Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported this week that an increase in justifiable homicides this year has coincided with a continuing drop in the city's murder rate. Data seems to bolster the common refrain among pro-gun advocates who contend that an armed populace is the best deterrent again criminal threats.
So far in 2014, authorities have ruled seven New Orleans deaths justifiable homicides, more than twice the number recorded in all of 2013. Meanwhile, murders in the city continue to drop for the third straight year.
Among those falling into the category of justified include the shooting deaths of an armed rapist and a roadside robber brandishing a firearm.
Louisiana law permits citizens to stand up to individuals posing an imminent threat with lethal force if necessary. The so-called 'stand your ground' law is common in the U.S., becoming a topic of conversation following the shooting death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin.
Nevertheless, New Orleans prosecutors have in recent years pursued criminal charges against locals who commit what police deemed justifiable homicides. A number of these cases resulted in homicide detectives taking the stand on behalf of a defendant, the Times-Picayune reported.
This year, however, none of the seven killings have yet led to any charges against the person responsible. Still, reports indicate that some individuals, including Kawanda Hampton, are reticent to admit to such killings because of ignorance of the law meant to protect them.
Harris reportedly stabbed her boyfriend as he violently beat her, ultimately lying to police during subsequent questioning.
"I was scared," she later recalled. "I didn't want to go to jail and have to leave my kids."
While New Orleans Police Department Sgt. Nicholas Gernon said it is vital to make sure individuals are not claiming self-defense to escape a murder charge, he said that imprisoning someone "who committed a justifiable homicide is tragic as well."
In certain cases, he concluded, "violent people meet violent ends."