Man executes teenagers in self defense

[Distind]

http://news.yahoo.com/minn-man-says-fired-more-shots-needed-183741818.html

A Minnesota homeowner who shot two unarmed teenagers in the midst of an apparent Thanksgiving Day break-in told authorities he feared they had a weapon, but acknowledged firing "more shots than I needed to" and appeared to take pride in "a good clean finishing shot" for one teen, according to investigators.

And this little gem:

In the complaint, Smith said he was in his basement when he heard a window breaking upstairs, followed by footsteps that eventually approached the basement stairwell. Smith said he fired when Brady came into view from the waist down.

After the teen fell down the stairs, Smith said he shot him in the face as he lay on the floor.

"I want him dead," the complaint quoted Smith telling an investigator.

Smith said he dragged Brady's body into his basement workshop, then sat down on his chair. After a few minutes, Kifer began coming down the stairs and he shot her as soon as her hips appeared, he said.

After shooting her with both the Mini 14 and the .22-caliber revolver, he dragged her next to Brady. With her still gasping for air, he fired a shot under her chin "up into the cranium," the complaint says.

"Smith described it as 'a good clean finishing shot,'" according to the complaint.

Now, I'm not the biggest fan of guns. I try to allow for some level of self defense considerations. But self defense doesn't involve shooting a wounded person laying prone in the face. Nor does it involving executing a person who's wounded to the point to struggling for fucking breath. So yeah, if anyone wanted to know why there are people who don't think anyone should have guns, well, reference this asshole. He's handily subverted the one reason I could support the owning of them.

[FirsthandTuna]

Oh fuck. Don't read the comments.

EDIT: Is Yahoo! secretly some sort of conservative haven?

[Distind]

Oh fuck. Don't read the comments.

EDIT: Is Yahoo! secretly some sort of conservative haven?

No, just S class douche bags. It doesn't really matter what kind of them.

[Saturn500]

The sensible comments have low ratings...

WHY DID I LOOK?!

[FirsthandTuna]

The sensible comments have low ratings...

WHY DID I LOOK?!

I warned you.

[Material Defender]

I'm still perfectly for gun ownership. Anecdotal evidence against the piles of evidence on the otherside a shift in position does not make.

This guy is a nutjob. I'm pretty sure if he had a sword or knife, he would have just as or more brutal. The kids would have suffered more. This guy was just some brutal asshole waiting for his chance to get away with something.

[ScrappyB]

People have the right to defend themselves if they feel they're in danger, but what kind of loon shoots two people execution style after they've been incapacitated and then waits until the next day with the bodies in the basement before informing the police?

[Askold]

Yeah, self defense ended when they were lying on the ground and clearly no longer a threat.

[Fpqxz]

Did the guy go beyond reasonable self-defense?  Yeah, most likely.

Do I feel sorry for the kids who got killed?  No.  They shouldn't have been breaking into the guy's house in the first place.

Yes, this guy broke the law, and should be punished for it.  But there's a moral to this story:  don't go breaking into people's houses, because you never know if you're going to meet the neighborhood psycho.  Sometimes you get the bear, sometimes the bear gets you.

[RinellaWasHere]

On one hand, they did break into his house, and his state laws may say he had a right to fire on them. They aren't blameless.

But finishing them off when they were no threat at all, and bragging about how clean it was? That's... messed up.

The bear got them, and was also a goddamn lunatic.

[Thejebusfire]

He has the right to shoot, however once the person is on the ground bleeding and shot them again, he can no longer claim self defense.

[Hades]

Some people are itching for an excuse. He got his. I really hope he doesn't just get a slap on the wrist.

[Fpqxz]

He has the right to shoot, however once the person is on the ground bleeding and shot them again, he can no longer claim self defense.

Well, that's where he crossed the thin line between "legitimate self-defense" and "street justice"-style vigilantism.  And while I can't explicitly condone the latter, I certainly won't be shedding any tears for the victims.

[Witchyjoshy]

Do I feel sorry for them?

Actually, yes.  They were criminals and should've gone to jail for their actions.

...But I hardly doubt burglary is good cause for any sort of dehumanization.

I hope this guy goes to jail for a long time.  I doubt it'll happen, though.

[Fpqxz]

Do I feel sorry for them?

Actually, yes.  They were criminals and should've gone to jail for their actions.

...But I hardly doubt burglary is good cause for any sort of dehumanization.

Yeah, they should have gone to prison, where they would have cost the state of Minnesota ~$30K per year, where the would probably have gotten physically and/or sexually abused, and ended up worse off when they got out than they were initially.

>implying that this is somehow a qualitatively "better" outcome

I hope this guy goes to jail for a long time.  I doubt it'll happen, though.

Well, that depends on whether A) the prosecution can convince a jury to convict him and B) what sort of sentence the judge decides to hand down.

There are no "winners" in a situation like this.  I sure as hell wouldn't want to argue either side of the case.