01/04/2010
Is your Home your Castle?
A survey conducted in 2007 suggested that almost a third of householders in the United Kingdom keep items such as baseball bats and other heavy objects to hand in case an intruder breaks into their home. But what action can you legally take against an intruder?
This question was originally visited following the conviction of Tony Martin in 2000 for shooting dead a burglar at his home, and more recently in the case of Munir Hussain.
In 2008 Mr Hussain returned home of an evening to face three intruders wearing balaclavas in his home. He was beaten, tied up and both he and his family threatened. He pursued the offenders, catching one and hitting him with a cricket bat. This left the intruder with a permanent brain injury. Mr Hussain was charged with GBH and sentenced to 30 months imprisonment. The case went to the Court of Appeal who reduced the sentence to 12 months suspended for 2 years.
In theory the law is reasonably clear. If you feel that you or your family are in imminent danger, you are allowed to use reasonable force to defend yourself, your property or another.
Many may question why he was charged? “Reasonable force” is the key component. Juries are directed to consider the particular facts and circumstances as the Defendant believed them to be. A defence of self-defence will fail if it is found that the force used in the circumstances was excessive.
There have been calls for the law relating to self-defence to be reviewed but at the moment the controversy continues.
|
|
