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Re: Homeowner in Renisha McBride's killing to face murder charges
We do not know if the screen door was locked or even if she was opening it and coming right into his face when he opened the door - finding a bloody crazied person coming at you at 3.40 am is a life threatening situation. This video of another thread shows just how fast a person can be knocked down and out - and if in your home alone you then easily killed thereafter:
http://www.debatepolitics.com/law-a...ut-game__blacks-attack-whites-simply-fun.html
At this point, the most critical evidence we do not know is 1.) was the screen door unlocked? 2.) does he say she was opening the screen door?, 3.) was she beating on the screen door or the inner door and 4.) is her dna and/or prints on the screen door and/or inner door handle?
If his statement is that she was opening the screen door and this not contradicted by evidence, he has a very good chance of a not guilty verdict.
Michigan law states:
PA 311 provides a “rebuttable presumption” in a civil or criminal case that a person who defends himself believes that criminal attack is threatened if (1) he is in a dwelling or business, or (2) the criminal is attempting to remove someone from a dwelling, business, or vehicle. This does not apply if the alleged criminal has a legal right to be in the dwelling or business, or if the person defending himself is committing a crime, or if the person entering is a law enforcement officer in the course of his duties.
Read more: Michigan's Castle Doctrine & No-Retreat Legislation Review
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Ok, so here is where under MI law the homeowner has the right to defend himself, and the standard he has to overcome is, 1. he is in a dwelling, and 2. if he believes he is threatened.
This is where the difference between "knock" and "bang" comes in. IMHO, and that of the people I asked last night among our group of friends down at the sport bar for MNF.....The consensus was that a "knock" is different from a "bang" however, neither constitute "forced entry", but under MI law, they don't have to. Under the scenario given, 4:30 am, dark, neighborhood involved, as well as state of mind of the girl, and appearance, this scenario is not out of the question considering an armed household.
Now functionally, as a matter of legal terminology, I am not a lawyer, so I don't know, but it would seem that the prosecutor in this case has a job to get an indictment, if the state feels they can bring a case. In order to do that the words used to describe the events of the time in question will definitely be questioned at any trial in front of a jury, with a demonstration as to the difference between a "knock", and "banging"... As one person last night put it with no prompting, "A knock would mean someone was at the door, banging means they want in.." I thought that was pretty good at establishing what the average person perceives as a knock v. bang...
Further, it is a relatively small point in the overall charge v. conviction on the charges...So I am not going to spend page after page arguing that infantesable point, but rather move on to can "Murder 2" be won, or is this the typical prosecutor overcharge in hopes that lessor charges stick? I tell ya, the more I read of the story, and knowing now MI law that I posted above, I don't even know if Manslaughter can stick if this guy has good representation, and events went down like he says they did....Keep in mind, the hurdle is what was in his mind at the time of the event, and only he knows this....So, carry on all....
We do not know if the screen door was locked or even if she was opening it and coming right into his face when he opened the door - finding a bloody crazied person coming at you at 3.40 am is a life threatening situation. This video of another thread shows just how fast a person can be knocked down and out - and if in your home alone you then easily killed thereafter:
http://www.debatepolitics.com/law-a...ut-game__blacks-attack-whites-simply-fun.html
At this point, the most critical evidence we do not know is 1.) was the screen door unlocked? 2.) does he say she was opening the screen door?, 3.) was she beating on the screen door or the inner door and 4.) is her dna and/or prints on the screen door and/or inner door handle?
If his statement is that she was opening the screen door and this not contradicted by evidence, he has a very good chance of a not guilty verdict.