Risky business

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

... I was probably taking Farmer's statement "...castle doctrine laws basically say you can kill anyone on your property who isn't supposed to be there" too literally.

Most such laws do contain a provision that the person should "reasonably believe it is necessary to prevent death or great bodily injury to himself or another person or to prevent the commission of a violent crime..." (bold mine).

Then again, the concept of "reasonably believe" opens the door to 50 shades of gray, of course.

[Farmer]

As Slobo says, and as I mentioned, it's not quite that simple and there are provisions, but in a number of jurisdictions the case law shows that it's not that hard to show you were assaulted (note that doesn't necessarily mean you were hit) and therefore within your rights to use deadly force - end of story.

As I said, even if you have a key or a right of entry, entering without checking or knocking etc. is stupid, regardless of the potential for someone inside to be armed.

[Robert Roaldi]

As I said, even if you have a key or a right of entry, entering without checking or knocking etc. is stupid, regardless of the potential for someone inside to be armed.

A risky move for sure when you're entering someone else's home, I suppose. Not sure it calls for being shot though.

Have there been any incidents where someone shot a family member returning home? That would be a case where a person wouldn't necessarily think to knock or call out (especially if you're trying not to wake anyone up).

[Farmer]

A quick search turned up this:

https://www.thetrace.org/2018/03/mistaken-identity-shooting-self-defense/

Note: I've never seen this site before so I can't comment on the veracity of the claim of "50 times since 2015".  Though, to be fair, as a percentage of population in the US that's really not very significant (except to the person being shot, obviously).

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

... Have there been any incidents where someone shot a family member returning home? That would be a case where a person wouldn't necessarily think to knock or call out (especially if you're trying not to wake anyone up).

Yes, unfortunately. A father shot his daughter fatally, who returned home at 2am.

Also, a stranger who was lost and knocked on the door to ask for direction, not realizing that the neighborhood experienced a string of forceful home roberries recently. Ended up dead.

[LesPalenik]

Not to mention Oscar Pistorius in South Africa who shot his grilfriend in 2013 four times through the bathroom door allegedly mistaking her for a possible intruder