Han wrote:

I must admit that I'm not sure whether she or her baby was indeed
under real imminent threat of being harmed, and I did live in Mass.
when there was a case of a woman fleeing into her basement during a
home invasion, and killing the guy who ccame down after her. She was
acquitted, I believe, because there was no secondary exit through
which she could have fled. Had there been another exit from the
basement, she should have used that.

## Yes, in some jurisdictions you MUST retreat. Many states, however, have
recently passed laws implementing the "Castle Doctrine," which presumes an
intruder means grievous bodily harm. Killing said intruder is not only
justifiable homicide, but NO civil liability can attach. That is you cannot
be sued by the asshole's relatives. Some states have gone farther (like
mine) and implemented a "Stand Your Ground" standard. That is, you may
respond with deadly force wherever you have a lawful right to be: in your
bedroom, in your car, on the sidewalk, at the mall, wherever.


What's been overlooked in this sorry episode is that she was on the
'phone to 911 for 21 minutes. I can't imagine any urban jurisdiction
where it would take the cops more than five minutes to respond to a
"home invasion in progress" call.

Not sure where she was in relation to emergency services, or how rural
and diispersed the area is, but that seems indeed a bit strange.
When I broke my arm on July 4th a few years back, police and
ambulance were in my back yard in minutes.

Why would the police respond to a broken-leg / medical call? Did you inform
the dispatcher that some stink-eye broke your leg and is roaming the
neighborhood with a baseball bat?