The sad puppy provides instantaneous forgiveness.
The sad puppy provides instantaneous forgiveness.
Do you have any legal problems?
Wow. You guys are GOOD!! It is so cool to see how responsible gun owners can analyze a situation and come to the "right" decision - although as I said earlier, this was not an easy question and exactly how Indiana law applies to these facts would unquestionably be up to a prosecutor (in deciding whether to charge you in the first place) and possibly a jury (in deciding whether you actually violated the law). I'll post my answer in the morning. In the mean time, I'd love to see more of your analyses, because you're very good at it.
INGO rocks!
I'll post my answer in the morning.
I've been lingering for hours to see the correct answer...
All right, I can wait a little longer.
How Well Do You Know Indiana Gun Law?
Here's the scenario: You're at home with your wife and children. It's 2:00 am. Two masked, armed intruders break into your home. One has a loaded AK, the other a loaded sawed-off 12 ga. shotgun.
After a few seconds, your trusty labrador hears them in the home, and alerts you with aggressive barking, just as the pair of thugs enters your master bedroom.
You pull your handgun of choice from your nightstand and deliver two perfect center-of-mass shots to the first intruder as he appoaches the bed, and you retire him from the fight immediately.
Upon seeing his partner crumple, the other bad guy throws down his shotgun and runs for the front door, which is still open. You clear the corner of the room in time to see him in the foyer still 3 feet from the front door, with your grandmother's silver collection under his arm, screaming like a baby and running like hell for the door. You drop him with another perfectly-placed shot to the back of the head.
Your security system has captured every bit of the event on video.
Do you have any legal problems?
Maybe the second BG is screaming like a baby now, but what about later, when he decides that you "disrespected" him (not to mention killed his buddy) and comes back to rape and kill your family while you are at work?
As far as I'm concerned, the second BG deserves to get shot, but I would probably abstain from shooting merely out of fear of our tainted legal system.
IC 35-41-3-2
Use of force to protect person or property
Sec. 2. (a) A person is justified in using reasonable force against another person to protect the person or a third person from what the person reasonably believes to be the imminent use of unlawful force. However, a person:
(1) is justified in using deadly force; and
(2) does not have a duty to retreat;
if the person reasonably believes that that force is necessary to prevent serious bodily injury to the person or a third person or the commission of a forcible felony. No person in this state shall be placed in legal jeopardy of any kind whatsoever for protecting the person or a third person by reasonable means necessary.
Upon seeing his partner crumple, the other bad guy throws down his shotgun and runs for the front door, which is still open. You clear the corner of the room in time to see him in the foyer still 3 feet from the front door, with your grandmother's silver collection under his arm, screaming like a baby and running like hell for the door. You drop him with another perfectly-placed shot to the back of the head.