Greetings, I did a fast scan and did not see anything clear about it, so please forgive me if I am asking a question already asked. Let's say you are in line inside a McDo first in line ready to order and a guy pulls just in front of you, pulls a gun and he ask for the cash. a) He is very nervous, he has his finger on the trigger (I know, you'll be probably the only one to see it)he points the gun to the clerk and he screams to give the cash. b) He is very nervous and he shoots a clerck. c) He is very calm, speaks softly and he is holding his gun with no finger on the trigger and the gun points to a "safe" direction. Of course, you pack and you can draw without him seeing you and you can put a bullet in his head without him even knowing it. Let's not think about the safety of your shot, or the morality of the issue. I want to know if legally I am in trouble if I act on those 3 scenario(I know morally, I would put some lead into his head but I would probably just let the guy go if he does not shoot.). Thank you
If it were me, scenarios A and B would find him laying on the ground with one in his head. I'm not sure why, but the last one would depend for me. It's not worth the legalities of it all over money. When lives are at stake it's on. Just my $.02
I dont know about the legalities of it, but A and B = He isn't going home to mommy. C just means i pull out my gun and ask him softly to put his weapon down, if he doesn't comply then see A and B. But i'm young and rash.
I'm not a LEO nor a hostage negotiator, so trying to talk someone out of anything isn't what I'm there for. My main purpose is to be sure that at the end of the day, I return home to my loved ones. That being said, should someone else's life be in danger and I have a better chance of helping them out than losing my own life, I personally feel a duty to act.
Gerogia law allows for the use of deadly force to prevent death or great bodily harm to yourself or a third person and to stop/prevent the comission of a forcible felony. Legally, you would be covered for stopping a forcible felony in progress.
Greetings, Legacy38, I know if someone (Not a family member) breaks into my home I can shoot the guy without any issue. But in that case How much covered? How much trouble would I get into? Thank you
Please read my post again and read 16-3-21 OCGA. The three times GA law allows for the use of deadly force is to prevent death or great bodily hard to yourself or a third person and to prevent the comission of a forcible felony. O.C.G.A. § 16-3-21 Use of force in defense of self or others; evidence of belief that force was necessary in murder or manslaughter prosecution (a) A person is justified in threatening or using force against another when and to the extent that he or she reasonably believes that such threat or force is necessary to defend himself or herself or a third person against such other's imminent use of unlawful force; however, except as provided in Code Section 16-3-23, a person is justified in using force which is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm only if he or she reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent death or great bodily injury to himself or herself or a third person or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.
I agree with NAWG with the exception of C. Most likely this guy has some clue as to what he is doing. I have no misconceptions about the fact that there are a ton of people out there who are MUCH better with a gun than I am. I would not put myself on the line and give the BG a chance to prove how much better/faster he might be by telling him to put his gun down. The guy could be some kind of jackie chan fast as crap who knows what that could duck, smack my gun aside and place his gun against my noggin. In your three cases, if I draw most likely I'm going to fire. It's in the prevention of a felony so I should be covered. There are witnesses so I'm pretty sure that it will be obvious this guy was in the middle of armed robbery & threatening deadly force upon another. We already have too many of these types sitting in jail, no need for me to add one more or to give the guy a chance to place me in a body bag. This is of course speculation. When reality smacks me in the face with that 2x4 I have no idea how I will react. Hopefuly the way I expect but that's the crux of the whole thing ain't it...
If you are like most people, you will react for several seconds in shock and disbelief, not quite sure if you are seeing what you are seeing.
Can someone provide a representative list of forcible felonies? Or a link to the definition of forcible felony?
Examples would be rape, armed robbery, etc. Forcible Felony - Any felony which involves the use or threat of physical force or violence against any person
Does not include writing a bad check over a certain dollar amount. Don't shoot! Oh, and just because rape is not the list does not mean that the experts recommend a firearm for defending against rape! Rather, the experts recommend a plethora of alternatives. Remember to listen to the experts!
Forcible Felony - Any felony which involves the use or threat of physical force or violence against any person and further includes, without limitation, murder; felony murder; burglary; robbery; armed robbery; kidnapping; hijacking of an aircraft or motor vehicle; aggravated stalking; rape; aggravated child molestation; aggravated sexual battery; arson in the first degree; the manufacturing, transporting, distribution, or possession of explosives with intent to kill, injure, or intimidate individuals or destroy a public building; terroristic threats; or acts of treason or insurrection. (16-11-131)
Whoa... so after (no doubt) being jailed and tried ( ), you would -by law- be exonerated for shooting and killing an individual who was in the act of: Burglarizing a store or home? Even if it wasn't your own? Car jacking someone at an intersection or parking lot? Professing a desire to blow up city hall? Or whack a public official? The next time grandpa's watching the news and says: "What we oughta do is put 'em all in one place and blow 'em all the hell up", I can put him out of his misery? Let's say I cut someone off in traffic (very plausible), they pull up behind me at the next light, get out and come to my driver's window, mouth off about how they should kick my ass, maybe throw a punch at me through the window, I can shut him up with a shot or twelve to his/her head? Or is mouthing off at an intersection a misdemeanor? The fisticuffs would elevate it to a felony, right? Felonious assault & battery? Even if you don't pull the trigger, you can use the threat of the force in your own or others' defense, right? So I rack the slide, hold the gun in my hand in plain sight and ask "Do we have a problem?" Any reasonable person would recognize that as a threat of deadly force I'm guessing. Dang.
A robbery isn't necessarily violent. I guess they have to at least threaten you first. So if they just said "Give me all your money!" you couldn't, but if they said, "Give me all your money or I'm going to..." or if they robbed you with their fist clinched or were in a fighting stance then you could blast away.