Freedom of speech or more trouble than its worth?

[quincy]

Are you a Michigander, justalayman???

It is true that in Michigan we have a Self-Defense Act, which eliminated the "duty to retreat" element of the common law of self-defense, as long as the person using such self-defense is in a place they have a legal right to be (ie. their home, their car, their yard).

And, people acting in self-defense now have substantial immunity when using defensive force, if they honestly and reasonably believe that death, great bodily harm or a sexual assault is imminent.

In addition, in Michigan, a person is automatically presumed to have had a reasonable belief of death, harm or assault if they DO use such deadly force under these circumstances (with some exceptions). It is left up to the prosecutor to overcome this presumption by showing that the person did NOT act within the constraints of the Self-Defense Act. The prosecutor must disprove the basis of this reasonable belief beyond a reasonable doubt.

However, unlike Texas, this right to defend oneself does not extend to the right to use deadly force to defend property, unless such deadly force is in response to a break-in, a carjacking, or some other potentially violent crime, where one is presumed to have a reasonable belief that death, great bodily harm or a sexual assault is imminent.

In Michigan, in other words, you do not have a legal right to shoot a kid riding your bicycle out of your driveway, and you would not be able to get away legally with shooting a person who is fleeing a neighbor's house with the neighbor's TV in hand.

In Texas, however, that is, apparently, legal.

 

[las365]

In Texas, however, that is, apparently, legal.

Quincy, for the love of God, please stop rubbing it in.

For what it's worth, I (if you haven't guessed) am a Texan and I take some consolation that the 911 operator was pleading with the shooter in that case not to do it.

 

[quincy]

Sorry, las. I didn't recognize your Texas drawl from over here. Had I, I would have ducked!

 

[justalayman]

Yes, I am a Michigander and the community I spoke of was Benton Harbor.

Michigan: No charges over teen's shooting death: "While the man who fatally shot a Benton Harbor teen during an attempted break-in will face no charges in the death, authorities say they will pursue a misdemeanor weapons charge against him. On the morning of March 26, Jammie Parker, 31, was at his girlfriend's home in the 200 block of Hastings Avenue when Corey Napier Jr., 18, and three others reportedly attempted to enter the home, the Berrien County Prosecutor's Office said. After a review of the police investigation and physical evidence at the scene, Berrien County Prosecutor Arthur Cotter said in a written statement that "it is abundantly clear" that Napier was shot "while he was in the process of breaking into the residence." Cotter noted in the release that Michigan law was amended last year to allow self-defense when an individual in such circumstances has "an honest and reasonable belief that there was an imminent threat of death or great bodily harm." Parker reportedly told authorities that he went into a bedroom and saw the drawn shade of an open window moving as someone attempted to climb in, the release said. Parker said he shot three times at the window with a .40 caliber pistol and then ran outside and fired into the air to scare the remaining teens away. In police interviews, two of the three youths involved in the attempt admitted they had gone to the home to steal money and marijuana they believed was inside, the release said. Cotter said he found insufficient evidence that Parker shot at a fleeing youth, and noted that an uninvolved witness saw Parker fire the weapon into the air. Because the gun was not registered, Parker will be charged with failing to register a firearm, a 90-day misdemeanor."

what is stated in this article brushes over what was reported locally. It was reported that Parker did not even see the person that was supposedly breaking into the house. He believed the person to be outside the window and shot.

the news story that is generally published (the one above) states he saw the blind moving but here is an excerpt from another report.

“It appeared one or more shots were fired through a closed window, the blinds were pulled, victim was shot in upper body, says Benton Harbor Police Chief Al Mingo.

closed window? How was the shade moving?

 

[quincy]

Geez. I don't remember that story. I am in the Detroit area, so it is possible we didn't pick that story up (there are so many shootings around here that one or two in the state may get lost in the shuffle) - but it sure seems like we would have. Hmmm.

And the prosecutor couldn't make a case against Parker, huh?

Wow.

At least he didn't shoot at the fleeing kids (like they can legally do in Texas ).

 

[justalayman]

the only charges were a gun charge because the gun was not registered. As you can read in the first version, it was eventually reported as the window shade was moving and the guy shot because of that.

Seems a bit of info was swept under the rug. After all, this was Benton Harlem, I meand Harbor.Not much out of Benton Harbor surprises me anymore.

 

[quincy]

That area has had its difficulties, that's for sure - not totally unlike some areas of Detroit, Flint and Pontiac.

Sure love the terrain and the beaches out your way, however.