In other words, you want the shooter punished, even if you can't put him in jail. You want him to go through three years of expensive legal maneuverings and a public trial. "Not guilty" verdict after blowing his entire kid's college fund on a lawyer.
The news report didn't have the complete police report, so we can't know he wasn't carrying drugs. However, I'll concede that if he was carrying illegal drugs the news would have mentioned it. It did mention, however, that his BAC was 0.19, so his judgement was definitely impaired and he was illegally consuming alcohol.
Neither the police report nor the news outlet can tell us what was going through Morrison's mind in the last seconds of his life, so we'll never know. I don't know if he raised his hand; I don't know what was in his hand; and I don't know what, if anything, he might have been reaching for.
Why did he leave is family? What, do you call the cops ever time a pipe pings in the basement or a branch taps a window? Rouse the kids and lock them in your bedroom behind a barricaded door? What if it was an injured neighbor seeking help? What if the house, car, or outbuilding is on fire?
He heard something. Morrison was sneaking around, trying to avoid detection, in a room in his house. The homeowner makes contact. Now what?
The homeowner doesn't know Morrison from Adam. He doesn't know Morrison's history, his motive, or his state of mind. He doesn't know of Morrison is armed, doesn't know if Morrison has an accomplice.
There's a hell of a lot he doesn't know, the pressure and seriousness of the situation is high, and time is short. Unknowns and undesirable possibilities are whirling through his mind.
He DOES know that his family is nearby, the police are far away, and he's got the drop on at least one intruder.
What you you have him do? Retreat? Well, now he's got to back up almost blindly, in darkness, keeping his gun and eye on Morrison and making himself vulnerable to an accomplice or to a trip-and-fall. And once out of sight, Morrison will have a chance to draw a weapon and re-engage the homeowner on equal footing to prevent him from calling for help. Or set the house on fire to cover his escape.
Once contact is made, the homeowner's options become sharply limited. Surprise is gone, the intruder is alerted, and he's committed to covering Morrison until somebody, anybody, shows up and changes the circumstances.
In this case, Morrison made a movement. He was a wrestler, football player, and baseball player, which means he knows how to swing a weapon, tackle, and wrestle. He's probably pretty athletic, maybe a good bit larger and stronger than the homeowner. And he's drunk.
Edit history
Recommendations
0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):
= new reply since forum marked as read