Tony Martin was a 54 year old British farmer whose home had been broken into many times. When two burglars broke into his remote farmhouse one night, he fired on them with a shotgun. One burglar died at the scene, the other was wounded. Martin was tried and convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. His sentence was later downgraded to manslaughter. The surviving burglar, who had over 30 criminal convictions, sued Martin for injuries sustained during the burglary! While in prison, the parole board continually refused Martin early release saying he has shown no remorse and would continue to pose a danger to any other burglars!
Do burglars have a right to a safe workplace?
If you read the story, you’ll notice a lot of things.
Martin’s “shotgun certificate” was revoked, so he shouldn’t have been able to obtain a shotgun, yet he did. Gun control didn’t work.
His conviction seemed to turn on the fact that the burglars were shot in the back, possibly trying to escape. Shoot or don’t shoot is a hard decision for a police officer to make, much less a 54 year old man in the middle of the night, facing two intruders not knowing whether they are armed or not. Were they trying to escape or seeking cover so they could return fire? Martin didn’t know.
The rights of the criminals seemed to take priority over the rights of the hardworking farmer trying to protect his property.
Martin had been plagued by crime for years, yet the police themselves could never stop the crimes, just take reports afterwards.
Because of the multiple break-ins and lack of police protection or crime prevention, Martin feared for his life and began to sleep in his clothes with his boots on and shotgun by his side.
In England, fifty-nine percent of attempted burglaries involved an occupied home. Burglars don’t fear the occupants because almost all have been disarmed. And if they do have a firearm, they risk going to prison or being sued if they use it.
Because of Great Britain’s gun laws and the lesser known restrictions on knives, during the 2011 riots, sale of baseball bats on UK’s branch of Amazon went up 5000%. It was the only legal device people could buy to protect their shops and homes. And what happens when you use something not made for home defense for home defense? See Wasp Spray for Home Protection.
Is this the road we want to go down?