Justice

Two stories in the news this week should give all lowlifes, punks and other criminals pause.

In Naples, FL we have a young man (a 14-year old boy, actually) who killed the bully who attacked him by stabbing him with a pocket knife 12 times.  The judge dismissed the case citing Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law which allows you to use deadly force to defend yourself against harm.  It's a sad story -- the bully was 16 years old and certainly wouldn't have been punished by death for the attack on his victim, but I can't say that I'm bothered by the message that if you seek to do harm to others, you are putting your own life in danger.  If this kid hadn't instigated the fight against his would-be victim, then he'd be alive today.

In Oklahoma, a woman successfully defended herself, her baby and her home against two intruders by blowing one of them away with a 12-gauge shotgun.  Well played, madam.  She called 911 for help and the operators seem to have done their job and helped her as best they could.  It took the cops over 20 minutes to get to her.  You know what they say:  when seconds count, the cops are only minutes away.   This story ends awesomely with the second intruder -- the one who got away that night -- being charged with first-degree murder of his fellow criminal because if a death results from the commission of a burglary, that's felony murder.  Tough luck.