Police say the homeowner in Horry County who shot and killed an intruder will not be charged. (Read more here)
South Carolina law gives homeowners wide latitude to protect themselves from intruders, with certain exceptions. It's based on what's known as the Castle Doctrine, the idea that one's home is his castle.
15th Circuit Solicitor Greg Hembree says the state has some pretty homeowner-friendly laws for the use of force to protect your property. He says any citizen in the state has the right to defend his or her property and use deadly force, if they have a reasonable belief their safety is in peril.
He says that generally means you're not committing a crime if you defend yourself on your own property and until the threat is abated.
In other words, you can't follow the intruder down the street, around a corner and to a parking lot and then shoot him there.
Hembree says there are misconceptions about the law and many people don't realize how many rights the homeowner has, at least in South Carolina. "It's a good thing for would-be criminals to understand that it's not the situation where you shoot somebody and you've got to drag them in your house to prove self defense. That's not the case."
Hembree says there are always exceptions and each case has to be determined on its own merits, but if a citizen stays on his own property and defends himself in good faith, with some level of reasonableness, then he won't be prosecuted for a criminal offense.
Hembree says it seems this kind of incident is becoming more common and that about once a year Horry County gets a homicide in a self-defense situation.
South Carolina law says citizens have a right to expect to be safe within their homes, businesses or vehicles.
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