No, You May Not Shoot Someone For Trespassing

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A good example on when it is permissible for the occupant of a dwelling to
shot an intruder or not. Keep in mind that years before states passed castle
doctrine , there were cases like this.

"Property can be replaced. Lives cannot."

That simple rationale forms the basis of most laws regarding armed
self-defense, and also excludes the use of lethal force to preserve property
in most jurisdictions.

There are notable exceptions. The concept known as "castle doctrine" has
been around for hundreds of years, and has become part of statutory law in
most jurisdictions as well. The basic premise is that anyone breaking in to
a home may be considered a threat to the homeowner, justifying a lethal
force response.

The common law and statutory variants of castle doctrine have always been
intended to protect the people inside the home, not their things. Likewise,
there is no legal justification for using deadly force to protect property
outside the home or for simply being on your property, as man in Decatur,
Alabama just learned the hard way.

Investigators said 68-year-old Willie James Jones woke up and noticed a
motion detector light had been activated outside his home. Police said Jones
saw someone standing near his pick-up truck in the front yard and armed
himself before going to the door to investigate.

According to investigators, the juvenile outside was scared by Jones' sudden
appearance and fled. Jones fired a shot and struck the juvenile in the
buttocks.

Authorities arrested Jones for second-degree assault. Police said they
charged Jones because he wasn't in immediate danger or threat of danger when
he fired his gun at the juvenile.

Your property is not as important as another human being's life, no matter
how scummy you think that other person may be, nor how much you want to your
property.

In this instance, Jones fired as the child was running away, while having
done nothing more than trespass.

He's very lucky that he's a bad shot, or he might be in prison for something
more serious, such as murder. Property can be replaced. Lives cannot.

By Epictetus