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Man prosecuted for defending himself in MA - Article

Bob P

Bob P

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http://www.boston.com/news/local/br...ared_to_d.html?comments=all&plckCurrentPage=3

For those of you that are constantly asking 'what will happen if I have to use my gun in self defense':

This is a guy that gets ATTACKED by some random AH in his OWN car, uses a knife to defend himself and is now defending himself again: this time in court.

You WILL be arrested if you are put in a position to defend yourself in this crap-hole of a state. The guy that shot the psycho at the hospital is an exception and the ONLY reason they didn't arraign him (and they sure were thinking about it) is all the favorable publicity he got right off the bat. You saw how they stressed his LEO connection in all the press releases. If there had been less publicity around this guy they WOULD have arraigned him, no question.
 
The sad part is that this individual will probably spend a few weeks or months thinking he will be telling his side of the story, then the fun starts. The other party will have charges dismissed or given a CWOF in return for testimony against this defendant, and the defendant's attorney will say "We have a great deal - you'll be a convicted felon but won't get jail time. If you don't go for this deal, I'll need another $25K to take the case to trial, and there is an excellent chance you will get prison time. You have 3 days to consider your decision - go home an talk it over with your family."
 
MisterHappy said:
The guy with the knife WAY over-reacted....I mean, the cops eventually arrived, and did a good job of processing the crime scene ( of course, that made the traffic worse.....).

He should have waited for official help.

/sarcasm
Click to expand...

Sadly Mr H, some of the comments to that article mirror your sarcasm. Hanging out here, unfortunatly, gives me an incorrect assumption of the sanity level of the general population. When I stick my head out of NES and into the real world of MA and see just how F-ED UP the thought process of the average citizen is I want to weep.
 
pathetic. Time For a new A.G.! maybe a decent Dem would have the stones to run against Martha next time around. God knows the democratic dependents & unions wont support a republican or independent candidate. Sickening...
 
Bob P said:
The guy that shot the psycho at the hospital is an exception and the ONLY reason they didn't arraign him (and they sure were thinking about it) is all the favorable publicity he got right off the bat. You saw how they stressed his LEO connection in all the press releases. If there had been less publicity around this guy they WOULD have arraigned him, no question.
Click to expand...

Actually, even though Paul was not charged, the investigation into his text book shoot still took better than 6 months. We live in a toilet.
 
Ohio Revised Code Sec 2925.05 (B)(1) Subject to division (B)(2) of this section, a person is presumed to have acted in self defense or defense of another when using defensive force that is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm to another if the person against whom the defensive force is used is in the process of unlawfully and without privilege to do so entering, or has unlawfully and without privilege to do so entered, the residence or vehicle occupied by the person using the defensive force.

Ohio Revised Code Sec. 2901.09. (B) For purposes of any section of the Revised Code that sets forth a criminal offense, a person who lawfully is in that person's residence has no duty to retreat before using force in self-defense, defense of another, or defense of that person's residence, and a person who lawfully is an occupant of that person's vehicle or who lawfully is an occupant in a vehicle owned by an immediate family member of the person has no duty to retreat before using force in self-defense or defense of another.

Ohio Revised Code Sec 2307.60 (B) (2) Recovery on a claim for relief in a tort action is barred to any person or the person's legal representative if the any of the following apply:

Sec 2307.60 (B) (2) (c) The person suffered the injury or loss for which relief is claimed in the tort action as a proximate result of the victim of conduct that, if prosecuted, would constitute a felony, a misdemeanor that is an offense of violence, an attempt to commit a felony, or an attempt to commit a misdemeanor that is an offense of violence acting against the person in self-defense, defense of another, or defense of the victim's residence, regardless of whether the person has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to or has been charged with committing the felony, the misdemeanor, or the attempt to commit the felony or misdemeanor.


[smile]
 
completely bogus. hopefully witnesses step up and corroborate his side of the story, its likely his only chance. we will also see how well the often advised defense of, " i was scared for my life", fares.
 
The other driver and the alleged stabbing victim, Michael McDevitt, 54, also of Quincy, was issued a summons to appear in court at a later date on charges of assault, assault and battery on a person over 60, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, and disorderly conduct.
Click to expand...

So the guy who opened someone's door, started punching, and is subsequently stabbed is called a "victim" and given a summons, while the man defending himself from said attack is arrested??? OMFG!! [banghead]

-JR
 
Jose said:
Ohio Revised Code Sec 2925.05 (B)(1) Subject to division (B)(2) of this section, a person is presumed to have acted in self defense or defense of another when using defensive force that is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm to another if the person against whom the defensive force is used is in the process of unlawfully and without privilege to do so entering, or has unlawfully and without privilege to do so entered, the residence or vehicle occupied by the person using the defensive force.

Ohio Revised Code Sec. 2901.09. (B) For purposes of any section of the Revised Code that sets forth a criminal offense, a person who lawfully is in that person's residence has no duty to retreat before using force in self-defense, defense of another, or defense of that person's residence, and a person who lawfully is an occupant of that person's vehicle or who lawfully is an occupant in a vehicle owned by an immediate family member of the person has no duty to retreat before using force in self-defense or defense of another.

Ohio Revised Code Sec 2307.60 (B) (2) Recovery on a claim for relief in a tort action is barred to any person or the person's legal representative if the any of the following apply:

Sec 2307.60 (B) (2) (c) The person suffered the injury or loss for which relief is claimed in the tort action as a proximate result of the victim of conduct that, if prosecuted, would constitute a felony, a misdemeanor that is an offense of violence, an attempt to commit a felony, or an attempt to commit a misdemeanor that is an offense of violence acting against the person in self-defense, defense of another, or defense of the victim's residence, regardless of whether the person has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to or has been charged with committing the felony, the misdemeanor, or the attempt to commit the felony or misdemeanor.


[smile]
Click to expand...

Jsut another reason I miss the great Buckeye State!
 
I hope sanity prevails and the charges against Flaherty are dropped (wishful thinking here in MA) If not, judging by the comments in the Globe article, Flaherty should go for a jury trial and hope there are 12 sane people left in this state.

Then again, this is Massachusetts; common sense and sanity are a lost art.

-JR
 
regardless of what the laws state they are only as black and white as they are painted to be and a crafty attorney for either side can and will find loop holes in any law to fit their argument. Many individuals have been prosecuted and convicted of breaking the "law" despite not truly breaking the "law". the true problem lies within proving that the actions fell within the stated laws and i can guarantee both sides will not see eye-to-eye on this. This being said it is better to be judged by twelve than carried by six.
 
rattletrap1970 said:
Mass should spiral into a hell storm of crime for two years so in the next election people wake the eff up.
Click to expand...

I'd agree with you if I thought that would work. The 'people' here would just demand stricter laws to make them 'safe'. Rationality is the minority here.
 
Bob P said:
I'd agree with you if I thought that would work. The 'people' here would just demand stricter laws to make them 'safe'. Rationality is the minority here.
Click to expand...

^very true! All that would do is give them more excuse to regulate firearms even more to combat the crime wave. Wish we could move.[angry]
 
This story is a tragedy as well as a travesty. We all know that the "system" is wrong. I have just sent a letter to my State Rep. Jim Miceli to ask his support in getting things moving in a bill for the next session. He has the info on S1580 "An Act relative to the common defense" that GOAL wrote and Sen. Stepen Brewer sposored.

Rep. Jim Miceli is our friend. I would have included my Senator but Barry Finegold is not trustworthy.
 
Might be a good idea to rig up some of those fish-eye view digital cameras in your car, recording in a 10 minute loop or so.

Set them up to record video only if you are worried about wiretapping laws.
 
who-cares-1940 wrote:
FriendlyFenway1 wrote: "It is absurd that he is charged with A&B."

Definitely not. From the published reports it looks like a case of self defense, but that's for the courts to decide, not the police. There may be more to it that we don't know and nobody should be able to stab somebody else without having to go to court.
Click to expand...
FriendlyFenway1 wrote:
who-cares,
live in MA very long? I though so. You have been brain washed by the completely out of the mainstream MA AG's office in prosecuting victims in self defense cases.

a quick refresher...The AG's office determines whether they charge the victim. The court system decides whether someone is guilty or not. The Police on the scene decides whether the victim is arrested, and in many states he would not have arrested the victim based on the disclosed facts.
Click to expand...
who-cares-1940 wrote:
FriendlyFenway1 -- I guess we'll just have to disagree. I'm not brainwashed by anyone and I find such personal insults abhorrent.

I feel that if any inflicts physical injury on someone else, regardless of the circumstances, it should be up to the courts, not the police and not the district attorney.

It's not the Attorney General of the state that files charges in a case such as this, it's the local district attorney -- in this case Dan Conley. You're allowing your apparent dislike for Martha Coakley to cloud your vision.
Click to expand...
FriendlyFenway1 -- P.S.: When people are arrested by the police they are charged with a crime at that point. People are not normally arrested and then held until the district attorney shows up in his office.
Click to expand...
FriendlyFenway1 wrote:
who do you think the local DA gets their marching orders from?

The DA is only supposed to charge someone with a crime if the facts support it, and in this situation it was a clear case of self defense based on the reported facts, and thus not a crime.

your absurd standard would have every rape victim who struggles with their attacker, and maybe scratches or hits the attacker would be charged with A&B and have to stand trial.

think about it for a while and you will see how wrong your concept of our legal system really is.
Click to expand...
who-cares-1940 wrote:
FriendlyFenway1 -- Of course you're right. You're always right. It's not even possible for you to be wrong, nor is it acceptable for anyone to disagree with you without being subjected to verbal abuse.

Just go stew in your own juice. You're impossible to discuss anything with.
Click to expand...

People like who-care-1940 really need to stop with this. I wonder how he would feel if he was in that situation?
 
solloron1 said:
People like who-care-1940 really need to stop with this. I wonder how he would feel if he was in that situation?
Click to expand...

I'm sure he lives in a nice safe upper middle class suburb where he's never had to worry about anything like this happening to him. In THEORY what he's saying makes sense. What he has no conception of is just how much a SUCCESSFUL defense in court costs in time and treasure. He lives in a shrink-wrapped world someplace that has been sanatized for your protection and has never gotten his hands dirty with the real world or seen someone else who has.
 
Gotta love how the MA "justice" system assumes that a person with no weapon is somehow not a threat justifying deadly force. It's a load of crap.

Contrast this with the yogurt-rage thread where a guy pointed a gun at the yogurt tosser and only got a misdemeanor. In MA they would have locked that same guy
up like MTBS guy.

-Mike
 
drgrant said:
Gotta love how the MA "justice" system assumes that a person with no weapon is somehow not a threat justifying deadly force. It's a load of crap.

Contrast this with the yogurt-rage thread where a guy pointed a gun at the yogurt tosser and only got a misdemeanor. In MA they would have locked that same guy
up like MTBS guy.

-Mike
Click to expand...

What gets me is the automatic presumption of guilt. The fact that he stabbed someone is being taken as prima facie evidence of his guilt and now HE has to prove it was self-defense. That's not supposed to be how it works boys and girls.
 

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