Homeowners who confront burglars were told by the Government yesterday that they were entitled to kill in self-defence - and use guns and knives - to protect their family and property.
They were reassured that they will not be prosecuted if they acted "honestly and instinctively" against intruders in the heat of the moment.
Well that's good to hear. It's not as good as if Britain was allowing its citizens to own handguns once more but, hopefully, it will put an end to homeowners being arrested, charged, and put in jail for defending themselves in their own homes. Now, how about clearing the records of those who already went through that travesty?
It's not without its issues, however:
The result was yesterday's leaflet, which will be distributed to libraries and police stations. It was produced by the Crown Prosecution Service and the Association of Chief Police Officers.
It told householders: "You are not expected to make fine judgments over the level of force you use in the heat of the moment. So long as you only do what you honestly and instinctively believe is necessary in the heat of the moment, that would be the strongest evidence of you acting lawfully and in self-defence."
It said that the more extreme the circumstances and the more frightened householders were, the more force they could lawfully use. But it warned they could still face the courts for using "excessive and gratuitous force".
What someone believes is necessary and how frightened someone is are entirely subjective. How are the authorities going to determine whether or not someone was frightened enough to use the level of force that was employed against the intruder?
Later in the article:
Ken Macdonald, the Director of Public Prosecutions, said: "The key thing to bear in mind is that, as long as someone hasn't stepped over that line into retribution or revenge, it is quite difficult to perceive of a level of violence that would not be regarded as reasonable by a prosecutor. This is something the intruder brings on him or herself. I don't think we need to be too squeamish about the situation." (emphasis mine -RR)
It's about time you folks figured that out. The way I see it, when a person breaks into my house he or she forfeits any right not to be shot or otherwise harmed by me. The burglar initiates the action which leads to getting hurt so that's who bears the entire responsibility for it.
In short, it's a good sign but there is still a long way to go before Britain returns to full sanity on the subject of personal defense.
No comments:
Post a Comment