Various courts to include the US Supreme court has ruled on deadly force issues. The guiding principle is what did individual know at the time. The courts can't rule with what has been called "20/20 hindsight". It has been presented that at the time he witnessed his wife in what appeared to be distress and she verbalized that she was being raped. Furthermore the "victim" was probably given little if any time to explain the situation. The husband seeing this acts in such a manner as that he believes he is defending his wife. I do believe in Texas it's still legal to carry, I'll have to defer to Texas residents on this. He will more than likely see no charges as murder or manslaughter. Now there is the possibility that he could face reckless discharge or it's equivalent etc (sorry from Illinois and familiar with Illinois laws, not Texas). The real kicker may come in the form of a civil lawsuit filed by the "victims" next of kin.
If this were a case in Illinois it would be covered by what is termed the "Felony Murder Doctrine". Simply put, if a person acts in such a way to further or facilitate the murder of another, even though they may not have committed the act of murder they can be charged with the crime.
As far as killing someone after a rape, again I defer to residents of Texas. In Illinois Rape is a Forcible Felony. Rules for Forcible Felonies in Illinois differ greatly than for non Forcibles and Misdemeanors. The to apply to this particular situation are:
1. What is rape in Texas (Forcible Felony/ Felony etc) and what are the applicable use of force options for
a subject fleeing the scene of said crime
2. What does the laws are pertinent to define residence and property
3. What are civilians permitted to do while carrying firearms and upon seeing what they believe to be a
crime of force
4. What was the husband's mental state at the time
And don't think that anyone else in that situation would not act similarly. I've dealt with rape victims, and the victim's family. You would be surprised what even the most mild mannered human is capable of in a particular situation.
Heat Of Passion defense only when the person comes across their spouse who is actually in the sex act or compromising situation. The person then acts out of rage due to the fact that they have caught their spouse cheating. In this particular circumstance she did lie to police to indicate she was raped after the "victim" had been shot. So even after firing the shot, the husband was still in the frame of mind that his wife was being raped.
Last edited by wileyford (2007-04-04 11:43:26)