“Note well,” the first line reads, “the use of force, including deadly force, is justified when the defendant is acting to prevent a forcible entry into the defendant's home, other place of residence, workplace, or motor vehicle, or to terminate an intruder's unlawful entry.” He owns five properties in the neighborhood locals call "Calvin Ray's Trailer Park." Ray's house on 101 Jordan Lane sits just outside the town of Wake Forest, North Carolina. The events that led to his death are the subject of some disagreement – but the end result is not: Ray shot Mitchell in the chest with a. On a scorching July day, one of those tenants, a man with a quick-to-boil temper and a troubled past, came to Ray’s house to complain about a busted air conditioner. Locals call the streets that snake around his house “Calvin Ray’s Trailer Park” – and some take issue with his tenants. Mimicking the grandly named McMansionvilles down the road, he would call it Lake Forest Estates.īut Ray’s dream dwindled down to five mobile homes, which he rents out. Once upon a time, Ray, who is 89, had big plans for a housing development in the neighborhood. Beat-up trucks, one filled with dirty mattresses, brood in the backyard. Rusted furniture and backhoes hulk on the front lawn. Ray said Mitchell was trying to break into his house, and the shooting was self-defense.Ĭalvin Ray’s castle is a beige ranch house that crouches outside the town of Wake Forest like someone trying to sneak in. Take for example, the state of Montana, a state that applies the castle doctrine, that refers to the right of an individual to use of force in defense of “occupied structure” while in another castle doctrine state, such as Iowa, the law states that one has no duty to retreat from their home or place of work in defense of themselves or a third party.Calvin Ray, 89, shot his tenant, Jeffrey Mitchell, during a dispute over a broken air conditioner. If one is to break this down further to a state to state level, there are slight differences within the legislature and its wording that could potentially affect the outcome of a proceeding. These states are Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming. In total, twenty states use castle doctrine. Some states have also extended their castle doctrine laws to protect individuals from civil liability. Other laws include “stand your ground”, that extends upon the castle doctrine, and “duty to retreat”, where one has a legal requirement to retreat in a violent situation if and when it is safe to do so. The term, “make my day”, was popularized by a 1983 Hollywood film, Sudden Impact. The law shields people from criminal activity for using force against a home invader, including deadly force. There are also other types of doctrines such as the make-my-day statute, that came to be used in the U.S. It is rather a set of principles that can be incorporated into many jurisdictions. However, more generally speaking, the castle doctrine is not a defined law that can be invoked. Castle doctrines lessen the possibility of retreat and provide the victim the opportunity to use deadly force. Castle doctrine laws specifically waive the duty to retreat - meaning individuals have a duty to try to retreat from an attacker before they use force and provide individuals the right to use reasonable force to protect themselves while in their home - including deadly force.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |