Law v. State

318 A.2d 859 (1974)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

Law's (D) home was broken into, and a substantial amount of personal property was taken. D was highly upset with this turn of events and voiced his anger and stated that he would take care of the situation. The officer on the scene quoted D as telling him he was going the kill the man and that he knew how to get a gun. Two days later he bought a shotgun. One week after the break-in, a well-meaning neighbor saw a flickering light in D's house and reported it to the police. They responded, and when the police arrived, they investigated the scene. The officers went to check out the back door when they saw a windowpane which appeared to have been temporarily put in place with a few pieces of molding. The officers had not known that it was caused from the previous incident. Upstairs D and his wife heard sounds of attempts to enter their home. D then went downstairs and got his gun and listened for more sounds. The officers investigated what they thought was a recent entry point and they decided to test the door locks and as the officer removed his hand from the window he was hit by a shotgun blast which D fired through the door. The officer was dead on arrival at the hospital. The officer's partner called for reinforcements and then the police subjected the house to a fusillade of gunfire. D testified that he was fearful that someone was going to come in and the gun went off and scared him as he had never fired a shotgun before. D's wife then called the police. D moved during trial for an acquittal, and that was refused; D claimed defense of habitation and that the homicide was justified. D was found guilty of murder in the second degree and of assault with intent to murder.