The homeowner who fatally shot a 20-year-old University of South Carolina student who tried to enter the wrong home on the street he lived on Saturday morning will not face charges because the incident was deemed “a justifiable homicide” under state law, Columbia police announced Wednesday.

Police said the identity of the homeowner who fired the gunshot that killed Nicholas Donofrio shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday will not be released because the police department and the Fifth Circuit Solicitor’s Office determined his actions were justified under the state’s controversial “castle doctrine” law, which holds that people can act in self-defense towards “intruders and attackers without fear of prosecution or civil action for acting in defense of themselves and others.”

  • bi_tux@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Depending on the gun they maybe wouldn’t have killded him, even if they hit them. Also if you are already jumping at someone with a knife, it’s not that much easier to stop than a gunshot.

    • blazera@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Yes it is. Take a look at gun homicides vs knife. Guns are more deadly and we have the deaths to prove it.

    • Tavarin@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      Stab wounds are far less deadly, and far more treatable compared to gunshot wounds.

      • Laticauda@lemmy.ca
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        1 year ago

        You’re right, and there are lots of studies backing this up. Even if you compare similar wounds like neck wounds from stabbing vs getting shot, and getting stabbed in the heart vs being shot in the heart. Stab wound victims are much more likely to survive than gunshot wound victims.