Quote:
Originally posted by phaedrus
There should be (and is) a limit to the amount of harm you can do someone who is trying to rob you.
|
Ya know, 3 years ago I would have agreed with you. but the crime rate is skyrocketing, the justice system isn't preventing crime at all, and I keep watching criminals enjoy more rights than victims. Doesn't make sense.
IMHO if you commit a crime against someone else, your rights should be thrown out the window. If you get the shit kicked out of you because you were robbing someone, tough. You shouldn't have been doing that. Maybe next time you'll think twice about stealing shit.
By contrast if you get caught by the cops trying to steal a car you get charged with an attempted crime unless you're actually successful. Bullshit point #1 - who cares if you actually did it or not. If you tried to do it you should be just as punishable as if you did it. Then you get a free lawyer (no problem with that) who points out that you have no prior convictions and the judge should therefore be lenient with you. Bullshit point #2. Is there a BETTER time to enact a harsh penalty? Maybe if you had to do some serious jail time you wouldn't do it again. Then you get probation. Bigtime bullshit #3. What the hell is probation? You committed a crime. You screwed up. You should be in jail for it.
Of course if while attempting to rob the car the owner comes out and hits you AT ALL he not only gets charged with assault and battery (and for some reason his penalty scale is always higher than the true crook) but now YOU, the thief, the crook who was trying to commit a crime, get to sue the owner for hurting you, and you'll probably win. We've probably all heard of that case several years back when the robber was crawling around on the roof of the place he wanted to rob when he fell through a skylight and hurt himself. He sued and won because the skylight wasn't tempered and couldn't hold his weight. Jury apparantly didn't care that the asshole had no business whatsoever being up there, and didn't care that even if he did skylights aren't meant to be crawled on. Thief got a lot of money and the owner got shafted. That is grade A bullshit.
If you catch someone in the act of harming you in ANY way you should be allowed to stop them.
(edit)
btw, if you read farther into the post, seems the guy beat the thief up one night at 2am, and 2 days later the case had gone to trial and concluded. Seems to have been a bullshit topic anyway
