Teenager Ralph Yarl was shot without warning through a door after going to the wrong house to collect his brothers.

Teenager Ralph Yarl was shot without warning through a door after going to the wrong house to collect his brothers.

  • @[email protected]
    16•1 year ago

    What im wandering is this: is this one of those houses where you have to enter the yard in order to ring the bell/knock on the door? If so, this is an actual death trap - you dont know if this is the right house, and in order to verify you have to step into the property where you may be legally shot.

    How do you protect yourself when you have to visit a house but are not sure which is the correct one?

      • @[email protected]
        -13•1 year ago

        I think there is a low in the US that if someone infiltrates your property you can legally shoot to kill. Not sure about the specifics. I assume this case was either too extreme or that there are more specifics to this law.

        • @[email protected]
          8•1 year ago

          No, specifics depend on the state but in none are you allowed to shoot someone for entering your yard.

        • Dark ArcEnglish
          5•1 year ago

          These laws, castle doctrine, are not anywhere near that crazy. They’re the same idea as self defense… however, normally you have a “duty to retreat”, what castle doctrine says is if you’re in your own home you no longer have that obligation.

          You still have to meet the bar for self defense, i.e., they need to be a threat… someone walking in your yard or knocking on your door that’s not brandishing a weapon is not going to meet that bar.

          Edit: Wikipedia disagrees with me … though I’m not sure if that’s a factual disagreement or an editorial disagreement.

          Justifiable homicide[2] in self-defense which happens to occur inside one’s home is distinct, as a matter of law, from castle doctrine because the mere occurrence of trespassing—and occasionally a subjective requirement of fear—is sufficient to invoke the castle doctrine. The burden of proof of fact is much less challenging than that of justifying homicide in self-defense. It would be a misconception of law to infer that because a state has a justifiable homicide in self-defense provision pertaining to one’s domicile, it has a castle doctrine protecting the estate and exonerating any duty whatsoever to retreat therefrom.

          There’s a lack of citation here which honestly should probably be raised on the wiki. The cited source does not support that text (I’ve added the appropriate citation requests on the wikipedia side – if anyone can prove these claims, we should contribute the reference there as well).

          • @[email protected]
            0•1 year ago

            Yeah i remembered seeing something similar to this somewhere. Either way US laws are completely irrelevant to me so this is pure mild interest.

        • Alien Nathan Edward
          4•1 year ago

          The laws on self-defense are extremely state specific. Your understanding of self defense laws is highly sensationalized and I recommend in the strongest possible terms you do some research before they become relevant to you personally one way or the other.

          • @[email protected]
            -1•1 year ago

            I dont live in the US and dont plan on visiting there in the near future. I am aware of the laws in my country.

            • @Dozzi92
              -3•1 year ago

              But you had no qualms opining about those laws on the internet.

              • @[email protected]
                2•1 year ago

                My posts here were full of “i think” and “not sure”. Also not sure which part here was an opinion.

                And this is the internet. Not an academic paper. This IS the place to ask/discuss topics you are not sure about. Just dont go around claiming to be an expert in something you are not.

        • @[email protected]
          4•1 year ago

          You’re talking about “Stand Your Ground” laws. They allow you to shoot in self-defense when someone enters your home or otherwise threatens you. This is why George Zimmerman got off after murdering a child. Don’t forget, kids, George Zimmerman killed a child.

          Being on your property probably doesn’t count in most states, but I say “probably” because some states are fucking insane, so who knows.

          • Alien Nathan Edward
            4•1 year ago

            George Zimmerman killed a child.

            Hey now, that’s not fair. Zimmerman stalked a child through the night after police told him not to, started a fistfight with that child, and only murdered the child after it became evident that he was losing the fight he started.

            That’s what stand your ground is for, shooting your way out of fights you start. Ask Marissa Alexander, it’s certainly not for firing warning shots at your abusive ex husband when he’s on your property in violation of a restraining order and threatening your kids.