Cynic wrote:If you shoot a guy in the face, you can say self-defense, but, K can correct me on this, don't you need to show reasonable doubt that they meant bodily harm?
Sorta. You don't have to show it, but the cops have to see it. Perhaps an example would help?
One night I got called to the house of this jittery piece of shit spaz to investigate a burglary. I arrive and he's freaking out, as usual. He claimed that he saw shadows through his window and heard a noise at his basement door. He picked up a piece of lumber and went down to the basement. He said that the door was ajar and a man was standing outside trying to kidnap his puppy. He said he yelled at the man that he couldn't take the puppy and admitted hitting him in the head with the lumber. The man ran away, dropping a car battery that the owner said was kept in the basement.
The basement door showed marks consistent with forced entry.
The lumber had a dent in it and some blood spots.
The neighbor said she didn't hear anything.
The homeowner had a misdemeanor warrant in another county.
The homeowner doesn't have a history of violence.
We did not receive a 911 call from a man who had been hit in the head by a lunatic while walking down the street.
My partner and I determined that crimes had been committed (burglary 2nd, attempted puppynapping 3nd) that made the homeowner's use of force lawful. We sent the suspect's blood sample to CSI Alabama, where a
hot Southern blonde with an incredible rack solved the crime in 42 minutes, not counting commercial breaks.
