Shotgun Justice
I post with but one comment: I'm a new fan of Judge Michael Pert, QC. Here's the headline over the Daily Mail story about his ruling in a case of two burglars who had asked for more lenient sentences because the owner had shot them in the course of their criminal act:
'If you burgle a home where the householder owns a legally held shotgun, that is the chance you take.'
In response to claims by a lawyer for one of the burglars that his client had been traumatized by the shooting, the judge went on to say this:
'Some might argue that being arrested and locked up for 40 hours is a trauma,' he said.
The judge was referring to the fact that British police had arrested the couple whose home the men had tried to burgle and kept them in custody for 40 hours.
Read the whole thing here.
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Comments:
Jul '10
Re: Shotgun Justice
It is sad to think that this kind of episode should be an exception rather than a rule in Britain.
Re: Shotgun Justice
Thanks for drawing it to my attention. He's my new hero!
Mar '11
Re: Shotgun Justice
How would it have turned out had the victims merely owned a shotgun, rather than a "legally held shotgun"?
Apr '11
Re: Shotgun Justice
They would probably have gotton a longer sentence then the burglers.
Jul '11
Re: Shotgun Justice
20 to life.
In my little world, neither of these slimy men live past my kitchen.
May '10
Re: Shotgun Justice
In answer to Illiniguy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Martin_(farmer)
I have long held that when you face trouble of any kind in the UK, the absolute last call one should make is to the monumentally useless British constabulary. Their arrest of this couple is clear evidence of this. Once, there was an England.
Mar '12
Re: Shotgun Justice
I also noticed the bit about "in the country" playing into the judge's comments. I know gun laws are restrictive in the UK; is it legal to keep a weapon in your home if you do not live "in the country"?
Nov '10
Re: Shotgun Justice
Chris
I also noticed the bit about "in the country" playing into the judge's comments. I know gun laws are restrictive in the UK; is it legal to keep a weapon in your home if you do not live "in the country"? · 1 minute ago
Honestly, I'm surprised to find out there is such a thing as a "legally held shotgun" in the UK.
And to clear things up a bit (correct me if I'm wrong, Lord Delingpole, as this is gleaned from a comment thread on another site) the British call an "arrest" what we would call being "held for questioning," so being "arrested" is not the career ending black mark it would be over here.
Edited on September 26, 2012 at 11:44pmRe: Shotgun Justice
I'm with you, Umbra Fractus. I was under the impression that owning a shotgun legally in Britain was illegal. The gun laws there are insane.
Jul '12
Re: Shotgun Justice
I can't think of a single instance in Canada where the owner of a legal firearm fired upon (often armed) intruders and was not charged by the RCMP (or at the very least had charges recommended against him).
Aug '10
Re: Shotgun Justice
Is there anywhere in the world where it's legal to defend yourself (i.e. own a gun and use it in self-defense) without outright prohibition or quasi-legal harassment from the authorities? Apart from a couple dozen states in the US, that is.
Jul '10
Re: Shotgun Justice
No. Well, maybe Switzerland.
Edited on September 27, 2012 at 12:53amApr '12
Re: Shotgun Justice
Gives me hope that our local "but how can you think your possessions are worth a man's (the thief's) life!?" BS doesn't inevitably lead to being the way that the UK more normally is....
Jul '10
Re: Shotgun Justice
Actually, as I sit and think about this, I wonder just what Israel's laws are about self-defense. I know many Israelis go about armed, and shooting homicide bombers is totally acceptable.
?Anyone aware of the crime rates in Israel and the self-defense rules.
Jan '12
Re: Shotgun Justice
I wonder what ammunition they used. Slugs and buckshot can greatly reduce the liklihood of recidivism. Bullets and good aim can reduce it to zero.
Aug '10
Re: Shotgun Justice
Devereaux
No. Well, maybe Switzerland. · 4 hours ago
Edited 4 hours ago
Good point. Are they allowed to have whatever guns they want, or only the one(s) provided in their kit from the military?
Jul '11
Re: Shotgun Justice
I have gotten asked this one before. My response goes like this.
"My possessions cost money. Since I was not born wealthy I must work for the money to purchase my possessions. This work typically takes the form of time spent doing tasks that I get paid for. This time spent working is effectively a portion of my life. Thus when I use a weapon to protect my "stuff" from a thief and thus endanger their life. I am not defending my possessions, nor am I defending the cost of these possessions, but I am literally defending a portion of my life from being taken. So my question back is why do you have a problem with me defending my life and why do you value a petty criminals life over mine?"
This usually backs the questioner off a bit. If you froth from the mouth while presenting this logic they run away.
Nov '10
Re: Shotgun Justice
The answer is, "If someone breaks into my home, I don't know if they have a weapon, and I'm not going to wait and find out."
Jun '12
Re: Shotgun Justice
It's my understanding that in Anglo-Saxon law a householder could kill anyone found "housebreaking" in his house, no questions asked. Things have changed a bit since then, in this case for the worse.
Jan '11
Re: Shotgun Justice
Three cheers for the judge, but what an otherwise horrifying and depressing story. Two upstanding citizens held in custody and then driven out of the country for defending themselves and their property from four -- count them, four! -- career criminals who had broken into their home at night.
Disgusting.
Edited on September 27, 2012 at 6:59pm