Homeowner Shoots Burglar

[National Defense]

My bad--the guy I was thinking of was Japonese. While no criminal charges were filed, you still should make damn sure that you are in danger.

“Yoshihiro Hattori's Parents Awarded $650,000 In Suit.

BATON ROUGE (LA) -- The parents of Yoshihiro Hattori, the Japanese

exchange student killed by a Louisiana homeowner, were awarded

$650,000 in damages and funeral costs last week.

Rodney Peairs, 31, shot and killed Hattori on Oct. 17, 1992, when

Hattori and a friend mistakenly rang Peairs' doorbell while looking

for a Halloween party in the area.

Judge Bill Brown, who heard the civil case without a jury, said there

was "no justification whatsoever" for the killing .”

AsianWeek

http://www.highbeam.com/library/doc0.asp?DOCID=1P1:2280182&num=3&ctrlInfo=Round4%3AMode4b%3ASR%3AResult&ao=

[redman]

The law in every state - varying only in the particular wording that's used - is that a homeowner may use potentially deadly force to defend his or his family's physical safety against an intruder if there is no reasonable alternative. It may not be used to, for example, defend your property.

Where homeowners get in trouble is when they shoot intruders in the back, or they tell the police that they ran into the other room to get a gun before returning to confront the intruder. If you have the ability to escape, that's considered a reasonable alternative.

The idea is that deadly force can be used to protect human life, but not property rights. Now, this doesn't necessarily mean that the practical realities of dealing with jurors who fear crime or the fact that in many times the homeowner will be the only person left alive to recount the incident to the policy will be a prohibitive obstacle to the DA in filing charges . . .

[twa]

From what I understand here, If it is after dark and on your property[not just inside your house] deadly force is allowed to protect yourself and PROPERTY....Not that I would of course.