In declaring an "open season" on burglars who break into homes, South Carolina Attorney General Charlie Condon has instructed all solicitors, sheriffs and police chiefs in the state to refrain from arresting "citizens acting to defend their homes" with a firearm or other weapon.
... the attorney general sent a memorandum to all state prosecutors and law enforcement officials warning them not to arrest or prosecute people who defend themselves with "deadly force" against a "home invader."
..."As chief prosecutor of South Carolina, I am today declaring open season on home invaders," Condon said. "That season is year round. Citizens protecting their homes who use force -- even deadly force -- will be fully safeguarded under the law of this state and subject to no arrest, charge or prosecution.
"In South Carolina, would-be intruders should now hear this: Invade a home and invite a bullet," said Condon, a Republican.
...The policy serves as a warning to potential burglars, Condon said, about what "faces them" if they attempt to break into a home. And, he said, the policy would serve "to let homeowners know their rights."
The attorney general said existing case law in South Carolina "gives ironclad protection to the citizen in safeguarding his or her home.
"Inside the citizen's home, there are no legal technicalities for the criminal to rely on," he said. Courts have ruled that even deadly force may be used against a burglar "if such degree of force be reasonably necessary to accomplish the purpose of preventing a forcible entry against his will."
Condon said the new policy would actually help the state's police officers.
"Law enforcement officers cannot be everywhere at once," he said, noting that armed citizens protecting their homes would serve as a deterrent to crime, and lower crime rates and property loss.
"Home invaders will think twice and even a third time" before breaking in, he said, "knowing [they] risk … their own death … on the other side of the innocent homeowner's door."
"The home is the family's fortress of protection," he added. "When at home, people rightfully feel they are standing on sacred ground. The citizen's home is the line in the sand where criminals dare not cross."
Condon's policy appears to reflect the sentiment of most police chiefs and sheriffs across the country.
According to a 1999-2000 annual survey conducted by the National Association of Chiefs of Police, 93 percent of police chiefs and sheriffs who responded believe law-abiding citizens "should be able to purchase a firearm for self-defense or sport...."
