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The shooting occurred on October 19, 2012, at about 2:44 am and was a classic case of self defense and castle doctrine.   The deceased was a violent convict that had a long history of crime and fighting, and had alcohol, cocaine, and Oxycodone in his system when he was shot. His relatives complained vigorously when they found out that he was shot, claiming that "they did not have to shoot him". On June 27, 2013, it was reported that Jack Dillon would not be charged.   A grand jury had determined that his decision to shoot Jeffrey Carson fell within...

The east Allentown man who shot a robber to death Wednesday night was first pistol-whipped by three robbers acting together, a neighbor said Thursday. And when the resident of 655 Westminster St. pulled a gun in self-defense, one of the robbers fired at the resident, a man in his 50s, said the neighbor, recounting what the resident told him. .... Other neighbors said they believe the armed resident has a license to carry a firearm. A woman who opened the door of the alleged shooter's small, single-story home Thursday said the family did not wish to comment. Kevin Kern, who...

The Colorado man who police say shot and killed his 14-year-old stepdaughter after allegedly mistaking her for a burglar has been identified as a highly decorated Army officer. According to information released to MailOnline Tuesday afternoon by officials at Fort Carson, Colorado, 2nd Lt Daniel Meade has been named in a fatal incident involving his daughter, Kiana O’Neil. The victim, of Colorado Springs, was gunned down after a burglary was reported at her family's home. Police spokesman Larry Herbert said the girl's stepfather fired the shot, but said it was unclear if he had mistaken the teen for a burglar....

Police arrested a 43-year-old Detroit man who attempted to break into Kid Rock's home. The man, who has not been identified, was arrested at his home north of Detroit after the singer offered a $5,000 reward to anyone who could provide information on him. Prior to his arrest, Kid Rock posted surveillance images of the suspect  - who was notably wearing crutches during the attempted burglary - on his website and stated that he is an 'avid hunter and marksman' and 'will not hesitate to shoot anyone' who threatens his family. 'Don't mess with a mother****** like me,' the singer,...

NEW ORLEANS -- A 14-year-old boy is hospitalized in critical condition after being shot in the head by a Marigny homeowner. Police say the teen was standing on the shooter's property in the 700 block of Mandeville Street. Now the homeowner faces an attempted second degree murder charge. "I think its a terrible situation. I know Merritt very well. He's a very good friend and it's very sad," said neighbor Charles Hazouri. Around 2 a.m. Friday, the New Orleans Police Department says a 14-year-old boy ended up shot in the head, allegedly standing in 33-year-old Merritt Landry's yard. Police say...

In our discussions of the Stand Your Ground principle, bogeymen and shadows predominate. We hear much of the National Rifle Association, of the conservative nonprofit “ALEC,” of “the South,” and, particularly ludicrously, of “white supremacy.” Disinformation and hyperbole, too, are rife. To take the more extravagant of the rule’s critics at face value would be to conclude that permissive self-defense regimes are recent inventions — a hijacking of the justice system by would-be vigilantes and their enablers. But all of this is rather silly. In truth, the Stand Your Ground principle, which holds only that one may fight back...

It's no secret that there are a lot of concealed carry permit (CCW) holders in New Mexico. As of the last count there are 22,000 licensees in the state according to: Legally Armed. Thanks to Governor Bill Richardson the law was passed and even our state's current governor, Susanna Martinez packs heat and has her CCW license. See the New Mexico Concealed Carry Act HERE. After all this is the Wild, Wild West and known acclaimed outlaws like "Billy the Kid" have been known to frequent these parts. Let's face it Guns and the Frontier way are a part of...

Numerous writers, most recently Emily Bazelon of Slate, have touted the Brice Harper case from Montana as evidence against the castle doctrine, which allows people to use lethal force when it’s necessary to keep intruders off their property. These accounts tend to minimize the threat that Harper faced when he shot and killed Dan Fredenberg, and while it’s a difficult case, it hardly proves that the castle doctrine is bad policy.Harper was in some sort of relationship (he refused to call it an “affair” in interviews with police) with Dan Fredenberg’s wife, Heather (who said it was “pretty much”...

I’m going to assume you’re a reasonable person. You do not provoke or engage in physical confrontations for the sport of it. You are legally authorized to possess a firearm. Further, your self-defense case does not hinge upon your alcohol consumption, your right to stand your ground or some off colored remark you may have made a week ago. Regardless of all of these things, you may still end up seeing the inside of a courtroom after you fire your gun defensively and there are still three big things in particular that can land you into blistering hot, legal and...

Tory MPs make fresh demands today for the law to be changed to give clear rights to householders who protect themselves against burglars. They call on Chris Grayling, the new Justice Secretary, to “raise the bar” against criminals and alter the law on self defence to make it harder for householders to end up in the dock for defending their homes. The debate was reopened after Andy and Tracey Ferrie spent almost three days last week being questioned on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm after shooting at, and wounding, two men who broke into their remote farmhouse in Leicestershire....

When the woman called 911 a deputy wasn’t sent because the compliance officer is a county employee. A Georgia homeowner allegedly awoke to an unusual scene on July 2 — a county code compliance officer yelling at her over the state of her lawn from the doorway of her bedroom. “I woke up, I didn’t have my glasses on or my contacts in and all I see is this big burly figure standing in my doorway,” Erica Masters explained. “A big huge guy with a grey shirt. It scared the mess out of me.” She elaborated: “[He] yelled at me...

Research conducted at Texas A&M University concludes that far from reducing crime rates, so called 'Stand your Ground' laws are actually responsible for a drastic increase in the number of homicides nationwide each year.

Despite ‘Castle Doctrine,’ defendant is convicted in slaying A PHILADELPHIA JUDGE said Wednesday he was convinced that a disabled, retired Marine was being attacked in the moments before he fatally stabbed a man last October, but he concluded that the stabbing was still a criminal act rather than self-defense. Common Pleas Judge Benjamin Lerner then convicted Jonathan Lowe, 57, of voluntary manslaughter and possession of an instrument of crime. The judge found him not guilty of the more-serious charges of first- and third-degree murder. Lowe, who wears a pacemaker and has survived two strokes and two heart surgeries, could face...

Media Matters’ Founder David Brock showed no shame when he was caught illegally using guns for his own personal protection. Indeed, Media Matters’ continues to lash out at others who own guns or support letting individuals use guns for the own protection, even increasing their attacks. In April alone, Media Matters ran 32 articles attacking the NRA alone. Additional pieces have defended the Obama administration’s Fast & Furious program and dealt with other gun related topics. Media Matters also attacked me three times over the last two weeks: I had an op-ed in the New York Daily News and an...

John Lott featured on the Daily Rundown May 1, 2012

When Erin McCoy awoke from a Saturday afternoon nap to the sound of glass breaking, she grabbed a shotgun. Seeing a hand trying to open the window in her kitchen, she tried to warn him off, but he kept coming. That’s when she sent an ounce or so of persuasion toward the uninvited guest. Pretty much your standard issue DGU. Woman defends herself, suspects flee and one presents at the local ER with a sucking chest wound claiming he was “shot while playing basketball.” But in a post-Trayvon world, something has changed . . . Check out the report of...

Critics of Florida's "stand your ground" law refuse to retreat, regardless of the evidence. Critics of Florida's self-defense law object to its recognition of a right to "stand your ground" in public places, which eliminated the duty to retreat from an assailant. Yet many of these critics seem to believe they have a duty to stand their ground and never retreat, using George Zimmerman's shooting of Trayvon Martin as a weapon to attack Florida's law, no matter what the evidence shows.The emphasis on the right to stand your ground is puzzling in the context of the Martin case, since Zimmerman's...

Call them what you will: “Stand Your Ground” or “Castle Doctrine” laws. Mayor Bloomberg and members of Congress, speaking on the House floor, go so far as to label them “shoot first” laws. This is a gross exaggeration — a slander, in fact, against legislation designed to reform a flaw in our treatment of self-defense. Earlier statutes affirmatively required potential victims to retreat as much as possible before using deadly force to protect themselves, sometimes putting their lives in jeopardy. The supposedly infamous laws passed in Florida and elsewhere, in contrast, use a “reasonable person” standard for determining when it...

Recently on internet radio show Center Stage the topic was DOES THE CASTLE DOCTRINE JUSTIFY THE MURDER OF MARK HOWARD. The family of Mark Howard were guests and came armed with the 911 tape, autopsy report, incident report and crime scene photos. They say the evidence proves their brother was murdered and WCPD is involved in a cover-up.

In light of Trayvon Martin’s murder making national headlines, and the arrest of shooter George Zimmerman this week, Philadelphia City Councilman Curtis Jones, Jr. thinks we need to change our state’s laws so the same sh*t doesn’t happen here. And since some of the controversy in the case allegedly revolves around the Florida police’s hands being tied by that state’s “Stand your ground” law, he wants Pennsylvania to repeal the “Castle Doctrine.” The Castle Doctrine, a less extreme version of some states’ Stand Your Ground laws, was signed last year by Gov. Tom Corbett after having been vetoed by former...