[stylin_geek]

The problem with this whole picture is the devaluation of working for what you have. If you confront someone stealing from you, and they turn to run, by law, they get a free pass. However, defending ones right to ones property is illegal. So, where is there a consequence for the action of theft? Call the cops? In the Bronx? Or, in any major city? The person will be long gone, and you will still have to work to replace the stuff that was taken. Stuff that was yours, by right of having to earn it. Seems to me the prospect of getting their a** shot off might deter a lot of casual criminals from theft. And, nothing like shooting and killing criminal to lower the burden on our court system. It would keep a judge from sending him back out on the street to commit more crime.

[Ohioan]

The law used to be in almost every American jurisdiction, that you could use whatever force was necessary to prevent someone from committing a felony. I practice both civil and criminal law, and I cannot understand why this man was even prosecuted.

But, again, as I stated in my first reply; no sane person, who does not have to, should go into the Bronx.

William Flax Return Of The Gods Web Site

[Zeroisanumber]

The problem with shooting a man who is not threatening your life is twofold:

First, the response is not proportional to the crime being committed. A stereo is usually worth about a couple of hundred bucks (and yes, I know that there are much more expensive stereos) and nobody should be killed over a couple hundred bucks.

Second, we live in a society governed by the rule of law. That law states that a citizen may only kill another human being when they feel that they or another person are in immediate danger of major bodily harm. Otherwise the only people authorized to deal with crime are agents of the court (cops, lawyers, judges, juries, etc.). Extra-judicial killing undermines the rule of law, which is the bedrock of our society.

As for the case itself, the car's owner just let his frustration take over and he did a stupid thing. He should have called the cops and then gone outside to hold the guy until they got there.