Justifiable homicides rise in Palm Beach County

[lewisipso]

As a West Palm Beach home*owner confronted two intruders in March, the encounter turned deadly. One intruder was shot and killed.

Weeks later, two men were fatally shot in a dispute aboard a boat near Phil Foster Park in Riviera Beach. Initially charged with murder, the boat's owner, 65-year-old Michael Monahan, was later set free after a judge cited the state's controversial "Stand Your Ground" statute.

And in July, 19-year-old James Fritz was killed after he allegedly broke into a Green*acres home and charged at the homeowner with knives.

Though Palm Beach County's overall homicide rate continued to decline in 2011, authorities say justifiable homi*cides increased.

"There definitely was an increase in the Stand Your Ground claims in 2011," said Terri Skiles, chief of the Major Violent Crimes Division in the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office.

Not counting three fatal shootings that involved officers, six of the county's 84 homicides last year were either determined to be justifiable or resulted in no charges against the alleged assailant. That is the highest number of justifiable homicides involving private citizens since the Stand Your Ground law went into effect in late 2005, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

There were four justifiable homicides involving private citizens in 2010, and three each in 2008 and 2009, FDLE statistics show.

Law enforcement officials caution that it's too soon to determine whether the increase reflects an emerging trend.

Justifiable homicides rise in Palm Beach County

[JLK]

Good for them. One of the problems with our society is that it had a turn tail and run policy. "all that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing" as for me I don’t need any government law to tell me that it is ok to stand up against evil.

[pgg]

Good. There needs to be more. The problem seems to be that the author of the article is making a slant towards that these cases should be murder except for that silly law.