Tuesday, July 21, 2009

He Needed Killin'

Believe it or not, this is a valid defense in all states of the U.S.

Keep in mind that if you are found standing over a dead body with the mechanism responsible for the death to hand, you will be required to explain in sufficient detail to a jury just why the deceased needed to be that way.

Page Nine has a collection of 14 supreme court cases in which details of the defense were argued, and to a fairly good extent, sorted out. Several of these go back a ways:
Beard v. United States 1895 158 U.S. 550 208
Can you stand your ground with a shotgun against an unprovoked armed attack on your property near your home [YES]; Is there a greater duty to retreat on your own property than in your house [NO].
Or in the modern sense;"Get off my yard!" An interesting read, and worth the few minutes it takes.

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