chuckhoffmann Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Friend of. Kempton Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > VA law states you can defend yourself with
> > necessary force to prevent harm to yourself.
> > Sorry Mr D you are wrong. Ms Johns viciously
> > attacked Kempton for absolutely no reason at
> all.
> > She has a violent history of assaults and has
> been
> > in prison for years.
>
> The law states that force used to defend yourself
> must be
reasonable, which is a
> completely different kettle of fish than being
> "necessary".
>
> Additionally, the amount of force
must not
> be excessive, as mentioned in Coture v.
> Commonwealth.
>
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/va-court-of-appeals/116
> 2734.html
>
> Was Kempton about to be assaulted by Tyonne Johns?
> Yep. She was about to commence to kicking his
> skinny ass, there's not much question about that.
>
>
> However, was said ass-kicking going to amount to
> much more than a few slaps or punches to the face?
> Probably not.
>
> Additionally, while there's a size disparity of
> about three inches (5'8" vs. 5'11") and twenty
> pounds (135 vs. 155 pounds) between Kempton and
> Johns, he appears to be a young, healthy male and
> she was a middle-aged woman, so I doubt he was
> actually in danger of losing his life. It's not
> like a 6' tall man was beating on a 5'2" woman,
> although Kempton's fighting skills probably more
> closely approximate those of the latter.
>
> There's the problem, then. Stabbing someone to
> death because they're about to hit you in the face
> is not a reasonable and proportionate response to
> the threat.
Please consider in your conclusion, the fact that this group of adults was ganging up on the one authority figure. That has to play into the ruling. Why do you think all he would have received is a couple of slaps in the face? When threatened physically after being verbally attacked with insults and threats to intimidate and frighten him into being too afraid to continue to speak to them about their breaking the rules. Also, some consideration should be given to her history. Does she have a history of doing more than slapping? Would you please address this in your summation and/or conclusions of law Mr. Hoffmann?