This could go two ways.
One could be very bad for everyone.
Personally I would not have gone there in this environment.
I am all about self defense, and I certainly believe in property rights, but this clown could help us lose our property rights by not being aware of the political season.
On the other hand he might just be the guy to put this stuff to rest
Personally I would have flipped on the porch light.
If that did not do it I would call the cops.
If things persisted, Then if the punk was still menacing..
I know my view is not popular, but my view is one that I think protects me.
I don’t want a lot of questions from the DA
I sure as hell dont need the disruption of a Grand Jury over a bike or some such thing.
I am all about self defense, and I certainly believe in property rights, but this clown could help us lose our property rights by not being aware of the political season.
...and, as much as this property owner should not have to take such considerations at the time of a burglary, I think you’ve hit the mark...and this poor guy is going to be victimized by not considering the timing of his ‘action’...
...a ridiculous state of affairs, really...
I understand your viewpoint. And sure, that might work in certain situations; but when someone is in your gated side yard, apparently with no fear of a large dog, and standing near your back door, I'd call you a fool if you walked over and turned on the light, announcing your exact position to an unknown less than five feet away.
I'm taking some wild conjecture here, but this is my guess as to how things went down. Dog's barking in the back yard. Homeowner assumes that something is up out front - maybe at a neighbor's house. He arms himself and goes to the front door, opens it, and spots the ‘lookout’ across the street. He steps out of the house and into his front yard.
Lookout across the street warns his partner who is in the side yard, behind a 6 foot fence next to the car and the homeowner’s back door. Homeowner turns towards his house, sees someone moving next to his car and fires.
The unidentified witness is likely the lookout for the trespasser with at least one burglary arrest. He likely told police that the homeowner didn't warn or say freeze, which differed from the homeowner’s story.
I do not think that the homeowner knew someone was in the side yard; I can not see him leaving his family exposed with a possible escape route for the perp that puts them in greater danger. I think the homeowner was surprised and acted accordingly. And I think that like in many cases, our stories change the facts, as we insert what we think we should have done.
In any case, there's no cause for a 2nd degree attempted murder charge. And here's where I think that we agree - the climate of the news cycle compelled police who had two differing stories to file charges, letting the DA sort it out. I do not think charges would have been filed and the case instead referred to the DA were it not for the massive news coverage of Zimmerman's self defense.
I agree. He was within the law but going outside would expose you to whatever awaits -- maybe there was an accomplice hiding by the door. The first objective is to protect the family inside. Going outside is a risky tactical move.
I actually think you have a very good, common sense approach. The thief wasn’t breaking into the guy’s house. He was apparently getting ready to break into a car. Yeah. The homeowner has the right to defend his property and then his life if he feels threatened, but that doesn’t mean wiser steps couldn’t have defused the situation. Like you wrote, just turning on the light could have ended the matter right there. Regardless of whether the homeowner is right or wrong, he’s going to get a lot of grief from the racial grievances crowd. That’s just the way it is, and I think it’s wise to keep that in mind.
Like I wrote earlier in the thread, I’ve done things I’m not proud of when I was a teenager. I got caught early on, and it helped change me. I don’t like the way some people write this 14 year old off as vermin. Yeah. The kid was wrong, and he was very foolish to risk his life for some small time thievery. But people can change, and sometimes it takes a significant event to make that happen. Teenagers do make foolish mistakes. It’s part of the learning process. So I think this event is a tragedy all the way around—for the homeowner who is going to be put through a legal rigamarole and the kid who will likely be paralyzed for life for making a stupid decision.