Your Right To Avoid Grievous Bodily Harm Ends The Moment You Break Into A House

In my book, when a thug wielding a “plank of wood” breaks into your house by knocking the door down and yells “I’m going to kill you,” there is no such thing as using “too much force” to stop him. Unfortunately, they don’t seem to agree in Australia.

After the aforementioned intruder smashed his way into the home, the resident grabbed a baseball bat and defended himself. For this, he has been charged with a crime:

“Darryl Stoneham, 37, from Doonside, in Sydney’s west, faced Blacktown Local Court today charged with malicious assault inflicting grievous bodily harm.

The charge related to an alleged attack on David Kuusik, 38, who, according to police facts, broke into Stoneham’s home last night.

In documents tended to the court, police alleged two other people at the house attempted to stop Mr Kuusik entering the premises about 8.35pm (AEST) while Stoneham called triple-0.

But the documents said Mr Kuusik knocked a door off its hinges and entered the house brandishing a plank of wood, which Stoneham claimed was being swung around.

Stoneham then picked up a baseball bat and began swinging at Mr Kuusik, striking him a number of times “above the shoulders but below the head”, police allege.

Police allege Stoneham told them Mr Kuusik yelled “I’m going to kill you” as he tried to enter the house.

The two men are believed to have been known to each other before the incident.”

Any intruder who’s in your home and conscious is a grave potential threat to your continued existence and should be treated as such. That’s why this guy did exactly the right thing by continuing to pummel this guy after he had been knocked to the ground.

For all he knew, the thug could have had a pistol or knife strapped to his leg. Maybe one moment, the guy could have looked bloody and out of it and the next thing you know, Stoneham could have been hit with a bullet to the chest or a knife to the back. Heck, maybe the guy could have just gotten up, grabbed the plank, and gone to work. Who knows?

That’s why Stoneham was right not to take any changes and the police were wrong to charge him with a crime. A man’s home is his castle and if you storm a man’s castle, he has every right to use any and all measures to remove the threat you pose to him. That includes whaling on you with a baseball bat while you’re down.

Hat tip to Tim Blair for the story.

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