20/20 Friday, April 4

[nitrogen]

He should have talked to a lawyer before talking to anone else.

[frankie_the_yankee]

I watched this episode; I found the tone rather anti-gun all the way around.

It also made this issue more racially-charged than it probably was. This was more an issue of stupidity (on both sides) than race.

None of the actors in this situation are innocent. In spite of their money, the Cicarro family came off rather sleazy. The White family let their past in the old south prejudice them and cause them to act irrationally.

I'm afraid the evidence was stacked against Mr. White, and some of it was his own doing. I know nothing about New York's laws regarding self-defense, but I would have more sympathy for him had he stated that Dano Cicarro grabbed for his gun and he fired intentionally to keep him from taking it and using it against him. The fact that the blood was at the driveway's entrance doesn't look well for him either. It appears most avoidable.

I can understand wanting to protect your family, especially if you believe you see a lynch mob outside. I certainly wouldn't go out there to take it on. A wiser course of action would have been to wait inside the house with the guns ready while talking to the 911 dipatcher. Had Mr. White done that instead, and Dano Cicarro chose to start beating down the door in his drunken state, I think there's a chance Mr. White could have remained a free man, even in New York.

As for the 15-year-old girl that thought Aaron White was making threats toward her, she should have definitely taken action, but not the type she did. You don't ask a spoiled, drunken idiot for help in these instances. You tell your family, go to police, and keep your house guns handy.

I do believe you nailed it, in all respects.

[45 4 life]

[quote=

Black Father should have gotten life on this one no matter which story is true.

Why do you say that?

Imagine people are trespassing on your property. You go outside and tell them to leave. They refuse to leave and instead advance toward you. You display a firearm and repeat your legal order to get off your property. They continue to advance in the face of the gun. They grab at you and there's a struggle. Should you get life in prison if you shoot one of them in the struggle?

You should do everything in your power to prevent a struggle, and that includes staying in your home.

We pay our police to come to our house's and tell someone in our yards to leave. I would call 911, remain armed, hidden, and continue to watch the intruders. If circumstances degenerate to the point of confronting the BG I will make every attempt to insure my backside is covered. If it comes to pointing a gun at somone, I am not pointing, I am aiming. There will not be a struggle for the weapon with that individual.

If you walk outside and confront intruders, how do you know the ones you see are the only ones there. You could go out one door at the same time somone is coming in your house through another door or window. You should never give up your advantage of cover. In the case of dad and son, who is to say there wasn't a second group of trouble makers in a side yard, or drive. If they enter your residence then it is up to you how you handle that situation. I will issue only one verbal warning if circunstances allows it.

I am in no way suggesting that you do not have the right to go outside and order someone off of your property. I have done it before and will do it again. However I let the circumstances dictate how I handle each situation. The white son was angry, and looking for a fight. Black dad and son knew this before leaving the house. That is why they were armed. That is a situation that we sould never place ourselves or families in.

There is a chance this could be called premeditated murder. Who is to say that black son did not tell black dad about trouble coming, and black dad armed himself and son with the intent to shoot white son. It would be a stretch, but is possible. That is what makes this in my opinion inexcusable actions on the part of black dad, and those actions contributed to the death of white son.

I am all for self defense, and If someone is wrongfully charged with a crime, I will support that person as much as I legally can. However, I am just as passionate when someone misuses a firearm. The anti's try to paint the picture that we are all a bunch of gun toting fools, and that what has happened here could happen with anyone of us.