Missouri's 'castle doctrine' allows deadly force when someone 'attempts to unlawfully enter' a home.
Yarl, 16, was shot by Andrew Lester, 84, after he rang the doorbell at the wrong house while attempting to pick up his siblings.Andrew Lester, 84, who was charged with shooting Ralph Yarl, 16, was released from custody after posting a $200,000 bond.Andrew Lester had already gone to bed when the doorbell rang a little before 10 p.m. He got up, grabbed a gun and went to check it out.
Then-Gov. Matt Blunt, a Republican, enacted the law with fanfare by flying around the state to promote it. Missouri's law "provides wide latitude for people to use lethal force," said Robert Spitzer, a professor emeritus of political science at the State University of New York, Cortland, whose research focuses on gun policy and politics and who wrote the book "Guns Across America: Reconciling Gun Rules and Rights."
"Lester stated he opened the interior door, and saw a black male approximately 6 feet tall pulling on the exterior storm door handle. He stated he believed someone was attempting to break into the house, and shot twice within a few seconds of opening the door," according to the police statement. Lester told police he was "scared to death."
Nothing in the law "allows someone to shoot first and ask questions later when someone innocently rings a doorbell. That's something that UPS does on a daily basis, delivery drivers, children selling Girl Scout cookies," said Ari Freilich, an attorney and state policy director with the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.Other similar cases
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