(SC) Self-defense at issue in front yard shooting 08-06-03

> Self-defense at issue in frontyard shooting BY STEVE REEVES
> The Post and Courier Staff
> http://www.charleston.net/stories/080603/loc_06defense.shtml
>
> Is William Gates a man who did what he had to do to defend himself and
> his home, or did he take the law into his own hands by gunning down two
> men in front of his house? That’s up to Charleston County prosecutors to
> decide and Solicitor Ralph Hoisington hasn’t announced his decision yet.
> But many criminal-law experts say that what Gates did was arguably
> within legal bounds.
>
> Trey Walker, a spokesman for South Carolina Attorney General Henry
> McMaster, said the state attorney general’s office had no comment on
> this case and that it would be solely up to Hoisington whether Gates
> faces charges. “Ultimately, he is the legal authority in that case,”
> Walker said.
>
> Charlie Condon, the former state attorney general, said the 67-year-old
> Gates appeared to have been well within his legal rights when he shot at
> three men Gates said were drug dealers engaged in a shootout in his
> front yard. “Generally speaking, you do have the right to defend
> yourself from danger,” Condon said. “I think a self-defense case has
> been made.”
>
> Gates, who lives on Tripe Street near the West Ashley subdivision of
> Ashleyville, said he and his wife were awakened at about 4:30 a.m.
> Friday by the sound of gunfire just outside their house. Already angered
> by what he said has been constant illegal drug activity taking place on
> his property and harassment by drug dealers, Gates said the gunfire was
> the last straw.
>
> Gates, an avid hunter and gun owner, stepped out onto his front porch
> and fired three blasts from a 12-gauge shotgun, sending two men to the
> hospital. A third man was also shot, but police believe he was wounded
> in the initial shootout.
>
> Police confiscated Gates’ shotgun and six other guns inside his home,
> but he was not arrested.
>
> Charleston Police Chief Reuben Greenberg, who caused controversy earlier
> this year when he encouraged merchants to arm themselves as protection
> against robberies, said Gates did not take the law into his own hands
> but was merely protecting himself and his home. Greenberg declined
> further comment.
>
> Condon, who as attorney general in 2001 instituted a home-invasion
> policy that protected citizens from prosecution for defending against
> intruders, said he hopes Gates won’t face charges. “My sympathies are
> with the gentleman,” he said. “I really do admire him for sticking it
> out and not letting the criminals run him out of his home.”
>
> Vance Cowden, a law professor at the University of South Carolina, said
> state laws provide for self-defense and defense of property. “Use of
> deadly force is usually only proper when protecting life and not merely
> when property rights are at stake,” he said.
> “You have to believe you are in eminent danger of losing your life and
> it has to be a belief that an ordinary, prudent person would entertain.”
>
> Cowden said whether Gates faces charges will likely come down to whether
> prosecutors believe Gates rightfully feared for his life, a decision
> that could be swayed by the fact that the neighborhood is known for drug
> activity and someone had previously shot into his house.
> Prosecutors could also decide that Gates escalated the situation by his
> actions. Cowden said responses to physical threats have to be
> “proportional.” “If someone throws a snowball at you and you shoot them,
> that’s not proportional,” he said.
>
> North Charleston defense attorney Michael
> O’Neal said Gates might have pushed the boundaries of self-defense laws,
> but did not go over them, by shooting at the men in his front yard. He
> said people, when confronted by physical threats, are required by law to
> retreat whenever possible — everywhere except on their own property. “A
> man’s house is his castle, that’s what it essentially boils down to,”
> O’Neal said. “The men weren’t exactly attacking him, but they were
> exhibiting violence on his property.”
>
> Charleston defense attorney Mike Coleman agreed that the Gates case will
> come down to whether he was actually in imminent danger of being hurt.
> “Each case depends on the actual facts and the individual variables that
> go along with that case,” he said. “If you have a drug dealer in your
> front yard and you’ve called the police and they haven’t done anything,
> that still doesn’t give you the right to use deadly force. If he’s
> trying to hurt you, that’s a different story.”
>
> Regardless, Gates is a hero to many people.
> Dwight Arrington, a Columbia resident whose daughter is a student at
> Medical University of South Carolina, said he would help establish a
> legal-defense fund for Gates if he is charged in the shooting. “I’m just
> glad the guy had the backbone to do what he did,” Arrington said. “I was
> thinking to myself when I read about it, ‘Good for him, I would have
> done the same thing.’ ”
>
> — Steve Reeves can be contacted at:
> [email protected] or 843-745-5856
>
> http://www.robertwaters.net
>