What do you think?
You get a phone call from your son saying someone is on your property that you do not know. You tell your son to ask the person to leave. The person in turn refuses to do so and starts to argue with your son. You happen to hear this arguing as the phone is still on. You recognize the voice of the trespasser as a former contractor who is not supposed to be on your property.
As the arguing continues your son (later testifies) that the contractor pulls out a utility knife and ask, “Why don’t you make me leave?” The son tells his father what happened and you tell him to get in the house. Then you call the police. Then you head for home.
You arrive before the police. You see the contractor next door, he was working over there, reach into his truck and put something into his pocket. Then the man comes rushing towards your driveway. You get your gun out of your glove compartment and show it to the contractor. The contractor does not stop but moves quickly towards you even though you show him the gun. You jump out of the car and tell the man to back up. The contractor keeps going causing you to back up. Finally you fire a warning shot into the ground all the while still backing up. It does nothing to slow the progress of the trespasser; in fact he quickens his pace towards you. You then shoot the man dead.
The police decide not to arrest you. They determine that it was self defense as the contractor was the aggressor and trespasser in this situation.
All’s well, huh? Well No.
Nine months later (if my memory serves me right) the District Attorney in town indicts you for felony murder despite a police investigation that found the shooting to be self defense, eye witnesses that collaborate your story and a pattern of behavior from the contractor that cause many of your neighbors to be fearful of him. You are found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. Life is prison.
An appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court in 2008 does not gain you your freedom. However, the Chief Justice dissents saying:
“I share the majority’s reluctance to overturn a jury verdict. However, I conclude that no rational trier of fact could find, based on the evidence presented at trial, that the State disproved (your) claim of self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt. Accordingly, I must dissent.”
Such is the life of Mr. John McNeil as this happened to him in 2006. He has been in jail five years for defending his property.
Two things bother me about this particular injustice. The first is the overall all wrongness of this whole thing. It used to be that you could protect your home against this sort of thing. There are scores of stories out there about other homeowners protecting themselves and never going to jail for life much less any amount of time. Joe Horn comes to mind and it wasn’t even his home.
The second is that I wonder where all the gun advocates are in this case. It would seem perfect for them to rally around and make a fuss. I mean who wouldn’t want to make Mr. McNeil the poster child for the cause? In fact, you can’t really find a lot on this story at all.
I am still trying to figure out wonder why.
One source
5 comments:
'tis better to not own a gun.
'tis better to wait for police.
'tis better to not piss off contractor.
OK. So he gat a really bad deal. But there are lessons for many there. He put himself in a position where he would likely have to kill in "self defense", and that can be construed as murder.
If you go into a bar and spit on the meanest looking guy there, and he comes at you, is killing him really self defense??
"I mean who wouldn’t want to make Mr. McNeil the poster child for the cause?"
Maybe because he's the poster child for gun control.
He was on his own property. He was concerned about his son.
He didn't put himself in this position, he simply went home. And your analogy doesn't work here. He didn't "spit"on the man, he told asked him to get off his land.
I don't disagree, but that's how he was portrayed by the prosecution. The self defense argument only goes so far when preceding steps are considered.
Sounds like a good time to just let the dog out...{see Men, Baha circa 2000}.
"OK. So he gat a really bad deal. But there are lessons for many there. He put himself in a position where he would likely have to kill in "self defense", and that can be construed as murder."
Hmmmmmm...you really think his white neighbor would have gotten the same deal, LE?
If nothing else, this case needs a lot more publicity, maybe a Bob Dylan/Bono duet. If public pressure can get a NJ teenager into the prom, think what it could do in this case. Forget the GA authorities--FBI needs to investigate this.
Joe H.
Stevensville, MD
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