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Thursday, August 03, 2006

Courts - More on: Kentucky judge criticizes lethal-force law

On July 28, the ILB posted an entry quoting from an AP story that began:

LEXINGTON, Ky. — A judge has criticized a new Kentucky law that allows people to shoot home intruders without being charged with a crime.
The entry noted that Indiana's General Assembly passed a similar law earlier this year.

Here, thanks to the Kentucky Law Blog, is another story on the case, this one from yesterday's Lexington Herald-Leader, reported by Brandon Ortiz. Some quotes:

Continuing confusion over Kentucky's new "home intruder" law led prosecutors to negotiate a last-minute plea offer with James Adam Clem, who is on trial on murder charges, they said in court yesterday evening.

Prosecutors, defense attorneys and a judge struggled to write jury instructions to conform with the recently enacted law, which grants immunity to homeowners who use deadly force to defend themselves against a robber or attacker.

It is thought to be the first murder case in the state where the new law has come into play.

Clem, 27, says he killed Keith Newberg, 25, in self-defense after Newberg allegedly attacked him after entering Clem's apartment on Aug. 9, 2004. Clem acknowledged that he had let in Newberg, who had come to collect on a drug debt, according to witnesses.

The home intruder law, also called the castle doctrine, broadly expands the right of self-defense. Some prosecutors and the judge hearing Clem's case, Sheila Isaac, have criticized it as being poorly written, confusing and vague.

One problem, Isaac said yesterday, is that the law provides no guidance for what happens once a case has already reached the courts.

After making little progress on how to explain the law to jurors, defense attorney Russell Baldani said, "I got an idea. Let's talk about a plea offer."

"You go to the victim's family and say this case is likely to be litigated forever," Baldani said. "There's a chance he could be found not guilty. I told (the prosecution) that from the start."

With the courtroom empty but in-house cameras rolling, the judge and attorneys candidly discussed a plea agreement. The discussion could be viewed on a closed-circuit TV provided for reporters.

Defense attorneys and Isaac said it was really a second-degree manslaughter case, with a murder conviction unlikely.

Prosecutors agreed, but expressed doubt that their boss, Commonwealth's Attorney Ray Larson, would approve a plea deal. The conservative prosecutor has a policy against negotiating with accused murderers, though he occasionally makes exceptions. * * *

The law was passed this spring after lobbying by the National Rifle Association.

University of Kentucky law professor Robert Lawson, the primary author of Kentucky's penal code, has said the new law is unnecessary because Kentuckians have had the right to self-defense since a 1931 court decision.

Contrary to the claims of the legislation's supporters, the state has never required homeowners to retreat before resorting to self-defense, Lawson said.

Other critics have worried it will encourage people to shoot first and ask questions later.

During testimony yesterday, prosecutors played an audio recording of an 80-minute police interrogation in which a detective grilled Clem for leaving Newberg to die in his Belleau Wood apartment.

Jurors also saw gory crime scene photos.

After bashing Newberg's head five times with a bronze lamp, Clem nailed a sheet over a window so outsiders could not see how messy it was inside, he said. Clem said he then threw a moving truck's furniture pad over Newberg -- who was still breathing -- washed his hands, put on pants, grabbed a pitcher of Kool-Aid and Newberg's cell phone and headed for nearby woods. He never called 911.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 3, 2006 11:09 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts