Anna Catherine Cuccio

Jean Coco
English Composition 1001
7 November, 2016
Audience: Anyone who feels they might ever be put in a dangerous situation in which they
would have to protect themselves or their families or anyone who is curious about the topic of a
persons rights.
Preface
I am able to find plenty of information on my topic, lots of different cases with different
outcomes, and lots of different opinions on the topic. I am struggling with making everything
come together, I feel that I have stated the difference between a justified homicide and a criminal
homicide but I am not sure the paper flows right as a whole and I am not positive that the reader
is able to see the focus of my paper. I have not faced many roadblocks thus far, but I have
looked at a couple of example and feel that my in text citations are incorrect. In the conference I
would like to confirm that my question is worded correctly and resolve the issue of the citations
so I can fix them throughout my paper. My next step in this paper would be to state my opinion
on the topic with supporting evidence as to why I feel this way on the matter.
Justified Wrongdoings
Every day, at any given time a person could be put in a dangerous situation in which they
must decide to either protect their own life or let the person who poses a threat decide their fate.
There are so many cases of where an intruder will enter a house in which people are at home
going about their lives inside and in that instant, most of people do not know what to do. This
poses the question of whether the killing of another human being, that poses a threat, should be
ruled a justified homicide or a criminal homicide.
Murder is the most serious form of criminal homicide. Typically, criminal homicide is
intentional and premeditated, meaning there was a long term or even short term plan on killing

someone. According to Legal Dictionary, the intent of the accused murderer does not always
need to be focused on the actual victim, so if the murderer planned on killing one individual but
accidentally kills someone else, the murder is still premeditated and intentional. An example of
premeditated murder, according to Legal Dictionary, is as follows: Nancy finds out that her
husband, Sam, is cheating on her so she goes to the hardware store and buys some rat poison.
Over the next couple of days, Nancy puts rat poison in her cheating husbands morning coffee
until he eventually dies of internal bleeding. This is considered premeditated because Nancy
carefully thought out a plan to end her husbands life. Manslaughter, on the other hand, is often
involuntary. This means that the perpetrator did not intend on killing anyone but ended up
killing someone due to reckless behavior or negligence. An example of manslaughter would be a
person drinking and then making the decision to be behind the wheel while intoxicated and
ending up getting in an accident that results in a death.
On the other hand, justifiable homicide looks at many different types of cases, not just
situations involving armed intruders. Other cases of this include accidental shootings or a death
that results from the necessary actions of a police officer (Legal Information Institute). A key
part of justified homicide is the self-defense aspect. Homicides that are justified are
characterized by a lack of criminal intent and the person found to have committed a justifiable
homicide is freed (U.S. Legal). This pertains to innocent people in which laws have been made
to protect the safety of people in situations that could not have been prevented.
One case of justified homicide took place in Oklahoma in January of 2012 in which a
single mother (18 years old) was home alone with her 3-month-old baby. Her husband had just
died a week before of cancer. The mother, Sara McKinley, told ABC News two men were going
from door to door trying to gain entry, one of these men carrying a 12-inch hunting knife. In that

moment, Sara quickly got her 12 gauge, went into her bedroom and got a pistol, put the bottle in
the babys mouth and called 991 (Dolak and Owens). Sara asked the 991 dispatcher if she was
allowed to shoot the men, in which the dispatcher replied, I cant tell you that you can do that,
but you do what you have to do to protect your baby. When one of the men eventually made it
into the house, Sara shot and killed the man, identified as 24-year-old Justin Martin. The other
man ran but later turned himself in. Police ruled the shooting justified due to laws that protect a
persons right to defend yourself in the case of an unauthorized person in your home, even of the
use of deadly force. Sara commented that Its not an easy decision to make, but it was either
going to be him or my son. And it wasnt going to be my son. Theres nothing more dangerous
than a woman with a child (Dolak and Owens).
While police were so quick to rule Saras case a justified homicide, there are plenty of
other cases where the tables are turned and the victims often find themselves facing criminal
charges. In Brooklyn, New York, a man named Ron Dixon and his family were suddenly woken
by a noise early one morning, only to find an intruder in their home. When Dixon watched the
intruder enter the room of his young son he grabbed his 9 mm pistol, loaded it, and positioned
himself at the entrance of his sons room. (Stossel) Dixon shot the man twice. However, the
intruder survived, was arrested, and convicted of criminal trespassing, burglary, and attempted
assault. While the father was praised and called a hero, the problem Dixon faced came with
criminal possession of a weapon (Stossel). Dixon later faced a minor consequence but he,
along with his neighbors, were scared at the thought of going to jail at the cost of protecting his
family from harm. While Dixon was able to fight his way to earn a lesser consequence, other
people do not get as lucky as he did.

A case similar to Dixon arose in Australia when a father of one found a stranger
looking into the room of his young daughters. The father proceeded to put the intruder in a
choke hold to detain him until the police arrived. The father allegedly broke the neck of the
intruder who was put on life support until the family decided to take him off life support. The
father is now facing charges of murder and 5 years in prison for killing the would-be thief
(Geary, Tolj, and Eddie). People in the area were appalled by the courts ruling saying, How
dare you prosecute someone for defending their home and their family in their own home! This
is NOT murder, this is NOT premeditated. This was self-defense. Another unnamed person
commented, If you creep into someones residence uninvited, you deserve to die, its that
simple, good people dont invade peoples living space (Geary, Tolj, and Eddie). While the
intruder had a criminal record, this family argued that he had been on the straight and narrow
since leaving prison (Geary, Tolj, and Eddie). However, despite the complaints and petition that
was signed by 15,000 to have the father released, the father still faced years in prison.

Works Cited
"Murder - Definition, Examples, Processes." Legal Dictionary. N.p., 2015. Web. 16 Nov. 2016.

Dolak, Kevin, and Ryan Owens. "Okla. Woman Shoots, Kills Intruder: 911 Operators Say It's
OK to Shoot." ABC News. ABC News Network, 2012. Web. 16 Nov. 2016.

Geary, Belinda Grant. "Father Charged with Murder after 'breaking the Neck of a Man Found
near His Daughter's Bedroom' Does Not Apply for Bail - as Thousands Sign a Petition
Demanding His Release." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 2016. Web. 16 Nov. 2016.

Commentary, and By John Stossel. "Brooklyn Dad Facing Jail for Shooting Intruder." ABC
News. ABC News Network, 1970. Web. 16 Nov. 2016.

"Justifiable Homicide Law & Legal Definition." Justifiable Homicide Law & Legal Definition.
N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2016.

"Justifiable Homicide." LII / Legal Information Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2016.

My next step in this paper is to look at more peer reviewed articles to incorporate into my paper,
I looked at one earlier in the process but might want to look at a different one as my focus has

been adjusted. I will take a stand on the issue and give my reasons and evidence as to why I
support my claim. The final thing is my conclusion in which Im not entirely sure how I would
like to go about ending this inquiry project, I will look back at the conclusion writing exercise we
did in class.