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From: mjc@cmu-cs-cad.ARPA (Monica Cellio)
Newsgroups: net.legal,net.politics
Subject: Re: NYC subway hero
Message-ID: <217@cmu-cs-cad.ARPA>
Date: Tue, 1-Jan-85 20:24:25 EST
Article-I.D.: cmu-cs-c.217
Posted: Tue Jan  1 20:24:25 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 3-Jan-85 03:45:20 EST
Organization: Carnegie-Mellon University, CS/RI
Lines: 21
Xref: watmath net.legal:1165 net.politics:6527

From: pal@crystal.UUCP 
>Of course you may feel that muggers deserve to die, but I don't think the law
>agrees, at least not without due process. Sorry, unless there is evidence that
>the killer's response was reasonable in the circumstances, he *is* a criminal,
>and a dangerous one.  

I think the assertion is that his life was in danger; screwdrivers sharpened
to points can do really nasty things, and I think the law backs the use of
force in kind (i.e. if I am threatened with what I would reasonably percieve
as deadly force, I may use deadly force in self defense.  The 'reasonably
percieve' is there so I don't have to determine that the gun I'm being 
threatened with is loaded, or whatever...).  

I don't know the details of the case in question, so I have no idea whether
he was defending himself or taking advantage of the situation to recklessly
kill four people.  

							-Dragon
-- 
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