Electrically boobie-trapping an aluminum sash window

[Oren]

Yes! 1986 in Miami.

But don't be 'stoooopid' and try it, you will not get off like this guy did.

Post a sign: "Can you catch bullets in your teeth"

[The Daring Dufas]

I've often wondered about this: If a booby trap is illegal, would a remote controlled weapon be illegal if it could only go off if you triggered while watching the perp on a video system or periscope? If you're on the second floor, you hear a noise, look out the window to see a do-bad prying open a first floor window and you hit the switch that supplies power to that old power company transformer you found in the woods which when hooked up in reverse takes the 240 volts from your house and turns it into 4,160 volts applied to the window frames, would that be illegal? Just wondering. 8-)

I swear officer, a bolt of lightning came out of the clear blue sky. It must have been punishment from a higher power (no pun).

TDD

[The Daring Dufas]

Maybe he's European?

TDD

[The Daring Dufas]

I caught part of one of those cops shows some time back and the police were after a drug dealer. After the police smashed their way into the alleged drug dealers apartment and apprehended him, one of the criminal charges was "Making it difficult for police to break in." I was astonished at that and left wondering what jurisdiction it was that had such a law? I wonder if there is a requirement in that jurisdiction that citizens provide a special key to government agents so they may easily bypass their burglar bars?

TDD

[Robert Green]

" [e-mail]" wrote

Are you planning to be home when this happens? That's the only way you could claim a no-retreat "castle defense." Otherwise it sounds just like pre-meditated murder which. Depending on how ugly you are (jury sympathy factor) and the length of your criminal record, a window-sash electrocuter could get you the death sentence.

Ironically, in the State of Florida you get a choice of deaths and electrocution is one of them but probably not by window sill, though. You'd need Johny Cochrane to get you off on a charge like that and that's ain't happening 'cause he be DEAD. (But his chain of law firms took a long time figuring that out, judging by their TV ads.)

-- Bobby G.

[Robert Green]

(-:

[HeyBub]

Wow!

It wouldn't be too hard to reinforce a door such that the cops couldn't knock it down with the stuff they normally carry (solid steel fire door, refinforced door jambs set in concrete, bars, etc.).

They'd have to call the fire department, which is terribly embarrassing.

The cops would not be in a good mood once they DID get in.

[Robert Green]

You've got the right idea. It's a number one dopey thing to do. But I doubt he would go down for only manslaughter. Maybe if it's Christmas Eve and the DA just won the lottery and felt generous.

It's murder one because a) he came here and asked for advice on how to do it and b) was told of the legal jeopardy issues by many posters. If he still built his sashocuter after knowing all this, it's premeditated murder. It's almost a text-book example of premeditation. We're the meditating part.

While human beings get hot enough to kill over property crimes, the cold dispassionate law doesn't see it that way. Still, I believe it's not an insignificant number of murders that are committed every year over property crimes, and IIRC they are a close second domestic abuse murders.

Some of those killings are truly manslaughter where no one started out with an intent to kill but some guy catches some other guy stealing his brand new (insert stealable item name here) and brains him with a piece of rebar that was just lying around. Could be murder two, could be manslaughter. Depends how many whacks he gave him, etc. I wonder how many people have met their maker at the end of a section of rebar? I'll bet it's more than 100.

-- Bobby G.

[jeff_wisnia]

That thought occured to me, but the OP mentioned "115 volts" which pretty much said he wasn't on the right side of the pond.

Jeff

[The Daring Dufas]

Darn Euros, we can't get them to stay home!

TDD

[The Daring Dufas]

A while back there was a news story about a local machine shop owner who killed a burglar who broke into his business one night. The dead perp was found with a screwdriver in his cold dead hand. No charges were brought against the machine shop owner and there were no more reported burglaries of his business.

TDD

[The Daring Dufas]

I had never heard of such a criminal charge. It reminded me of a law here in Alabamastan where those caught with illegal drugs are charged with "Failure to affix a tax stamp" I have actually asked a couple of sheriffs where such tax stamps can be purchased? One didn't know if the stamps were available and another said they were. It's not illegal for law enforcement personnel to lie to a citizen. :-)

TDD

[Robert Green]

Excellent summary. The law rarely equates the value of property with that of life, even a low-life scum-sucking house burglar. You can take a life defending your life, but taking a life defending only property is probably going to get your butt in jail. Obviously any sort of "deadfall" that operates when you're not even there is equating the value of your property with that of a human life. Courts almost uniformly are against taking the law into your own hands because it cuts them out of the loop. (-: As you noted, the law is mostly concerned with you accidentally executing a public servant like a cop or a fireman.

-- Bobby G.

[Proteus]

An Alarm Co. like Slomin Shield or ADT would be best. Or go with the best solution here, hide cameras pointed at the exposed windows, and get them on video inside your property.....Good luck....I'd bait them and wait for them inside right next to the windows with a phone and a bat.

[HeyBub]

TEXAS PENAL CODE: Sec. 9.42. DEADLY FORCE TO PROTECT PROPERTY. A person is justified in using deadly force against another to protect land or tangible, movable property: (1) if he would be justified in using force against the other under Section

9.41; and (2) when and to the degree he reasonably believes the deadly force is immediately necessary: (A) to prevent the other's imminent commission of arson, burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, theft during the nighttime, or criminal mischief during the nighttime; or (B) to prevent the other who is fleeing immediately after committing burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, or theft during the nighttime from escaping with the property; and (3) he reasonably believes that: (A) the land or property cannot be protected or recovered by any other means; or (B) the use of force other than deadly force to protect or recover the land or property would expose the actor or another to a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury.

[HeyBub]

HF has them for $35.00.

You'll also need a video capture board (mine cost $11.00) for your PC.

[HeyBub]

But it IS against the law to lie to the government.

[The Daring Dufas]

Government of the people, by the people and for the people? So, cops can lie to the government? 8-)

TDD

[leonard hofstadter]

well, don't do what this guy did:

[JoeSpareBedroom]

That's one way to clean up the gene pool. Duh.