Would have been nice if the Police Chief had stated exactly why he felt this woman should have been prosecuted. Though I bet certain crucial details were omitted from this article, it sounds on the surface like a case where there was a disparity in strength between the two combatants, one of whom demonstrated an intent to threaten the other. Now, if the Police Chief had personally intervened, he may have prevented this incident from escalating.
Jeff

AP Top News – 02/27/2001
Woman’s Murder Charge To Be Dropped
by JENNIFER HOLLAND
Associated Press Writer
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — With the state attorney general’s declaration of ”open season” on home invaders, a murder charge will be dropped against a woman who fatally stabbed a man after he broke through her front door.
Lisa Mackey Gant, 36, will benefit from Attorney General Charlie Condon’s stance that people defending their homes should not be prosecuted if they kill or injure intruders.
”Ms. Gant did what any law-abiding citizen would have done in her place, she defended her life and her property,” Condon said.
Gant, who has been in the county jail since her arrest Feb. 17, will be released after paperwork is completed by the local prosecutor, officials said.
Calls to prosecutor Randolph Murdaugh were not immediately returned to The Associated Press on Monday.
The case, sent to Condon’s office Friday by Murdaugh, said that Gant had been slapped and put in a headlock, but managed to wrestle 39-year-old William H. Brock Jr. out of her home and locked the door.
Brock forced his way back inside by shattering the door frame. Gant said she grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed Brock once in the chest.
”Citizens who defend their homes are not criminals,” Condon said, who declared ”open season” on home invaders Jan. 24. ”The invaders are the criminals.”
Police Chief Mike Devin said he was surprised by Condon’s decision to not prosecute Gant.
”I expected it to be dropped to a lesser charge, but I didn’t think it would be dropped totally,” Devin said.
In another case in Charleston, Condon decided no prosecution was needed after a resident shot an armed man found hiding under his bed Feb. 3.