Stand Your Ground Law's Latest Victim

[Jack T. Cross]

Nobody failed him.  His wife did what she could to try and keep in in the house.  I understand not wanting to put him in a care home.  He just turned out to be a little more resourceful than she anticipated.  Nobody needs to be blamed for his death. 

So you think he should have watched out for himself, BB? How would you anticipate that happening, given his condition?

[Dos Equis]

The guy that shot him does.

Nah.  I'll be surprised if he is charged and/or convicted.  But stranger things have happened. 

[Archer77]

His family failed him.  Hendrix killed him but shouldn't be stuck with a long sentence.  240 is trying to paint the guy as a Clint Eastwood wannabe who went out to intentionally shoot the guy but that's all conjecture and wild speculation.  He may have felt fear but he shouldn't have gone out of his house.  

[Dos Equis]

So you think he should have watched out for himself, BB? How would you anticipate that happening, given his condition?

I didn't say he should have watched out for himself.  

[Jack T. Cross]

His wife should have had a signal placed on the door. That one step may have made the difference between his life and death.

While it's understandable that she wanted to maintain a home life with her husband, someone should have considered the possibility that he could get into life-threatening trouble, particularly at night.

[Jack T. Cross]

I didn't say he should have watched out for himself.  

You understand that he could no longer watch out for himself. Right, BB?

[Dos Equis]

Yes, I know a little about dementia.

The wife could have put padlocks on all the doors and windows.  She should have put a tracker on the guy.  She could have hired a 24 hour nurse.  She could have placed him in a care home.  Etc., etc. 

We all make such great decisions in hindsight. 

[Jack T. Cross]

Yes, I know a little about dementia.

The wife could have put padlocks on all the doors and windows.  She should have put a tracker on the guy.  She could have hired a 24 hour nurse.  She could have placed him in a care home.  Etc., etc. 

We all make such great decisions in hindsight. 

So you wouldn't expect that it should occur to anyone, that Westbrook may place himself in a dangerous situation.

Okay. That's fair, I guess.

[Dos Equis]

So you wouldn't expect that it should occur to anyone, that Westbrook may place himself in a dangerous situation.

Okay. That's fair, I guess.

Do you always invent statements and attribute them to people?  Or are you just making an exception for me? 

[Jack T. Cross]

Do you always invent statements and attribute them to people?  Or are you just making an exception for me? 

Does an electronic chime on the door sound like a good, potentially preventative measure to you?

Would you recommend it to an older couple that faced this situation?

[Jack T. Cross]

Yes, it's a heartbreaking situation all the way around.

I wish Hendrix could have kept his mind a bit more orderly, but it's tough to ask a person to be without fear in such a situation.

I'd love to know everything he said during the process that night, that's for sure. And I'd like to know everything he's said, since.

[Dos Equis]

Does an electronic chime on the door sound like a good, potentially preventative measure to you?

Would you recommend it to an older couple that faced this situation?

Depends on the level of dementia and whether the person his a history of wandering, how mobile they are, whether other family members live there, the layout of the house, etc.  

What I'm not going to do is second-guess that woman's attempt to take care of her husband.  

[Jack T. Cross]

Depends on the level of dementia and whether the person his a history of wandering, how mobile they are, whether other family members live there, the layout of the house, etc.  

What I'm not going to do is second-guess that woman's attempt to take care of her husband.  

I have no doubt she wanted to take care of her husband. No doubt, whatsoever. God bless her.

[Dos Equis]

I have no doubt she wanted to take care of her husband. No doubt, whatsoever. God bless her.

Agree.

[blacken700]

sounds like a rape case now ,blame the victim,must have been what she was wearing 

[Jack T. Cross]

I wouldn't expect anyone to try and hold the wife responsible, obviously. Just to make it clear to anyone that would be so dim as to think that.

The risk-versus-reward with an alert system, though, is something that I'd hope a son or daughter may consider to suggest. Or a family friend, church member, pastor, etc.

Perhaps it isn't outrageous to think the wife was simply too close to the situation for it to occur to her, despite being such a potentially effective measure.

[240 is Back]

His family failed him.  Hendrix killed him but shouldn't be stuck with a long sentence.  240 is trying to paint the guy as a Clint Eastwood wannabe who went out to intentionally shoot the guy but that's all conjecture and wild speculation.  He may have felt fear but he shouldn't have gone out of his house.  

Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I believe it was a tragic mistake - but still Hendrix' fault for firing a gun at a silhouette.

If you feel that much fear, you stay inside.
If you go outside and suddenly feel that much fear, you darn sure better be able to explain what made you so scared.

It'll be tough to cite "we were stalked" and "jiggled handle" and "someone knocked last week" as reasons he was scared the moment he fired.   Anyone that scared doesn't open the door.

Truth of the matter?  Dude was pissed, he panicked, he sure woudln't shoot if he had a do-over... but he did fire 4 times, not once.  that's a lot of bullets.  That's gonna be tough to explain.  What scared him so much?

let's hear the 911 tape... I think 95% of us will be in agreement once we hear it.  If there's 1% of anger or retribution or punishment in that man's voice in the background, he's in trouble.  Yes, the FIANCE was scared - and she stayed inside.  Let's hear how scared - or angry - he was, in the background.  Let's hear what words he used to order the man to the ground.  If he's calling him names, saying obey or I'll kill you, etc... it's gonna look a lot more punitive than 'fear'.

I chalk this up to fear + panic.   Give him 8 years, he'll be out in 5.  He shouldn't have fired.

[24KT]

How could he be mute if he had a conversation with a cop two hours before the shooting? 

{shrug} Good question. Obviously it wasn't a verbal one. Perhaps you should ask the reporter who wrote the story.

[24KT]

Oh brother... he was a newbie with the gun, that makes it even worse.

He's only owned it a few weeks.. was the this the first time he fired it? 

Sounds like he took all this OLD stuff (true or not, who knows), about her getting threatened, someone knocking and leaving previously, and someone jiggling the door - And he transferred it all to this Veteran.

"We were scared" = why you fired without seeing what you were shooting at.  Cool.  Glad he admitted it.  Good luck with things now.  I dont see how they don't charge him.   To me, the ACTUAL threat is where the other 3 bullets landed.  You have this half-cocked, agitated, "scared yet still opens the door and leaves safety to run into the darkness firing" dude sending stray shots into a residential neighborhood.

Would anyone here want to live next door to Hendrix?  LOL keep defending this half-wit, gun-newbie coward who didn't have the brains to stay inside nor the judgment to hold fire.

This was not a case of a newbie with a gun. It appears more like a soldier having a difficult time transitioning to civilian life.

Perhaps in Iraq, you shoot at shadows that refuse to identify themselves, but in civilian life, who the fuck are you?! Seriously?! Who the fuck are you to bark orders identify yourself... then shoot when they don't? That shit may go down on the battlefield when you're hated for being an occupying invader, but as a civilian you are no more special than anybody else, ...and NO one should have to answer to you, even if standing on your property. If they don't want to tell you who they are... fine. They don't have to. Tell them to get the fuck off your property, and let them know the police are on the way.

A reasonable person should NOT feel like they're in imminent danger at that point, ...especially not when they know the police are on the way, ...and they themselves are armed with a gun!.

When they take the man out of the military, ...they ought to take the military out of the man too.

Good Luck trying to convince a jury that this Iraqi war vet who faced down all sorts of radical hostiles, IEDs, and Al Q insurgents in Iraq was in imminent fear of his life from someone ringing his doorbell on a Georgia cul-de-sac, ...so much so that he needed to fire 4 shots into a man for failing to answer him.  This is a pure & simple case of testosterone induced brain damage. Now he has to live with the knowledge that he slaughtered a meek, elderly, befuddled, mute Alzheimers victim. A man who managed to survive his own incursion in Iraq, only to be slaughtered stateside by his fellow comrade in arms. 

[24KT]

Who said you are "supposed to wait until police arrive"?  I don't think that's what the law requires.  

You wouldn't go outside.  That doesn't mean that is the "reasonable person" standard.  I'm not sure what I would do.  I might go outside too if someone had previously come to my house and threatened my wife, then a couple weeks later a stranger shows up at 4 a.m. and twice tries to open my front door, and the police don't immediately arrive.  

Pretty easy to be a MMQB.  Much harder to make decisions in real time.  

Nobody threatened his wife, ...he is not even married. She was his fiancé
Someone came to the door, and demanded to speak with someone she didn't know, then left.

Maybe he had the wrong house? The problem with reality / perspective is that it rarely show you the way things are, it only shows you the way YOU are. And right now Americans are living in a state of FEAR.

FEAR = False Evidence Appearing Real!!!

[OzmO]

“In order to use deadly force, you have to reasonably believe you are in imminent danger,” said the Gwinnett County district attorney, Danny Porter. “You weigh whether the homeowner can show he was in fear of receiving death or great bodily injury.”

This says it all....


How can you feel you were in imminent danger, fear of death, or receiving bodily injury when all that was happening was the door bell ringing and the knob jiggling, there was no attempted forced entry and then you decide to leave the safety of your home to confront who ever is out there?

FEAR=  Fuck Everything And Run   

[24KT]

As I say, someone should have been working toward keeping this guy out of trouble. Somebody failed him.

His widow has been doing everything possible, but if you've ever dealt with an individual with Alzheimers, sometimes, even despite your best efforts, they can and do get away.

That's why I find it so disturbing that he had encountered the officer, and the officer didn't think anything was amiss. Anyone else might have had to endure a thorough pat down and warrant check.

[24KT]

The guy that shot him does.

QFT!

[Archer77]

Nobody threatened his wife, ...he is not even married. She was his fiancé
Someone came to the door, and demanded to speak with someone she didn't know, then left.

Maybe he had the wrong house? The problem with reality / perspective is that it rarely show you the way things are, it only shows you the way YOU are. And right now Americans are living in a state of FEAR.

FEAR = False Evidence Appearing Real!!!

The irony of this post is monumental.

[24KT]

This says it all....


How can you feel you were in imminent danger, fear of death, or receiving bodily injury when all that was happening was the door bell ringing and the knob jiggling, there was no attempted forced entry and then you decide to leave the safety of your home to confront who ever is out there?

FEAR=  Fuck Everything And Run   

 ROTFLOL