We had yet another spirited discussion Tuesday morning on WWL First News with me, Tommy Tucker. This time it was about defending your castle, standing your ground, fighting back. At what point is discretion the better part of valor? When do the risks outweigh the rewards? And is your primary responsibility to keep yourself out of trouble or protect anything you have and send a message to the bad guys?
The LAST thing in the world I want is to be thrust into the legal system. At the point your destiny, fate and future are completely out of your control. Perhaps it could be ruled a justifiable shooting. That would be great. But what if it isn’t? At that point you’re subject to either a district attorney or a grand jury deciding to indict and charge you. Keep in mind that decision isn’t made in a vacuum. Politics, media and even what may have happened here or somewhere else could sway the decision in one way or the other.
Grand juries can indict a ham sandwich, right? What if you happen to be the ham sandwich? The best that could happen is you’re found not guilty. Then you’re completely off the hook. Except, that is, for the thousands you’ve racked up in legal fees. But if you are found guilty, right or wrong, you’re looking at more jail time and even more legal fees. It would make that lawnmower or generator seem relatively unimportant and inexpensive at that point, at least to me. Unless you think you took a stand against the criminals. Two questions: Did it really change the crime situation? Would you have been willing to write a check for the same amount as legal fees to teach the thugs a lesson? I know I wouldn’t.
Perhaps no action is taken now, but the case remains open. That means you could worry for the rest of your life that a different DA could take it upon themselves to prosecute. Would you really want to live with that sword of Damocles always hanging over you? Not me. I often wonder if even those who avoided prosecution in defense of property would be willing to do it the same way a second time or would they rather just let ‘em have it?
Here’s the deal. What’s legal is not always right ,and what’s right is not always legal. Like it or not that’s the reality. So if it’s not a threat to my loved ones or me, I’m not putting myself into that situation. I’ll call the police, gun at the ready should the threat attempt to enter my house. To head outside and force a confrontation puts me into the system and I lose control over what happens to me. Some may think that makes me a coward; I think it makes me smart. After all, why take the chance, right?