you wot ?

[brionon]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-106677 7/Brazilian-student-faces-GBH-charge-defending -home-serial-burglar.html

Well what do you think ?

[tigerlily11]

No I'm not missing the point. Yes you have a right to defend yourself but it would seem that that right is being eroded. I thought that a while ago the goverment had made it legal to tackle some one who had invaded your home.
Or is that still in the to do box.
What Brionon did is assult.
What this guy did could maybe be classed as self defense. Unfortunatly it is his word agaist the burglars.
It also depends where you will draw the line on what could be considered as reasonable force. Burglars who, as this guy suspectedwas the case, could be hocked up on anything in which case then the burglar would not have any consideration about how much force to use to get what he wants.
Is there any one who in the same position of being confronted by an intruder in your home would not want to defend themselves and their family by what ever means comes to hand.
This is a situation which doesn't happen veryoften.
I can't say as I have ever had to deal with it. I'm lucky I know, but if it was you how would you deal with it?
And please don't tkae that as a sarcastic question. I would like to know how people would deal with it or how they hope they would deal with it?

[THECORBYLOON]

The ALLEGED burglar was knocked off a bike so unless he was using the bike to ride up and down the stairs inside the house I'd say he was outside trying to get away, in those circumstances, the need for self-defence would have long since ended.

[China Doll]

I'd actually hope that confronted with someone in my house with a possible weapon, any partner I had would do the same as I would which would be as little as possible unless necessary until the time they left the house. I tend to prefer myself and any partners alive and well as opposed to wounded and/or dead. I know my own limitations as far as violence goes but I don't know anothers intent and violence generally begetts violence.

[dot.hawkes]

There was no intent there, only the wish to survive, why is this not being looked at from the aspect of the law on this in Brazil? I watched the programme about interceptor cops last week and they couldn't charge most of the illegal drivers because they were foreign nationals or illegal immigrants!!!

[THECORBYLOON]

No intent, only the wish to survive? Eh? As for looking at laws in other countries would you think it okay for Americans in this country to have guns in their homes here because that is the culture in America?

[China Doll]

I don't understan your point Dot, this happened in Britain, not in Brazile so why would it be looked at from that point?

And if the person was already scuttling off as seems to be suggested then how was the guys survival in any kind of question?

[dot.hawkes]

My point was that the Brazilian Student was in a situation he did not understand in relation to Britsh law, he's only been here a matter of months. he reacted in the fight or flight way we all would, but when he pushed the guy off the bike his intention was to send him packing, I can't imagine he thought, 'If i push him off his bike he will crack his head open'.
If we don;t prosecute the illegal immigarnts driving uninsured untaxed un MOT'd cars at 120 MPH with no driving license and under the influence of alcohol on the M6 motoway, why would we prosecute a visiting student who simply reacted instinctivel;y to a frightening situation on his own doorstep? Does anyone know what the law on this is in brazil?

[dot.hawkes]

What i mean is by that is, why would he react to the situation with the mind set of the way we deal with things in this country? If I were in brazil and something like this happened I would still think i could dial 999!!!!

[monkeyeyes]

A burglar, armed with a knife breaks into the house of a Brazilian student.................the student does not react at that point ? Nor at any point whilst the burglar was inside he property........ Am I right so far ?

The burglar then gets on his bike (which as TCL intimates gives the impression of him having left the building) to flee the scene and it is at this point that the student lamps him ?

The student cannot claim self-defence................he can claim gross supidity for not having acted several minutes earlier, however..............

[China Doll]

Perhaps. But the police officers can arrest/detain the people you mentioned your example for being illegal? And even if they're foreign and visiting I think they can sitll be charged as they're subject to our laws when in this country as we are when we visit theirs so I don't think the two are comparable.

[THECORBYLOON]

The sister said

"'He was threatened by a man in his home, a robber who broke in and had a knife. Of course he reacted, he was defending himself. "

The ALLEGED burglar was on a bike. why did he need to defend himsel, what was he defending himsel from?

[dot.hawkes]

In the programme I watched they were loathe to do anything much about it but fine them, and the illegal immigrants they can only direct to the nearest immigration unit and mainly they then disapear.

But if the burglar in this case was threatening the student with a knife and shouting at him in a threatening aggressive way, only when the burgllar was back on the bike would the syudent have seen his chance to make a move on him, if this student had been from an eastern european country or a middle eastern country I would imagine the pilice would have been unwilling to prosecute. Because Brazil poses no kind of diplomatic threat to this country they have prosecuted, that's how it comes across to me anyway.

[monkeyeyes]

The question is not one of which 'any of us would likely have done under those circumstances', rather is this an issue of 'self-defence' ?

If you are being threatened and you act to defend yourself that is self-defence...........
If the threat has gone (the burglar is now trying to effect his escape) and you take that moment to lump him one, it cannot be self-defence............there was 'no threat' at the moment you lumped him one.......

The fact that most of would see it as an opportune moment to chin the b*stard makes no difference ............it is still NOT self-defence !

[dot.hawkes]

I get that point of view monkeyeyes, however, pushing someone off a bike is not done with the intention the bike rider will sustain serious injuries, the burglar could just have easily fallen on grass and just bounced. There was no intent to cause the burglar serious injury, but if serious injury was a consequence it is accidental.

[Le Chat]

Perhaps he pushed him off the bike to stop him getting away?
It's not like the police would ever find him once he'd ridden off.
If someone brandished a knife at me, in my house,rendering me scared and incapable of protecting myself or my valuables and then tried to cycle off, I'd push them very hard off the bike as they rode away, without a moments hesitation.

[Lonnie]

To go just a little bit further than Jock, if someone breaks into your house, I think you should have the right to use whatever force necessary to defend your home and family, even if it means killing them.

[THECORBYLOON]

Have some posts been removed?

[THECORBYLOON]

Why would you feel the need to kill someone if that person had NO intention to physically harm you?

[dotovaposted]

yeah mine have the auto suspending anti spamming software has auto suspended me for overposting, it always happens to me i'm sick of it i might have a rant in a bit

dotty