in fact trying to help - make yourself known to that person (or those persons) - visually as well as verbally!

Soldier killed

In Scotland, s killer has been jailed for nine years and seven months for fatally stabbing a soldier who returned home after surviving two tours of duty in Iraq, according to theherald.co.uk.

The 23-year-old soldier was celebrating Hogmanay in Saltcoats, Ayrshire, when he was stabbed with a martial arts butterfly knife. The Lance Corporal in the Royal Highland Fusiliers was killed after he went to check his cousin was safe after fighting broke out.

The 25-year-old killer then stabbed the young soldier in the groin before running away. The victim died in hospital after the knife attack despite efforts to resuscitate him.

He merely had a knife

Quite naturally, this woman is devastated about her son being killed.
But what do this guy expect running towards a police officer holding a gun? Do they actually think it is possible to "aim for the legs", or shoot the weapon out of the hands of the person?
And then there's this phrase: "He merely had a knife." Yeah, some folks have this funny idea that a knife is just a harmless tool. Not.
This lady probably watch too much action movies, and/or need someone to blame.

Story:
A woman says a Broward Sheriff's Office deputy who fatally shot her son was out of line.

The 27-year-old man, was gunned down after he stabbed his ex-girlfriend and her roommate and then ran towards the deputy, holding carving knives.

"There are worse people on the streets," the 47-year-old mother said. "This was too much violence. He wasn't armed with a gun. He merely had a knife.''

Actually, he had two knives - and used them to repeatedly stab two people.

Source

Teenagers face curfews

UK -- Teenagers could be subjected to curfews in London in an attempt to curb the surge in fatal stabbings, police revealed yesterday.

Ben Hitchcock became the latest victim of a wave of knife attacks affecting the capital and other inner-city areas when he was beaten and stabbed in a fight between two groups of youths in south London, over the weekend.

The 16-year-old died after being attacked by a gang of 20 youths after he and a group of six friends had been banned from a party.

The officer who is heading the murder investigation, revealed yesterday that the imposition of curfews was "an option being considered" in an attempt to tackle the mounting violence.

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A "toy"?

You may have heard about the British woman who was shot and killed by police recently. She was waving a "toy" gun around ...

Story:
They're so realistic, the U.S. military uses them for simulation training, but they're all the rage during adolescent play.

Toy guns that are marketed to "make you feel like you're 'packing' the real thing," airsoft guns are also fast becoming a problem - actually mistaken for the real thing - and have many fearing big problems could follow these small-pellet shooting guns.

Airsoft guns are BB-style toy guns that use plastic pellets actually much larger - so less likely to break skin upon impact - than regular BBs. They're sold, over the Internet and in retail stores in some states, in many models, including pistols and rifles, that look just like the real thing.

An alarming concern is when the toy guns are mistaken for the real thing in dangerous situations.

Last month, a Framingham teenager fleeing police tossed an airsoft gun on the ground during chase, and police thought it was an actual weapon. No one was injured. Earlier this month, police nearly shot a teenage boy in California when they found him and two others playing with the toy guns on an elementary school playground, according to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

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Murder charge

Seems to me this is a reasonable law paragraph.
I'd also like to pay my respect to this woman for fighting back.

Story:
Police say a 30-year-old Cleveland man has been charged with murder in the death of his friend, 25, who was killed while the pair participated in a break-in.

The two men reportedly broke into a woman's house early Wednesday and assaulted her. The 20-year-old woman told police that the intruder punched her repeatedly and that she fought back by stabbing him with a kitchen knife. She said that the older man stood in the doorway of the kitchen and prevented another female resident from helping her fight off the intruder.

The 30-year-old then drove the stabbed man to a hospital, where he later died. The doctors were told that the man had injured himself while breaking through a door, the report said. Doctors believed the wounds were from a stabbing and contacted police.

Even if the defendant didn't directly cause the death, Ohio law allows prosecutors to file a murder charge against an accomplice to a crime in which someone dies.

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Bad karaoke

As far as music goes, karaoke is probably the worst thing known to man. The only thing that comes close on the "shit-O-meter" is elevator and telephone on-hold music. Oh, boy!
Fair enough - I have heard karaoke singers that actually can sing. But the rest ... Mama mia!
Consequently, I can kind of understand the security dude her, even though killing the "artist" is taking your statement too far by any ones standard.
And just contemplate this line: "Deaths and violence are not uncommon in Philippine karaoke bars." Ouch! Must be lots of really bad singers over there. Or maybe some really aggressive music criticisers?

Story:
In a Philippine karaoke bar, a man has been shot dead by a security guard for singing out of tune.

The 29-year-old man was halfway through his song on Tuesday night in a bar in San Mateo town, east of Manila, when a 43-year-old security guard yelled that he was out of tune.

When the performer ignored his comments and continued singing, the guard pulled out his revolver and shot him in the chest. The victim died instantly according to police.

Source

Knife rampage

Just in case you ever wondered just how dangerous weapon a knife can be ...

Story:

A man armed with 50cm knife killed nine people, including six children, and wounded 17 others in a drunken rampage in a central Philippine province on Saturday morning, police said.

Source

There were red flags

Oregon -- On May 24, 2004, just before allegedly kidnapping, raping and killing a 19-year-old college student, the 40-year-old suspected killer stalked and then approached two other women near Oregon State University. He then tried to lure them into his van, prosecutors say. He intended to rape and kill them, too, a Benton County District Attorney said.

The man tried to coax the women, both OSU students at the time, close to the van. But the women, who were alone, sensed trouble.

"There were red flags," the District Attorney said. "He tried to engage them with conversation and conduct that clearly establishes that he is trying to lure them into the van, but he just can't get within striking distance."

The victim was last seen about 10 a.m. May 24, 2004, cleaning lampposts in the parking lot of apartments managed by her brother-in-law near the Corvallis campus. Police and thousands of friends and strangers searched unsuccessfully for her for two weeks. Her body has not been found.

Source

(Not too) cleaver clever

Pretending to be an express courier, a 24-year-old robber was permitted entry in a trading company in Hong Kong.

He then tried to attack the receptionist with a stun gun but she fought back. The stun gun dropped to the ground in the scuffle.

When the "stunner" bent to pick it up, a sharp cleaver he hid in his trousers pierced an artery in his thigh. The man tried to flee but collapsed in a pool of blood. He died of major blood loss.

Source

Band of muggers

It is always sad when someone gets killed. Still, I applaud this gentleman for fighting back.
If someone decide to be a criminal, that person should also be prepared to pay the consequences. My sympathy will never be with the criminals ...

Story:
San Jose, Costa Rica: A tour group of U.S. senior citizens fought off a band of muggers in eastern Costa Rica, sending two of the assailants fleeing and killing a third, police said Thursday.

One of the tourists — a retired U.S. serviceman whom officials estimated was in his 70s — allegedly put one assailant in a headlock and broke his clavicle after the 20-year-old and two other men armed with a knife and gun held up their tour bus Wednesday, said the police chief of Limon, 130 kilometers east of San Jose.

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Non-lethal weapons

I don't get this at all ...
The US police - at least some places it seems - are armed with guns, but have to ask for special trained officers to get a beanbag shotgun or Taser ...? Wow, I'm speechless.
Mind you, I'm not really talking here about shooting and killing a teen armed with a pair of scissors - strange and senseless as it may be.
What I do find really weird is that they are not provided with less lethal options. Double wow.

Story:
A limited number of nonlethal weapons in the county Police Department arsenal may have led to the fatal shooting of a mentally ill teenager who threatened officers with scissors, a newly released report shows.

The 251-page police report on the May 14 shooting of Justin James Fisher, released last week after a Maryland Public Information Act request by The Capital, reveals new details of the case.

Anne Arundel police have since increased the number of beanbag shotguns issued to officers and are considering buying Tasers - plans that were already in the works before the fatal shooting.

Fifteen minutes before officers shot Mr. Fisher, the report shows, an officer radioed to ask whether someone could bring a beanbag shotgun to the scene so officers wouldn't have to kill him.

But no special-operations officers - the only ones who carried beanbag shotguns at the time - were on duty that midnight shift, the report shows.

Source

Attempted rapist killed

India -- The Delhi High Court today acquitted a 30-year-old woman sentenced to life for killing her molester, holding that her act amounted to self-defence and not murder.

It was held that Simmi, a resident of Daryaganj was only trying to protect herself and did not "intend" to murder her assailant.

A Sessions Court had in September 21, 2006 sentenced Simmi to life imprisonment on finding her guilty of bludgeoning her atacker, identified as a vagabond, to death with a heavy stone in the early hours of April 22, 2004.

In her appeal, Simmi, through her counsel, contended that Mastana had attempted to rape her under the influence of alcohol. She had "pushed him away" in self-defence and he had fallen on a stone, fatally injuring himself on the head.

source

Hazards at work, 5

Johannesburg -- A patient in Nelspruit's Rob Ferreira Hospital killed two men and injured three others on Wednesday morning, the Mpumalanga health department said.

"A male patient admitted for psychiatric observation attacked and killed two patients, wounded three and attempted to sexually assault two nurses," a spokesperson said.

The incident, in the male surgical ward, took place at 02:30.

"He broke a chair and hit the patients with a plank." The two deceased were aged 70 and 47. Their names would be released once their next of kin had been informed. The three injured men were in middle to old age and in a stable condition.

Police were called and arrested the man, who was admitted to the hospital on Monday.

Source

Bad idea

Maybe not the best of ideas ...

Story:
"What are you going to do, shoot us?" These were evidently the last words of Seattle actress Nicole DuFresne, murdered in NYC in January 2005 during a botched mugging.

Rudy Fleming, who's charged with the shooting, did so because she challenged him to, according to testimony in Fleming's trial.

Tatiana McDonald, one of the teenage muggers with Fleming that night, testified that the seven-person group attempted to mug two other people that night, and were unsuccessful both times (one guy ran away, another pretended to reach for a gun in his jacket).

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