TexasCHLforum.com

duns wrote:

tacticool wrote:

duns wrote:It's been a long time since stealing was a capital offense.

Sexual assault isn't a capital offense but I have no problems with anyone shooting a rapist to prevent the crime.

Your point is thought-provoking. My take on it is this. A person committing a sexual assault needs to be stopped as does a person committing a physical assault but from a moral and legal point of view the level of force should not be excessive so shooting will not always be necessary, probably rarely necessary. Theft is different to physical attack on a person in that it is often a reasonable option just to be a good witness and hope the person can be arrested later. In other words, I don't see use of lethal force as an imperative when someone is making off with property (even if the letter of the law allows it). If you saw a man snatch a lady's handbag and come running in your direction, would you shoot him down? I wouldn't. I might use force (if I felt I was capable of overwhelming him) but I would not use lethal force.

The case in question was the theft of an A/C condenser, which apparently was already in the back of the thieves' truck. Unless the thieves were attacking me, I would not have shot them. I would have told them to unload the truck. If they jumped in to drive off, I would have used my shotgun against the truck to try to deflate a tire or put some nice identifying marks on the bodywork.

duns wrote:

baldeagle wrote:

duns wrote:

Cobra Medic wrote:They had lots of opportunity to straighten up and fly right. Instead they intentionally and knowingly chose a life of crime.

It's been a long time since stealing was a capital offense.

Not really. It still can be in Texas, according to deadly force law.

Yeah, I read the Penal Code that way too. I keep wondering if I'm misreading it. Personally, I would not shoot to prevent loss of property but only to defend my life.