No, we've come to the point that a homeowner who should have known better tried to use the legitimate legal protection of self-defense as a cover for murder.
And, as you and many others have done, the general public has taken away a confused message.
In reality, if Smith had called the police, the two would have been arrested for multiple crimes.
But he was the only criminal who survivied that day, so the law was only able to prosecute him for his crimes.
I know what the law says about self-defense and I will avail myself of it if the need arises.
But many people, who do not know what the law says and who did not inquire too deeply into Smith's moral turpitude, will now be cowed.
That's not the law's fault.
That's Smith's fault.
Had those two not invaded that house, they’d:
1. Would be alive.
2. Would not have been tortured.
3. Would not have been raped.
What’s interesting in all of this is the consensus that Smith was crazy.
If so, he had a legal defense. Regardless, it isn’t something the perps planned on when they invaded the house. It’s another risk. They picked a guy so sick of people getting away with murder, rape, knock-out games, theft, and arson, that he weighed the matter and took the law into his own hands.
In absence of a diagnosis that he’s crazy, it sounds like Smith is only a danger to people who invade his house, and not the rest of the law-abiding community.
If he was crazy, then he should have been found not guilty by reason of mental defect.
Again, had they not invaded the house, nothing would have happened.
Looking at this from an historical standpoint, this is what happens when the people no longer believe the state provides the deterrent required to enforce the social contract. When that happens, this is what happens.
Steal from a gang? Expect torture and rape. It’s an incredibly effective hedge against inventory shrinkage, accounting discrepancies between goods sold and revenue recorded, etc.
Kiddie rape? Go to gen pop and see what happens. Nobody bats an eye at the systematic rape of inmates. It’s a running inside joke.
We have turned every citizen into a perpetrator, and the courts have failed to fulfill their responsibilities.
In Europe they used to hang pirates and move their dangling corpses into the harbor where other pirates could see them as they approached.
This man, Smith, saved the taxpayers money. He made his community safer. I’ll bet these two had a rap sheet too. Probably a long one. As such, what effect would arresting them and taking them to trial have on preventing future home invasions.
Maybe the next crew of idiots decides to rob a bank instead. You can do it pretty readily. No fuss no muss, no chance of getting raped or tortured.
Bottom line: Invade someone’s home, they should expect to die. They should plan on it. These two? Unlucky. He was minding his own business, whacked out of his mind crazy, and they pick his house to invade. Raped, tortured, and killed.
They brought it on themselves. He’d still be free had they just obeyed the law.