Any legal concerns here.

[KellyinAvon]

We do not agree, but I am correct on beer.

IPA

 

[Alamo]

...especially in TX where it's legal to shoot in defense of property

The window for using deadly force in defense of property is very narrow. Be careful if you come thisaway.

There's nothing that says you can't shoot someone in the back.

If someone is trying to kill someone else, and you are behind them, what are you supposed to do? Ask them to wait for you to get in front?

The deciding factor is if they are a threat.

This. ^^^^

Very different set of facts than a burglar running down the street fleeing a house break-in ( although majority of general public down here doesn't mind when a thief gets shot either, you cant count on the jury composition).

 

[tjh88]

IPA

+1

 

[JettaKnight]

IPA

 

[GIJEW]

And that's exactly why if I'm in Illinois, and I hear gunfire and screaming coming from the church across the street, I'm gonna close the window and turn up the TV. There are parts of this country that respect heroes, and there are parts of this country that put them in prison.

I assume you're talking about "crook county" instead of Effingham.

 

[Chelise]

The situation you describe--a "heroic act" could easily turn out to NOT be a heroic act unless you know you have all the information involved. Classic example is walking into a situation where a man is pinning a woman to the ground and she's screaming at him to stop attacking her, etc... If you get involved with your gun you might be stopping an attempted rape. You might also be sabotaging a plain-clothes policeman trying to arrest someone. Shooting into a building seems risky to me if you haven't seen the whole situation going on inside. What if a church attendant just gunned down the shooter, but you look in, see them with the gun and then shoot them by accident? Being reluctant to take the gun out of the holster until you're sure you need to shoot seems wiser.

 

[JettaKnight]

The situation you describe--a "heroic act" could easily turn out to NOT be a heroic act unless you know you have all the information involved. Classic example is walking into a situation where a man is pinning a woman to the ground and she's screaming at him to stop attacking her, etc... If you get involved with your gun you might be stopping an attempted rape. You might also be sabotaging a plain-clothes policeman trying to arrest someone.

...or you could be interrupting date night for me and my wife.

 

[Libertarian01]

Well... it depends.

If alleged mass murderer laid down his weapon and surrendered shooting him would be inappropriate, and also illegal.

However, such was not the case here. In this case he was done, and escaping. Does the law cover this specific event? Not really.

And yet it does collaterally.

In Indiana if I recall the law correctly a police officer is NOT allowed to shoot someone who is escaping that was just arrested for shoplifting, or public intoxication, or some other petty offense. However, if the officer were transporting Dr. Hannibal Lecter then his known danger to society would justify a kill shot. Indiana law allows a jail or prison employee to use lethal force to stop any prisoner from escaping. This is presumably because they cannot be expected to know the crime of every inmate in their facility and cannot determine whether the escapee is a check fraud cheater or serial killer. And because it is reasonable to presume that a really bad person is detained there a danger to society could be unleashed if escape were allowed.

Ergo, in Indiana the law seems clear on looking at the threat level to society as one of the components of charging a person for justifiably shooting someone else. Therefore I would suspect that an escaping mass murderer presents a significant danger to society that would allow for the use of lethal force to negate their escape attempt.

But that's just me.

Regards,

Doug

PS - IPA's are just fine, so long as they are served with a strongly flavored food. Lambic's...?

 

[LP1]

And that's exactly why if I'm in Illinois, and I hear gunfire and screaming coming from the church across the street, I'm gonna close the window and turn up the TV. There are parts of this country that respect heroes, and there are parts of this country that put them in prison.

As noted elsewhere in this thread, there are legitimate reasons to think before acting. However, you're saying that you would let other people die because you don't agree with the politics of their state? Nice. I hope your god is proud of you.

 

[femurphy77]

As noted elsewhere in this thread, there are legitimate reasons to think before acting. However, you're saying that you would let other people die because you don't agree with the politics of their state? Nice. I hope your god is proud of you.

I think he "might" be saying that there are some municipalities where in spite of your good deed you will be punished or so it would seem. Quite a few instances of Good Sam paying for his deeds with prison time. Easy to find examples out of country but there are some in this country as well.