Sould the law be strengthened further to protect homeowners who confront burglars?
This case was only a few miles away from me, so I have been following it a bit on the the local news too.
The law already allows some level of protection - the case against this man was that he went too far. The main evidence was the statement of the other burglar (who apparently kept changing his story!).
I think it's not so much the fact that the law was wrong "pre se", but the way the Police and Crown Prosecution Service handle individual cases. In this one it seems that they were against the home owner's son who was initially charged and more pro the surviving burglar and the deceased burgler's family.
It doesn't matter what the law says now or in the future, if officials go about administering it wrongly.
Plim :sad: :sad:
Hadn't followed the case, but I feel really sorry for the lad who had to go tho the trial and all. Hope he manages to put it all behind him.
Wouldn't it be really good if a few million could be put into inventing a really accurate truth machine, or lie detector, then trials would be reduced to minutes and people would not have stuff like this hanging over them for months.
But wait a minute, that would put lawyers out of business, can't have that can we??
John
There is a theory that by monitoring the brain directly instead of secondary signs like pulse and perspiration and breathing is more reliable.
The theory says that the brain has to think more to lie, and that the location of brain activity is different.
So Electroencephalography could be the way forward, but no one is funding it!
If you enter into someones home with a criminal intention, then the home owner should be able to defend both his home and the persons within it.....by whatever means.
All this " reasonable force " bollocks is just not clear.
I have a little thing in my home and if anybody entered it I would without doubt do my upmost to disable them. If that is permanently then so be it.
Not only have you the massive fear at the time, but wrongly the fear of possible prosecution of arrest.
A free reign to do what you like with no fear of being arrested....that may well make the little shit bags think twice before they enter someones home.
What then if it was a white lad in his home that had killed a black burglar.
Would the case have been dropped?
I think not.
The topic up for discussion is surrounding the law, not the colour of peoples skin or your particular socio-political view Rob.
The law, in my opinion, is perfectly adequate. Any shift could result in vigilante-type behaviour increasing as there would be a get-out-of-jail card for those wishing to administer punishment beatings to anyone breaking into their house.
While I agree that the burglar should not be in someone's home in the first place, two wrongs never make a right.
sorry but i don't give a flying fuck wat makes how many wrongs don't make a right if anyone broke into my home on their heads be it and it most likely would be
i don't care if i could be prosecuted there aare some things worth going to prison for and defending my family and home for me is one
mr b used to work nights lots and our kids were young then i know for fact that any daft sod that broke into our home would of had one very angry fat bird bearing down on them fast i can move when needs must and i would fight to the death be it mine or theres to protect my boys its instinct
now i am not a violent person in fact anyone who knows me will tell you i am the first to step in to break up any fights as i hate to see anyone hurt that much i hate hate hate violence it makes me feel sick to see it but all that said no one is ever getting in my home and any where near my boys
admitedly mr b no longer works nights and our boys are grown so i would most likely be last in line to get to any burglars but trust me i would be fighting my way through to have a go that i know for fact
judge as you will but this is one thing i will never change my opinion on
everyone should feel safe in their own home i never did as a child but then my threat was inside the home anyway but it has made me determined my kids will never feel that they are not safe in their own home once that door closes no one can or will harm them
i have always said since the day our youngest was born i will kill if needs be to protect them simple as
It so makes me laugh when people say they would not have blood on their hands.
What the fuck would they do when faced with a armed intruder?
I think if you did not catch them but found out who they were, the Police would pass it to the CPS, who in turn would wallow on and on, and then probably not press charges anyway.
Go after them and give em a slap.
Catch em in your home, then get rid of them by whatever means you have, and if they die as a result, I would not give a flying fuck.
My stance is that If a home owner/family member find them selves confronted by an intruder then the intruder should be there at his own risk. I personally would be to scared for my family's and my life to be careful of how I defend them/us. I am afraid I would strike out first and ask questions later. Therefore I feel the law should be skewed in favour of thew home owner every time.
I take 'Reasonable force' to mean 'sufficient force to stop them doing any harm and evict them from the premises.'
As a 45 year-old woman with a dicky knee and a bad back that doesn't mean a clever judo move to disarm him and frog-march him off the premises undamaged. It means I grab the biggest stick or knife I can get my hands on and go screaming for something very tender and/or vital to life. Balls, throat, eyes, heart. It won't be a sneak attack - they will have ample notice to save themselves - so long as they drop any stolen property before they do.
My home and property is worth 100 times more than any burgler's future - 17 is perfectly old enough to know right from wrong AND what the consequences of crime are. If they want a lap-top or a TV they can bloody well work for it - I did.