Home invasion and self defense where do you stand?

Question

Dr. William Petit Jr. still bore bruises and gashes as he urged hundreds of mourners Saturday to "spread the work" of his wife and two young daughters, who were slain after burglars surprised them in their home.

Authorities say two men with long criminal histories broke into Petit's Cheshire home early Monday and held the family hostage for several hours. One forced Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, to make a withdrawal at a bank later that morning, triggering suspicion among bank employees, police said. Police rushed to the house, found it on fire and encountered the suspects fleeing. The two were arrested after crashing the Petits' car into police cruisers.

Answer 1

I know a lot of people will disagree with me, but I feel people should be allowed to own firearms and use them on intruders in their home. Chances are the thieves who did this will only get minimal prison sentences, and live in prisons paid for with the tax dollars of the people they kill and victimize. I live in Canada, and like in Britain, we are not allowed to own guns. Criminals are getting so violent I think the only way for citizens to protect themselves is to be armed. The only people who have guns are criminals who obtain them illegally. This is immoral and wrong. Law-abiding tax paying citizens need to have the right to protect ourselves in our own homes. I'm sick of decent people being victimized. We need a way to fight back. I do not believe such criminals will ever be rehabilitated or become productive members of society. The only other way of dealing with this is to reinstate the death penalty. I'm tired of bleeding-hearted liberals who pull out doctored facts and figures to rally against this. If you kill murderers they will never do it again. End of discussion.

Answer 2

If Dr. Petit had a gun in his home, (which he might have), he evidently didn't have time to get to it. I absolutely believe in the right to protect home, family and property by any means necessary.

I think the larger question is what can we do to discourage criminal activity? Obviously jail time alone hasn't had much of an effect. Almost half of the people in the various jails in this country, after they are released, go back in.

One has to wonder about the possible benefits of cutting off the fingers of thieves, or offending parts of rapists.

Answer 3

You can look up the "Castle Doctrine" or the "Make my Day Law". Generally speaking, you have the right to defend yourself and your loved ones in case someone breaks into your home. However, the keyword here is "defend". If you kill a burglar in your home, you might need to defend yourself in court to prove that killing the burglar was necessary at that time. This is why I prefer the shotgun over the handgun for home defense. The sound of a shotgun cocking is enough to make any burglar scamper away so there's no need for conflict. Just make sure that your home is well-protected.

Answer 4

If an attorney could be held somewhat accountable for the crimes of his "Found Innocent" repeat offender, clients, from earlier hearings. Maybe there wouldn't be so many "scum of the Earth" criminals walking around "free, or lying attorneys who are ready to defend even the ones they know are guilty. Goes for spineless Judges, too. I would take necessary action to protecet my home and family from an unwelcome intruder. We have laws in place, strictly enforce them without parole, good behavior or similar circumstances. 3 strikes and you're out is 2 strikes too many.

Answer 5

Its a myth in the UK that you cannot challenge an intruder. In most cases if you challenged an intruder and used reasonable force to stop them hurting your family no court would convict you. The mistake Tony Martin made was he set traps in his house and then shot the intruders when they were running away ie the intruder was shot in the back and killed. Reasonable force means ie whatever it takes to save your life. Unreasonable force means beating someone to death when they are retreating or kicking and stamping on them when they are on the floor. However, all that said anyone who came into my house and threatened me or my little boy, id pick up the nearest knife and plunge it into them and worry about the consequences afterwards, but that is just me.

Answer 6

Ah yes, this is a very sad case. If these two scumbags of the earth entered my house, tried to rape, beat, and kill my family and set my house on fire, I would gladly shoot them. In fact, any burglar in a house, it should be ok to shoot at them.

Answer 7

I think that it is absolutely horrible what happened to this family. I believe that if you illegally enter someone's home you might not exit it alive. People should have the right to protect themselves and their families without fear of any prosecution.

Answer 8

The most basic right we have in the world is to protect our lives and property. This tragic case is the biggest argument against gun control there is!!

Answer 9

If you break into my home while I'm there, I hope you enjoy seeing the "business" end of a 12 gauge! Its the last thing you'll see!