Forums >Off the Beaten Path>Oscar Pistorius (Blade Runner) Arrested
I think I see your point. So just the fact that he didn't know who was behind the door precludes it from being classified as a justifiable homicide, since he didn't know who was there or what they were doing.
Ahh.... Light bulb.
I think that is probably right. Even under the castle doctrine and stand your ground, you would need to identify the person as a burglar before opening fire on them.
Age: 50 Weight: 224 Height: 6'3" (Goal weight 195)
Current PR's: Mara 3:14:36* (2017); HM 1:36:13 (2017); 10K 43:59 (2014); 5K 21:12 (2016)
Feeling the growl again
Thread jack...
Not possible.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
Well, that's my off-the-top-of-my-head recall of the general standards for justifiable homicide, which isn't worth much. As has been discussed, the statutes and their interpretation can vary a lot in detail. And, more to the point, it's also almost certainly a question of fact. I suppose (at least here in the US), the defendant would get a chance, if they wanted it, to make a case to the jury that their belief re: justification for the shooting was reasonable, even though they weren't certain who was behind the door. Who can ever be certain anyway? If he reasonably but erroneously believed he was in the house alone, then anyone in the bathroom could perhaps, reasonably be deemed a threat. Personally, I'd call that argument a loser (for the reasons set forth nicely in a post upthread (MTA: MrH, p. 18), but (again, here in the US), all it takes is one juror's reasonable doubt. Which is why cases settle.
Loves the outdoors
I'm fairly sure that in SA this case will be tried by a judge only, so no issue with convincing an entire Jury.
One day I decided I wanted to become a runner, so I did.
On just about every measure but price, LEDs rule.
What of the cancer causing effects? wtf!
Ricky —our ability to perform up to our physiological potential in a race is determined by whether or not we truly psychologically believe that what we are attempting is realistic. Anton Krupicka
Then why doesn't it work in the most gun restrictive environemnts of the US (DC and Chicago). I would counter that referecing common sense offers nothing other than an empty platitude based on their unsuccessful examples.
Ahh, I know better. I say DC is a bad example (data show that states with tighter gun control laws appear to have fewer gun-related deaths). Someone calls me naive. I say limits on the number of bullets and assault weapons seem pretty sensible, especially if coupled with mental health reform. Then I'm sheltered.
No, I'll live with my empty platitude (which, by the way, is redundant, no?) and conviction that we might still have lost dozens of young lives at VA Tech, Aurora, Columbine, Sandy Hook, Arizona, Bart Township, etc with more meaningful gun control -- but I doubt we would have lost all of them.
We could benefit from a little more of this.
I'm sure there's no shortage of people that want the same thing, to grant themselves judge, jury and executioner all at once. That ought to keep the girl scouts away from your door.
Wow. This comment is so incredibly out of line.
If you can't grasp what was being said let me spoon feed you. It had everything to do with people taking some responsibility for themselves and their concerns, rather than expecting the government/others to do it for them, in various aspects of life. And absolutely nothing with people appointing themselves vigilante killers.
Unreal.
You make this repeated assumptions that when you give average citizens guns that these inanimate objects somehow conjure violent actions out of thin air. What is your support for this?
No, what I've indicated is that access to guns can make a situation violent. If you want something for support there are many occurrences that can be reference but this study might help.
http://www.americanbar.org/groups/domestic_violence/resources/statistics.html
"Access to firearms yields a more than five-fold increase in risk of intimate partner homicide when considering other factors of abuse, according to a recent study, suggesting that abusers who possess guns tend to inflict the most severe abuse on their partners."
Wow. This comment is so incredibly out of line. If you can't grasp what was being said let me spoon feed you. It had everything to do with people taking some responsibility for themselves and their concerns, rather than expecting the government/others to do it for them, in various aspects of life. And absolutely nothing with people appointing themselves vigilante killers. Unreal.
Don't read too much into it. It's intentional drivel.
Not dead. Yet.
No, what I've indicated is that access to guns can make a situation violent.
If Oscar didn't have a gun in his house that night, Reeva would still be alive and he would still have a future.
How can we know our limits if we don't test them?
So who is responsible for the outcome...Oscar, or everybody else?
Good Bad & The Monkey
You are.
I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.
Poor baby
Yup. I was drinking your Yazoo Amber and I slipped up. At least the beer was good.
Yeah, always always always better to drink the IPA than the amber.