Student kills burglar with samurai sword

[Admiral Yi]

Maybe we should pass a 25 strikes and you're out law.

[The Minsky Moment]

Maybe we should pass a 25 strikes and you're out law.

Or we could encourage people to learn fencing.

[jimmy olsen]

Maybe we should pass a 25 strikes and you're out law.

Or we could encourage people to learn fencing.

Kenjutsu

[MadImmortalMan]

This dead mans legacy is going to be that he got his ass killed by some xbox nerd with a japanese anime fetish.

Holy crap, you said something that made sense.

ooga ooga booga ooga? *chucks a spear*

[sbr]

That proportional thing kills me; is there a chart you have to carry around to make sure you don't defend yourself too much?

The US, generally speaking, has a proportionality requirement as well.  Non-deadly threats, including threats to property rather than to persons, can generally only be met with non-deadly force; only in the case of a reasonable fear of death or serious injury can deadly force be used.  Even if you look at the "castle doctrine" states, all they do is remove a requirement that you must flee rather than use deadly force if you could flee in reasonable safety (which not all states ever accepted under the common law, anyway).

If I was in my house or yard and someone who was not supposed to be there lunged aggressively at me (I will assume the student's version is true for this) I would defend myself with whatever I might have in my inventory at the time.  I would not wait to see what weapon he might have or what his intentions might be before deciding how to respond.  I have never been to Europe, but I have heard Europeans state that if someone attacks you with a knife and you shoot them you are in the wrong; to me that is crazy.  I am not advocating shooting someone for flipping you off in traffic.

Also for the record I never have, and probably never will own a gun.  Though I think anyone should be ABLE to defend themselves I am not sure I could ever shoot someone myself.

[ulmont]

If I was in my house or yard and someone who was not supposed to be there lunged aggressively at me (I will assume the student's version is true for this) I would defend myself with whatever I might have in my inventory at the time.  I would not wait to see what weapon he might have or what his intentions might be before deciding how to respond. 

Thus taking the risk that you are wrong and/or your belief is unreasonable.  This is why some people mutter things like "Better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6."

I have never been to Europe, but I have heard Europeans state that if someone attacks you with a knife and you shoot them you are in the wrong; to me that is crazy.

Both are generally classed as deadly force in the US, and so an attack with one can be responded to with the other.

[PDH]

A rapier wit, however, is only deadly when it used on an MA candidate during oral defense.

[CountDeMoney]

Well, I sure as shit would've lost money.

Prosecutors say Hopkins student who killed man with sword was justified

City prosecutors ruled Thursday that a Johns Hopkins student who killed an intruder by slicing him with a samurai sword was justified in his actions, according to a letter sent to homicide investigators.

State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy said prosecutors determined the student, John Pontolillo, "reasonably believed he was in danger of imminent death or serious bodily injury" and was justified in striking Donald Rice, a 49-year-old repeat offender who is believed to have broken into the student's home earlier in the night.

Pontolillo, of Wall, N.J., was at home in the early morning of Sept. 14 when he heard a noise coming from the garage behind the three-story, five-bedroom house on East University Parkway that he rented with three other students. After canvassing the area with police and school security, Pontolillo grabbed a samurai sword and went out again, where he encountered Rice hiding in the dark.

Prosecutors said Pontolillo ordered Rice not to move, and Rice "came towards Mr. Pontolillo with arms raised," apparently not lunging as police said at the time. "Because he could not determine if there was a weapon in Rice's hands, and fearing for his safety, Pontolillo swung one time as the intruder approached."

Pontolillo struck Rice with the sword, nearly severing his left hand, and Rice bled to death at the scene.

The student could not be reached for comment.

[MadImmortalMan]

Well that's unexpected. I wonder if the kid's mental state was a factor in that decision. I'd wager most modern people would be a bit shaken after having sliced and killed somebody with a sword. Particularly if they only did it because they were defending themselves.

[Caliga]

Nerds rule, nigs drool.