A householder who stabbed and killed an intruder will not be charged.
Looks like a common sense decision from the CPS, although it doesn't give us all a licence to kill burglars.
Crucially, the burglar had a machete, so 'reasonable force' to resist that includes a bladed weapon.
This case - and a linked statement by the Prime Minister - should at least mean we can give an unarmed burglar a smack without fear of prosecution.
tinyurl.com/3tcpfqb
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It will still depend on the facts. Decision will be made by CPS then judge/jury. Daves comments are just background noise unless/until the law is changed.
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...Daves comments are just background noise unless/until the law is changed...
A little more than background noise - it indicates what's in the government's mind, which in turn will be given some (but probably not much) account by the CPS lawyers and the judiciary.
For 'reasonable force', I think you can read 'equivalent force', so arming yourself against an unarmed intruder is risky, but chinning the same unarmed intruder during a struggle is less risky than it was.
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It should also depend on build and capability though. An 8 stone weakling would need a weapon to be equivalent in power to a large burglar.
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Its all a matter of how much you fear for your safety, matching weight for weight and weapon for weapon does not come into it.
pretty sure that I as a big bloke could justify stabbing a smaller bloke who had a baseball bat.
As long as i didnt turn him into a lace curtain in a frenzied Hitchockian Psycho scene.
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Scenario 1: "The thieving little pfd broke in to my house whilst my family and I were asleep. I woke up, got very angry and smashed hell out of him, he deserved it"
Result: Guilty of assaulting burglar.
Scenario 2: "A thief broke in to my house whilst my family and I were asleep. I woke up and was frightened witless. I feared for my own and my family's safety. I confronted him through necessity and violence ensued. I fought for what I thought was mine and my families life, he was injured".
Result: No offences committed.
The lawless hide behind shyster lawyers and will use every excuse in the book including of course, any lie that springs to mind. The honest will tell the truth and in the above circumstances, would drop themselves well in it.
In the above example anyone in the know would do version 1, then say version 2. It's a good example of how our legal system fails the straightforward and honest.
Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 25 Jul 11 at 00:38
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Id be comfortable with an understanding that anyone who breaks into someones house signs an unwritten agreement that they are 'taking their chances' re the home owner, might focus some minds.
Seems at the moment even if they do catch them, they are more likely to get a trip to Disneyland, so a good hiding on the scene can be part of the sentance :-)
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The thing about most of these twonks is that they are chancers who haven't got the intelligence to think of the consequences of their actions.
I don't suppose any young spotty scrote, on seeing an open window, stops to think ' Ah, better not, there might be a Policeman/Retired boxer/SAS soldier or Normandy vet living there '
They just go for it and how many times have we seen a burglar/mugger taken out by his victim ?
Long may it last !
I have to say I have no qualms about getting the first blow in ....and it's not going to be Queensbury rules....I'd take my chances with the CPS.
Ted
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Will this mean a pardon and compo for Tony Martin now then?
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Gather from Ken Clarke that there will be some changes in the law coming soon
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13959093
He said people were entitled to use whatever force was necessary to protect their homes and a householder who stabbed a burglar would not have committed a criminal offence.
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>> Will this mean a pardon and compo for Tony Martin now then?
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IIRC this one was a little different - wasnt he lying in wait for them after being tormented for some time i.e. it wasnt self defence, it was pre-medditated
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>> Will this mean a pardon and compo for Tony Martin now then?
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Tony Martin shot a burglar in the back, whilst the burglar was trying to get away...and the shotgun wasn't registered.
You'd be hard pushed claiming self defence on that one.
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Another case arisen just a mile from us this week. The owner of a Florist's shop was having a drink and playing dominos after work with a chum when a gang burst in after the takings.
A fight ensued where one of the robbers died of stab wounds and another was also stabbed.
The shop owner, Cecil Coley, 72, has been detained on suspicion of murder.
A handgun was found in the shop after the melee, according to our evening paper.
The dead man was known to the police, having been acquitted of a gangland murder some years ago.
Mr Coley suffered a broken jaw and his pal was also injured, facts that may well ( I hope ) support a self defence decision by the CPS.
Two guys who stood up for their rights I hope all goes well for them !
Ted.
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Not too easy to find any consistency in CPS thinking, although we don't have to full details of the events described. Anybody who is in my house or property uninvited and armed is taking his chances!
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...we don't have to full details of the events described...
Pointless to speculate, so I will.
Seems unlikely anyone would carry out an armed robbery on a florist, you'd target a business with lots of cash such as a post office or a bookmaker.
I suspect there's some history between the two parties in Ted's story.
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>> Pointless to speculate, so I will.
No wonder you admire the Daily Wail so much.
:-)
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Now, now, no need for such a sour (curdled?) comment.
It not my fault you can't work out how to make a cup of coffee.
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Nothing wrong with the Wail. It's just teh right size for masking when painting.
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Man who killed burglar will not face charges - Bromptonaut
