They mugged the wrong man…

[robotech_master]

Found via BoingBoing: A 70-year-old military veteran killed a mugger in self-defense in Costa Rica.

Costa Rican officials interviewed the Americans, and said they wouldn't charge the U.S. tourist with any crime because he acted in self defense.

"They were in their right to defend themselves after being held up," Hernandez said. He said Segura had previous charges against him for assaults.

But Ligia Herrera Mendez, the mother of the dead assailant, claimed the tourists of took the law into their own hands.

"We want justice, this can't go unpunished, because they could have saved him," she said in an interview in Limon. "If this had happened in the United States, the suspect would have been detained and wouldn't have left the country."

She's probably right—he probably would have been detained, charged, gone to trial, and so on, even if he later ended up being acquitted for self-defense. Not really sure whether this is a good thing or a bad thing in this particular case, though.

Comments

[foomf.livejournal.com]

Puerto Rico is a part of the United States. Costa Rica is not.

They followed the law in their country. A Costa Rican who had defended themselves or others against lethal force in the presence of that many witnesses would not have been charged.

[robotech-master.livejournal.com]

Whoops. Originally thought it was Puerto Rico, then found it was Costa Rica, thought I'd removed all of the Puerto Ricos from the entry before posting it.

[strix-an-stones.livejournal.com]

Not really. There was a case just north of here in Pittsburgh, PA where a man forced his way into the home of an elderly cuple. The guy hit the wife and then attacked the husban physically. She picked up a shotgun and killed the guy. While the majority hold the opinion that you have to be threatened with "like" force before shooting to kill, all you really ahve to prove is a true fear of life. The woman was never taken into custody for questioning. Questioned yes, gotten medical attention yes. Detained in any way? No. And that isn't an atypical response. So long as there is a reliable witness or evidence of potentially life threatening danger self defense is just that and is not prosecuted. When the case isn't clear cut or there is disparity in witness statements then folks are detained and officially questioned.

[point5b.livejournal.com]

It really depends on the state. California tends to look a lot more dimly on self-defense than other states, for instance, having a standard that a person must be essentially cornered and in fear of one's life. Texas, on the other hand, is very much like Pennsylvania.

[strix-an-stones.livejournal.com]

Not much incentive to move to the fault-line land now is it? Just bothers me that some gang-banger with a stolen piece or shivs has better legal backing than the average law abiding citizen. Me? I'll just move to West Virginia in a year or so where it's still legal to shoot cow and horse thieves.

[point5b.livejournal.com]

Oh, I sympathize. But I happily live in Texas, so that's to be expected.