It’s not until all law-abiding and productive citizens can be criminalized that the government can truly control free men and women. Which I believe is a paraphrase from “shit Ayn Rand either said, implied, or would have said or implied, had she thought of it.” “A man’s home is his castle, except in Maryland. Man shoots intruder at 2am, gets charged with murder”:
US Air Force Tech Sgt. Matt Pinkerton shot an intruder in his home on September 13th just before 2am.
That is not in question.
Yet somehow, in Maryland, where Castle Doctrine does not exist by statute but rather only by case law, Sgt. Pinkerton is being charged with 2nd degree murder.
The intruder, Kendall Green, had reportedly been harassing Matt’s wife, Jessica. Green had been a friend who helped Jessica when her brother was in a coma after being involved in a accident while Matt was overseas.
All evidence points to Jessica only maintaining a friendship with Green yet when he pushed for more she ended the friendship completely.
Jessica has stated:
Green had texted me sometime in July or August saying that he missed the kids, and Matt didn’t deserve us and that he deserved a chance. He wanted more.”
Which brings us to an early Sunday morning where Matt and Jessica were entertaining another couple one of whom was Matt’s brother Mike. Green showed up shortly before 2am demanding to see Jessica. Matt refused to let him in and closed the door on him then turned to return to his wife and guests. It was at that time that Green kicked in the front door and stormed into the house.
Matt, who had retrieved his Glock 17 when he first heard someone outside (not unreasonable when he wasn’t expecting anyone at 2 in the morning) still had it on him when Green busted in the front door and came at him. Matt fired once from 10 to 15 feet away and when Green continued toward him fired again
Mike Pinkerton, one of the guests recalls the incident:
“He (Green) kept coming forward so Matt fired. He rocked backwards and took another step forward at which time Matt took his second shot. He stumbled backwards and fell out the door onto the porch.”
“When the shots were fired Jessica called 911. Matt spoke to the operator; he removed the clip from his gun and the bullet in the chamber. Police arrived within five minutes.”
So what did Matt do wrong when a crazed man broke in his front door at 2am and was after his wife? To me, nothing. Yet according to the state of Maryland, Matt should have called 911 first and waited for the police.
That isn’t some glib, pro gun caricature of the how when seconds count cops are minutes away. This is the reason he is being charged with murder. It doesn’t help that on top of the lack of a Castle Doctrine Statute the Assistant State’s Attorney, Glen Neubauer, is an rabid anti gunner himself.
Besides maintaining the ridiculous notion that calling 911 while a crazed intruder just smashed his way into your house is the only legal option, Neubauer also claims that even the act of grabbing the gun in the first place is “bizarre behavior in itself.”
Getting a means of protection when an unexpected person comes to you door in the middle of the night is bizarre behavior? I always took it for common sense.
But Neubauer’s stance just goes to show the institutional anti-gun sentiment that is running rampant in Maryland right now and unfortunately Sgt. Pinkerton has to bear the burden of their politics.
Because even if (hopefully when) Pinkerton is exonerated the legal costs alone will dramatically impact his and his family’s lives. They have all ready spent $25,000 on legal fees while taking a loan out for another $25,ooo to get Matt released on bond.
This is a case which shouldn’t even be going to trial since the courts have previously set up common law principles in this matter.
[…]
The moment Green busted in the front door and came at the Pinkertons was the moment that he crossed a line and Matt was morally and legally justified in shooting him.
Of course, to someone like Neubauer who thinks it bizarre to grab a gun in the middle of the night to answer the door, I guess it’s no wonder that he cannot fathom a person defending them self at all. Hence the reason he will pursue this gross miscarriage of justice.
Just another reason why states like Maryland NEED a Castle Doctrine Statute rather than implied case law. With Castle Doctine in place the State Attorney would have a much more difficult time crucifying an innocent man who was simply defending his family and friends.
Oh, please. If the nannystate is going to feed you and clothe you and make sure you’re not eating transfats of using Edison bulbs or high flow shower heads and toilets, it is clearly its right to expect you to show your gratitude by leaving the policing the the nannystatist’s armed civil servants. Anything else smacks of “individualism” and self reliance, and those are things that a community can’t have: people going off, doing their own things, and pretending that they have some inalienable right to do so.
That way lies madness! Or, you know, Declarations of Independence and, ultimately, rebellion — with radical anti-government arsonists and jihadists waging war on a benevolent government that is only acting in the best interests of those they have determined to care for.
Which is just the very height of ingratitude! And the ungracious need to be made an example of from time to time. Because you’ll never be able to make a giant Borg omelet without breaking a few intransigent eggs.
Also, saving your kids from dying in a house fire? Not so fast, Bucko. That’s our call, not yours.
Police Use Stun Gun on Dad 3 Times to Stop Him From Trying to Save His 3-Year-Old Son From Burning House – There’s No Happy Ending
Just another reason why states like Maryland NEED a Castle Doctrine Statute rather than implied case law. With Castle Doctine in place the State Attorney would have a much more difficult time crucifying an innocent man who was simply defending his family and friends.
Sadly, the above is not necessarily true. If you have a prosecutor similar to the one mentioned in the article, s/he will always find a way to concoct a crime from a gun homicide, no matter how clear the fact of self-defense may be to the casual observer. By simply saying the intruder was unarmed or was retreating, the state can cause a person to defend himself. This is the new attack on the Second Amendment, given that others have failed miserably: Lawfare to make the exercise of that right in self-defense so expensive that people won’t do it.
Pablo, the omniscient State determines who is sacrificed, the Christofascist “greater love hath no man than he would lay down his life for a [child]” tripe notwithstanding.
Apparently, Pinkerton should have shot Green while he was in his car.
Dad’s Attempt to Teach Son a Lesson Ends in the Most Tragic Way Imaginable
Obviously, we need to tax the eeeeevil rich to provide all homes with card-access man traps instead of doors, with video surveillance and buzz-in override from the local constabulary. After all, it’s a basic human right, because Commerce Clause!
Even with the lack of Castle doctrine, doesn’t “defense of self or others” cover this? After the guy kicked down the door, hostile intent was established, and when he advanced at a man holding a gun, that was enough, given the 21-foot rule used by cops (it take less time for a suspect to close the 21 feet and deal a potentially lethal injury than it does for the shooter to draw, aim and fire). If the first shot didn’t dissuade him, and he kept advancing, despite being wounded, his hostile intent was clear enough for any jury.
But we can’t have the proles defending themselves! That sends the wrong message, and enough of them might live long enough to need the medical care which the government won’t be able to afford.
This is a case where Joe Homeowner needs a throw-away piece. Just like Mr. Policeman.
Don’t you know shooting unarmed people is a policeman’s job civilian.
Drum, you’re preaching to the choir. The problem is, a prosecutor with bad intent can deliberately ignore those facts and charge Second Degree Murder. The burden is on the defendant to inject the issue of self-defense and produce evidence to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt in most jurisdictions. (Florida is different, as we learned in Zimmerman. There, the state has the burden of proving the absence of self-defense. Even so, the State still prosecuted because of evil intent on its part.) The only way to change things is to make the state liable for all costs associated with a successful defense including attorneys’ fees.
I can see where there may be a possibility of murder but, a simple investigation would reveal no need to pursue this very far.
Let’s see, the cops are routinely violating the rights of citizens, along with shooting innocent citizens, and, meanwhile, self-defense isn’t a legitimate defense against a crazed thug who breaks into a house.
So much for the US standing on the edge of a precipice. Looks to me like we’ve jumped off and we’re just waiting for impact.
jury nullification
Crap … “process as punishment” yet again as I don’t believe any jury will convict this guy.
But unless the public kicks in on a defense fund, he’ll probably be bankrupt when all is said and done.
Criminalizing America
If you decide to teach Mr. Assistant State’s Attorney, Glen Neubauer, a lesson about bizarre behavior, by, say, breaking down his front door at 2am, be sure you’re wearing a bullet proof vest.
Beause what’s bizarre for you and me if perfectly acceptable for him and his.
What if someone were to just kick the door in, but without entering? Just to show him how long it takes for the cops to show up (even when they are actually playing cards in the maid’s room downstairs, it would take long enough to make him wonder whether they would have been in time)…
I’m pretty sure he’d feel justified in shooting you in the back.
After all, what’s the point of being one of the annointed if you can’t lord it over the benighted?
Best way to deal with this petty tryant would be to remove him from office.
By making him the centerpiece of a campaign to remove his boss, if necessary.
I wonder how he’d react to plain old vandalizing? Pull up the landscaping, break a few windows, pry up some pavers.
That sort of thing.
Excellent piece by Mark Steyn: The Drift toward Despotism, wherein he talks about the NM Buttocks Incident(s) and the already-forgotten Shooting the ‘Crazy’ Woman Driver in DC thing.
This story and the one with the dead cigarette kid makes me think about the changing of the sergeants on “Hill Street Blues” .
the serie’s first Sgt. Esterhaus used to say “let’s be careful out there” to the officers just before dismissing them after the daily briefing.
the replacement Sgt. Jablonski would say “let’s do it to them before they do it to us”
Jablonski seems to be the current philosophy.
An Ex-Cop’s Guide to Not Getting Arrested