10 replies to this topic

[buckeye dan]

Castle Doctrine means no charges in bow-and-arrow killing Tuesday, December 27, 2011 By Moriah Balingit, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette  Somerset County District Attorney Jerry Spangler will not charge a  man who fatally shot another man with a bow and arrow, saying today that  changes in the state's Castle Doctrine factored into his decision.

Mr. Spangler said the unidentified 38-year-old Center City man who  confessed to shooting Tony L. Bittinger on Oct. 10 claimed he did so in  self-defense.

Mr. Bittinger was found shot through the chest with an arrow near the front steps to the man's house.

The Castle Doctrine was amended this summer to expand a homeowner's  right to use deadly force against intruders, Mr. Spangler said.

The new Castle Doctrine expands a homeowner's "castle" to include  porches and eliminates the owner's duty to retreat before attacking an  intruder.

Mr. Spangler said the man might not have been charged under the old  statute, but the new law "makes it much clearer" that the shooting was  justified.

Trooper Joseph Drzal said Mr. Bittinger, who had been romantically  involved with the man's wife, made several threatening phone calls to  the man before driving up to his home to confront him. There, he  threatened the man with a heavy wooden club.

The man told him to leave repeatedly. When Mr. Bittinger attempted to  come up the stairs, the man shot him in the chest with an arrow. He  died before first responders arrived.

Source: http://www.post-gaze...1199563-100.stm

[Ranger]

I guess one should never bring a club to a bow fight!  Sorry, I just had to say it.

I bet there will be a lot of people reconsidering going to someone's home and causing trouble since that law is in effect and this story has come out.  Knowing you can get shot through the door without it even being opened ought to imprint on some of those mean suckers.

[deerboy]

snippet:

"Mr. Bittinger was found shot through the chest with an arrow near the front steps to the man's house.
<...> He  died before first responders arrived."

Source: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11361/1199563-100.stm
[/quote]

Wow... poor guy probably thought the arrow was relatively harmless or that he could jump out of the way. Guess he's never watched hunting vids on YT.

Edited by deerboy, 04 January 2012 - 06:13 AM.

[Unclebuck257]

Never thought much of men or women who ran around on thier spouses, no matter what the circumstances! This guy was an idiot to begin with for going there and trying to tell the legal husband, AT THE HUSBAND'S HOME what to do and probably needed to be taken out of the gene pool anyway! Hey, the upside is it was a one shot, clean kill!!

[xbowguy]

Nor should one bring a BOW to a GUN fight!  

However, if I did want to have a dude bleed out quickly nothing better than an arrow with a big nasty broadhead.

I’m the most PRO gun guy in the world.  Firearms and sharp sticks are my life.  Not only my hobby but my profession.  I must say I see this as a bad shooting.  Something about the thought process with a bow and arrow vs. a firearm that makes me think there is a little more premeditated intent with a bow than a firearm especially at contact or close distance.  Nock arrow, draw bow, anchor, aim and release.  See what I am saying?

I’m a PA boy at heart seeing it's home but now living in Ohio I don’t think it would have went down the same way.  I really can’t get justification for shooting a guy with a club unless he has almost beaten me to death.  Shooting him on the front porch just because he is mad and has a big stick is not going to cut it especially when all I have to do is shut the door or not even open it in the first place.

Guess I am glad in principal the good guy one but unsettled in the fact that this guy feared for his life or others.

I am prepared and have the skill set to defend myself and my loved ones without hesitation but the taking of another’s life, scum bag or not, is something I don’t ever want to do even if justified.

There are days especially as I get older and continue to watch the great nation I grew up in slide that I think it might just make me fill a little better.

BE SAFE, STAY WELL and WATCH YOUR SIX

[SPECIALIZED]

quote xbowguy, I’m a PA boy at heart seeing it's home but now living in Ohio I don’t think it would have went down the same way. I really can’t get justification for shooting a guy with a club unless he has almost beaten me to death. end quote.

You are kidding ,right?. At what point during the time he is almost beating you to death with a club do you decide, if you have the ability?,to use deadly force.Like maybe, ok two more good hits to the head and thats it?
People die every day from one blow to the head with a club.

[Jack Pine]

an assailant, irrational to the point that he is willing to cause bodily harm with a club, yet not rational enough to leave peacably when he saw the bow and arrow and heard the warnings to leave, put himself in harm's way.  Sounds like he wanted the woman back and was willing to kill to get her husband out of the way.  Unfortunate that he's dead, but it was a clean shoot any which way you look at it IMO.

Jack ><>

[Unclebuck257]

xbowguy, on 05 January 2012 - 06:45 AM, said:

Nor should one bring a BOW to a GUN fight!  

However, if I did want to have a dude bleed out quickly nothing better than an arrow with a big nasty broadhead.

I’m the most PRO gun guy in the world.  Firearms and sharp sticks are my life.  Not only my hobby but my profession.  I must say I see this as a bad shooting.  Something about the thought process with a bow and arrow vs. a firearm that makes me think there is a little more premeditated intent with a bow than a firearm especially at contact or close distance.  Nock arrow, draw bow, anchor, aim and release.  See what I am saying?

I’m a PA boy at heart seeing it's home but now living in Ohio I don’t think it would have went down the same way.  I really can’t get justification for shooting a guy with a club unless he has almost beaten me to death.  Shooting him on the front porch just because he is mad and has a big stick is not going to cut it especially when all I have to do is shut the door or not even open it in the first place.

Guess I am glad in principal the good guy one but unsettled in the fact that this guy feared for his life or others.

I am prepared and have the skill set to defend myself and my loved ones without hesitation but the taking of another’s life, scum bag or not, is something I don’t ever want to do even if justified.

There are days especially as I get older and continue to watch the great nation I grew up in slide that I think it might just make me fill a little better.

BE SAFE, STAY WELL and WATCH YOUR SIX

With all due respect xbowguy, as a former PA. boy myself, I couldn't disagree with you more. The mere fact that this "boyfriend" went to this husband's legal residence to confront him tells me that "boyfriend" was looking for BIG trouble and very well may have been prepared to exercise some serious physical trouble and pain on the husband. At the point where husband told "boyfriend" to leave the property and boyfriend did not, but rather started advancing on husband in a continued hostile way is the point where I'd have dropped him too, with whatever lethal weapon I had available. Granted, in my case it would have been an automatic handgun or one of my rifles or shotguns that was more accessable, but he would have been dead anyway you cut it! Texas has been like this for years and I'm glad to see that Pennsylvania has finally come of age too. If more states would adopt this kind of law, we'd all see less homeowners being killed by trespassers of any kind and a lot less violent or troublemaking trespassers too.

Edited by Unclebuck257, 05 January 2012 - 11:45 AM.

[Tombob]

This happened on 10/10...probably bow season there. It makes sense that during BOW season there might be a bow close by. I hope the guy gets rid of the wife...who needs that kind of trouble in their life? The problem with a story like this is there is WAY too much that you just don't know about that lead up to this. If somebody told me they were going to kill me a dozen times then showed up on my porch with a club...you can bet I'd pick up the nearest weapon available to deter them with. Seems like a great law to me...don't go to a mans home looking to start trouble and you won't get shot...where's the problem with that kind of old fashioned thinking? Could it be....the return of common sense?  

[Pan]

In Texas the 'Castle Doctrine' includes your occupied habitation, (owned or rented) and vehicle.
Roughly it states that if you fear for the safety of yourself or anyone else that is legally in your occupied habitation or on or in your vehicle or are being illegally removed from your occupied habitation or vehicle against your, (or their) will you have the right to use adequate force up to and including leathal force to defend yourself, others and your property.
This is not a 'Get out of jail free card' for murder but if you do actually feel threatened you do not have to attempt to retreat first and the offender does not neccessarily have to be armed.

There is also an organization, (I think it's still up and running) down here in Texas that offers $1,000 towards your legal defense if you have to kill someone to defend yourself or others. They research each case to see if they think it is a clean kill first and if so they do what they can to help.

[EAManio]

Good for the guy. If someone decked my wife. I would be going there at the boyfriend not the other way around. This guy was asking for it