[DB]

I don't agree.

The homeowner should have waited for the door to fail if it was going to. Also, if he had time to go get his gun he could have also called the police while getting his gun.

There are scenarios where the guy banging on the door wasn't doing anything wrong. For example let's say he just had a car wreck, his wife and/or child in the car is bleeding badly or the car is on fire and you need to call for help immediately. You may not even notice someone telling you to go away.

Shooting an unarmed person through your front door is not okay.

[explodingspleen]

I disagree that the homeowner should have waited for the door to fail. The intruder might have had a gun, and after he broke down the door the person on the other side would have line of sight with the homeowner.

The homeowner told him to leave repeatedly. By choosing to persist the intruder took his life into his own hands.

[eastforker]

At night and in Texas on his property this guy was well within the law.You are assuming the guy had a phone? Why should he be required to call the police? Why should he risk his life waiting for the door to fail?It sounds to me like he was afraid for his life, that all one needs to use lethal force.

[Jim Noble]

The problem with the law is that it seems to presume that in a potentially life-threatening situation a homeowner will have nerves of steel, exquisite judgement, and the skill of an experienced gunfighter.

None of these things are likely to be true.

It is a very bad result if you can be killed for knocking on someone's door after a car accident, for example. The shooting certainly should be investigated by the DA (whereas, if you shoot somebody after he breaks the door down, I think the DA should give you a medal and split the savings with you).

I'm not sure how to write the law to cover all possible contingencies that occur outside of your four walls. Endorsing "if the homeowner felt threatened, he was" sounds like "If she says it was rape, it was".

I think the standard for self defense needs to be much higher if the dead guy is on the other side of your locked door.

[hook2]

The article states that the incident occured at 9:00 PM. That is during the hours of darkness. In Texas you have the right to use deadly force defending your property or yourself during the hours of darkness. The homeowner did not have to wait for the door to broken down. He was well within his rights.

[Cultural Jihad]

Shooting an unarmed person through your front door is not okay.

I agree. Knocking on a door and being hard of hearing should not give others a license to commit murder.