LA: No prison for man who shot graffiti writer: "A Lafayette man convicted of manslaughter for killing his former neighbor during a case in which he claimed he killed the victim in self-defense will not spend any time behind bars. District Judge Edward Rubin sentenced Jerry Steinle, 62, on Thursday for killing David Trahan, 40, of Lafayette, on Dec. 10, 2009. Rubin sentenced Steinle to three years of hard labor, suspended, and two years of unsupervised probation, according to Steinle's attorney, Thomas Guilbeau. On the day Trahan was killed, he was defacing a door on Steinle's house in the 300 block of Rena Drive when Steinle caught him in the act. An argument resulted, and Steinle pulled a gun and shot Trahan three times, including twice in the chest. At that time, Trahan was using a felt-tipped pen to write a defamatory message on Steinle's door. Trahan had also previously vandalized Steinle's home with another defamatory message."


Johnny Appleseed takes Manhattan: "Project Appleseed is a rifle training course combining marksmanship with a civics lesson. 'Good shooting requires learning positive traits such as patience, determination, focus, attention to detail, and persistence,' their website declares. 'Since these skills are likewise key elements of mature participation in civic activities, we urge our students to take what they have learned about themselves as marksmen and apply it to their participation in their communities and in the wider American society in accordance with their own choices about how Americans should govern themselves.'"


Are you authorized to defend yourself?: "What will you do if rioting sweeps US cities as it did British ones last week? Vigilantism is defined as 'Taking the law into one's own hands and attempting to effect justice according to one's own understanding of right and wrong.' Typically, it occurs when traditional law enforcement is absent, ineffective, or corrupt. When exercised in defense of person and property, vigilantism is the direct expression of an individual's right to protect himself or innocent others against aggression."