Killing in self-defense

Killing in self-defense
Public domain illustration image

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.

Gun to a knife fight

Illustration image - From Flickr.com

Really hard to say what went through the mind of the gun-toting maniac from this article at blog.al.com... Trying to prove a point that you can't stop bullets with a knife?

"Florida -- A 67-year-old Pensacola man is charged with murder for allegedly gunning down a 53-year-old man who was trying to show how he could defend himself using a knife, according to Escambia County deputies."

"Escambia deputies responded to the shooting at about 10:51 p.m. Thursday night at the Moorings Apartments (...). When they arrived, they found Alvin Merriwell Lewis Jr. dead inside the suspect's apartment. Lewis had succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds."

So, apart from repeating the old adage of not bringing a knife to a gun fight, one could also add: Don't demonstrate knife self-defense moves to a lunatic with a gun.

Anything to add? Feel free to do so in the comments field below.

Door-to-door dangers

During a period of eight months houstonpress.com have investigated door-to-door magazine sales across the country.

They say the industry has seen at least three murders and one attempted murder; one stabbing, one rape and two attempted rapes; one vehicle fatality and one attempted abduction of a 13-year-old girl.

My suggestion is that you take the time to read this article in full, it's shocking to say the least.

Your typical bouncer?

Probably far from it - this guy seems to be one really mean and depraved individual.

According to guardian.co.uk, the 39-year-old is on trial, accused of murdering two women (19 and 22 years old). Both reportedly died after being struck with a blunt instrument. The man is also on trial for two attempted murders and one count of kidnap and false imprisonment.

According to the paper he has previous court appearances dating back to when he was 13. He had admitted offences ranging from vehicle theft, having an offensive weapon to assaulting a police officer.

He was jailed for a total of 13 months in 1991 for hitting a constable in the face, common assault on a special constable and failing to surrender.

In February 2005, he was jailed for eight months and banned from driving for seven years for dangerous driving after being stopped on a motorway hard shoulder at 70mph.

And this guy was working as a bouncer (doorman)...

Now, you may all say that most bouncers are not like this person here, and fortunately you're right. However, and this is my point, there are too many in that line of work who pose a real danger to those around them.

How do I know - I used to work the doors myself. It used to be worse, but there are still too many young guys out there with far too much testosterone, short fuses, little or no empathy, steroids, drug abuse, criminal connections and what have you not.

Norwegian psychologist Per Isdal describes in his book "Meningen Med Volden" ("The Purpose of Violence" - unfortunately available in Norwegian only as far as I know) amongst other things how one bouncer used his work to set people up for violence. A scary read; even more so if you knew that there are more guys like this out there.

One small piece of advice: Do not talk back at bouncers - it really does you no good at all. What it potentially can do is get you and others hurt.

And by all means - let us not forget that most of these folks are nice, hard working, under-paid and under a lot of stress. Be nice, boys and girls :-)

A 'cooler aid'

A South Side apartment complex in Madison, Wisconsin has already been the scene of three murders and a non-fatal shooting during a 15 months period.

Thursday night yet another crime occurred, when a 50-year-old woman reportedly had to fight off an attempted sexual assault by a stranger in the basement of her building, according to madison.com.

The tenant said she had gone to a storage locker in the building's basement about 6 p.m. to get something. She was just about to leave when a man grabbed her from behind, a police spokesman said.

As the man held her by the waist, the woman reached into the storage locker, grabbing a hard beverage cooler plastic top to defend herself.

She was able to hit him a couple of times right in the head with it. The attacker yelled in pain, and the woman was able to run back upstairs to her apartment.

A police report stated the woman's shirt was ripped in the encounter, but she was otherwise unharmed.

Violence, alcohol

UK -- Violent crime is on the rise across Scotland, according to new figures which reveal that hundreds more attacks were carried out last year. Binge-drinking and growing inequality has been blamed for the spike in violence, which saw 13,994 crimes - including murder, serious assault and robbery - recorded in 2006-7, 2.4 per cent more than the previous year's tally of 13,664.

Six of the country's eight police forces witnessed a rise in non-sexual crimes of violence, with Northern Constabulary seeing a one-third increase in reported attacks, from 481 to 640. Four other forces - Tayside, Central, Grampian and Lothian and Borders - saw violent crime increase by between 6 and 15 per cent, while Strathclyde witnessed a smaller increase of 0.5 per cent, from 8,439 to 8,481. Only Fife and Dumfries and Galloway saw a drop in the figures.

The rise ends a three-year decline in recorded violent crimes, sparking fears that Scotland could be witnessing the beginning of a new upward trend. Northern Constabulary said the increase was "partly due to the misuse of alcohol".

"This is a big problem not just in our area but across the country. We're seeing it linked to a vast number of assaults. It's clearly a big contributory factor," said a spokesman.

Doctors are reporting a small but steady increase in the number of assault victims attending accident and emergency departments - which some believe is a more accurate reflection of violence levels - and say alcohol abuse is an increasingly prevalent factor.

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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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'Mall-Wart'?

Quite alarming statistics regarding Wal-Mart ...

Story:
Wal-Mart complexes experience a significant number of police incidents, more so than at other shopping complexes. This is according to a national study published less than a year ago by United Food and Commercial Workers International Union at WakeUpWalMart.com.

The study examined police reports associated with 551 Wal-Mart stores across the country. It collected data from 404 police departments from 434 cities and towns.

The study demonstrates that nationally, Wal-Mart stores cost local taxpayers an estimated $77 million in increased police costs in 2004.

What the report calls "magnet for crime" is not limited to merely in-store crimes like shoplifting and check forgery. Included is also violent and serious crimes including rape, attempted rape, aggravated assault, burglary, auto-theft, arson, narcotics, kidnapping and murder.

The report shows that there were 1,024 auto thefts reported at Wal-Mart stores, 154 sex crimes, 23 kidnappings or attempted kidnappings and 1,145 assaults with a deadly weapon.

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.

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Mexican femicide?

Here's a report you definitely should read. It's by Ellen Snortland, the author of "Beauty Bites Beast"

Story:
According to a report issued by Amnesty International in November, more than 400 women have been kidnapped and murdered over the past 14 years, many of them raped, mutilated and tortured first. One man couldn't possibly slaughter so many. It's gender terrorism.

Is this a horror film tease? Tragically, no. The unsolved murders in Ciudad Juárez and the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, of mostly young and indigenous working-class women, are very real.

In Juárez, females of all backgrounds breathe terror, night and day.

Is that man who just whispered “Mamacita” dangerous and sizing them up for abduction, or is he merely a nonlethal creep? Globally, the mysterious killings in Juárez have stumped and horrified us in the international women's rights community. Who is responsible? How can we resist femicide? What can be done?

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Great news!

After initiating an international campaign to save the life of her Iranian namesake, human rights activist, Bodog Music recording artist and former Miss Canada Nazanin Afshin-Jam received confirmation Sunday that the murder charge against 19-year-old Nazanin Fatehi has been dropped.

Nazanin Afshin-Jam's relentless campaign included a petition signed by 330,000 people, countless speeches and rallies worldwide and months on the media circuit as well as support from the International Committee Against Execution, Amnesty International, Canadian members of Parliament, the European Union and the United Nations. The effort appears to have been successful and Nazanin Fatehi may be released from prison within a week.

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Hazards at work, 16

It can't be said often enough: A knife is a dangerous, really dangerous weapon.
It's highly unpredictable, easy to carry, easy to use.
You also have this idea amongst some folks that you can "control the effect" - that is, you can easily use it as a deterrent to scare off, cut or stop a threat/attacker. This is far easier said than done folks!
Another thing is that since way too many are unaware of the danger involved, they fell it's "safe" or legitimate to carry such a weapon. And what do you do when you are being under attack? You use what you got at hand.
Facts: Once a knife is out, you have a potential lethal situation on your hands.

Story:
A bouncer is dead and a 35-year-old man is in critical condition after a bar fight in Blaine early Friday morning.

The bouncer, 24-year-old Greg Klaers, was killed while trying to break up that fight. His brother saw the whole thing happen.

A customer was also stabbed and critically wounded. Police arrested four men for assault.

Source

A brutal indifference

UK -- It's too late for the five Ipswich street sex workers found brutally murdered in Suffolk. But to prevent the death toll rising, urgent action needs to be taken to protect other women who are working on the streets of Britain.

Among men convicted of murdering sex workers, killing is rarely the first offence. There is often a history of violent attacks on women. Street-based sex workers are at risk of violence and it is vital that a relationship of trust exists between the women and the police officers who can apprehend men who commit violent sexual offences against them. Sadly, trust is all too often absent between these two groups.

Not including the latest victims, at least 51 sex workers have been murdered since 1990. Most women working on the streets are funding expensive drug habits. They are among the most vulnerable members of the community. A report from the Economic and Social Research Council found that two-thirds of sex workers had experienced client violence, that women working on the streets were at greatest risk of violence, and that 28% said punters had tried to rape them.

Overwhelmingly, these women are not involved in serious crimes. While soliciting is a (non-imprisonable) offence, prostitution in itself is not illegal. More needs to be done to guarantee women a sympathetic hearing if or when they report attacks to the police.

Source

Not just a women's issue

There's no doubt about it - violence against women is an issue that we - men - ought to make our own problem!

Story:
In the Kansas City area, there is a forcible rape or attempted rape reported almost every day. Many more go unreported.

Incidents of nonsexual assaults, robberies and homicides have declined nationwide in the last decade. But, sadly, rape rates have not, nor has sexual violence against women.

Greater Kansas City is served by the Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault (MOCSA), which exists to lessen the ill effects of sexual assault and abuse through prevention, education, intervention, treatment and advocacy.

Sexual violence is not, however, just a women’s issue. MOCSA always has been strongly supported by both women and men, but now is the right time for a special effort directed at the men in our community.

Empowering men to examine their own attitudes, promote an attitude of respect, understand the unique vulnerabilities of females in our society, confront abusive peers and speak out against factors that perpetuate a rape culture are keys to sexual violence prevention.

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The 'wurst' way to go?

German police have arrested a man on suspicion of murdering a woman with a sausage.

Prosecutors and police said the 50-year-old was arrested after the woman's body was discovered in an apartment in Zwickau, eastern Germany. They said she had choked on a Bockwurst, a popular large German sausage.

The prosecutors said the man had given a patchy account of events, acknowledging that he may have "administered" a Bockwurst to the woman.

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Can defend herself

Without saying anything about Polk being guilty of murder or not, I have to agree with this statement.

Story:
Even after a man punches a smaller woman twice in the face, smears pepper spray in her eyes, pulls her hair and bites her on the arm, she could start defending herself and win the fight, a self-defense expert testified Friday in the trial of Susan Polk.

'You would be hurt and slightly injured, but if it's the last breath you're going to take, you're going to defend yourself,' said Laura Castro-Shelley, a martial arts instructor.

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Learn more about how hundreds of women have defended themselves:

Women Can

Police appeal

UK -- Police are appealing for people in South Cheshire to back a nationwide knife amnesty which begins today.

They are gearing up to support the amnesty, which runs until June 30, by placing specially designed bins in police stations.

The number of knife-related incidents recorded by Cheshire police last year topped 700 with offences ranging from murder and grievous bodily harm to threatening behaviour, harassment and possession.

Source

Sudan

Four girls were attacked by two armed militias in uniform whilst collecting firewood outside the camp on 7 March 2006, around 11:30 a.m.

During the attack, one of the men assaulted one of the girls and attempted to rape her. When the girl resisted, the man began to beat her.

In defence, she grabbed the knife she had been using to cut the firewood and stabbed the attacker in the stomach. The four girls then managed to escape and returned to Seraif camp. Allegedly the girls reported the incident to police officers inside the camp who refused to file the case.

In the afternoon of the same day, police officers inside the camp were informed of the death of a stabbing victim - the man who was stabbed by the girl.

Following this news, the police officers immediately arrested the four girls on suspicion of murder. The girls were initially detained for five days and charged with murder.

Three of the girls were later released, but it is reported that Ms. Amouna Mohamed Ahmed (17), remains in detention and is awaiting trial for murder.

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Private security on the rise

UK: Security companies said last night it was not just the famous who were taking on private patrols to guard their streets, and that within months the service would spread across the UK.

The companies have benefited from the fear-factor generated by high-profile attacks, such as the murder of City financier John Monckton in December 2004 in London's Chelsea. He and his wife were stabbed after opening the door to their attackers. The crime was witnessed by their daughter Isobel, aged nine.

Source

Bad man, bad lover

And another bad excuse for self-defense...

Story:
A man described by a judge as a bully has been found guilty of murdering 70s' pop star Lennie Peters' daughter after she accused him of being a bad lover.

He claimed he strangled her in self-defence after she attacked him.

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