A father in Texas beat a man to death, but will not be charged.
The father caught the man molesting his five-year-old daughter and in Texas, the father's actions are protected under the law.
That same law exists in South Carolina.
"It's what we would usually call the Defense of Others," said Myrtle Beach criminal defense lawyer Natasha Hannah.
The law protects those protecting the helpless, said Hannah.
"The way the law reads, in the state of South Carolina, is that if it's a friend, a relative, somebody that you see facing harm as long as the person, the victim were to be allowed to exercise that same defense then you could step in to to defend that person to save their life and take whatever action that the victim itself could of taken."
"You can also step into the place of someone else," said Horry County Deputy Solicitor Jimmy Richardson.
He said the law is justifiable, but it can't be used to seek vengeance for a crime that happened earlier.
"It's the imminency of it," said Richardson. "It means if I don't act now someone is going to get hurt. It means someone is going to continue being hurt, and you can stop the aggressor from hurting some innocent bystander just like you could stop that aggressor from hurting you."
David Pruitt was visiting Myrtle Beach from Illinois with his three daughters.
He said he believes he would have done the same.
"I think you'd go to any lengths at all to protect your children," said Pruitt. "You would put yourself in harms way, jeopardize your life in front of theirs."
