MA: Grand Jury Finds Shooter Acted In Self-Defense: "A Grand Jury found on Tuesday that the accused murderer of Nikolas Carnute was acting in self-defense. The Wellington Avenue shooting of the 23-year-old Carnute on December 4, 2011 resulted in the arrest of Kurt Hudson, 25, of Pittsfield. Hudson fled to South Carolina, where he was apprehended a few days later. According to District Attorney David Capeless, after two days of testimony, the Grand Jury found that Carnute drew a gun on Hudson while Hudson sat in the driver's seat of a parked car. Hudson fired two shots out of the car window as he backed out of the Wellington Avenue driveway. One of those shots hit Carnute in the head. Carnute was transported to Berkshire Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Hudson then fled the scene and the gun Carnute used was not recovered because an associate of Carnute took it from the scene, according to Capeless."




GA: Self-defense shooting thwarts burglary, appears legal: "Aside from a 9 mm pistol and 16 years of military experience, Sgt. 1st Class Eddie Waiters was on his own in the wee hours of Tuesday morning when an intruder shattered his window and tried to open the front door of his house. But when Waiters opened fire and shot the would-be burglar in the groin, state law was also on his side, authorities determined after an investigation of the shooting. The suspect in the case, Melvin J. Jones, 47, [above] was believed to be unarmed. Still, Waiters’ reaction seemed to be a textbook example of a justified, self-defense shooting protected by statutes in Georgia and Alabama, according to law enforcement officials and attorneys."


OH: Woman who shot boyfriend acted in self-defense: "Reynoldsburg police reported that a woman who shot her boyfriend Saturday acted in self-defense. Terrance A. Hughes, 28, was fatally shot at about 10:50 a.m. Saturday at 9148 Firstgate Drive, in a house he shared with his girlfriend of three years, Reynoldsburg police Lt. Scott McKinley said. They recently moved to the area, just east of the Licking County line. The woman was able to obtain a gun that Hughes brought to the home and used it to shoot him, McKinley said. “The two got into an argument, she feared for her life and used force,” McKinley said. Hughes was pronounced dead at the scene. His death was ruled a homicide after an autopsy, Licking County Coroner’s Office investigator Mickey Lymon said. The investigation is complete, and no charges will be filed against the woman, McKinley said early Tuesday. Domestic disputes were not common for the couple, but Hughes had a history of altercations, McKinley said."


CA: High court OKs gun ban for misdemeanor criminals: "The U.S. Supreme Court turned down a Napa County man's challenge Tuesday of a California law that imposes a 10-year ban on gun ownership for anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime involving violence or threats of force. Rick Delacy's appeal was argued by a lawyer who also represents the National Rifle Association, and supporting arguments were also filed by the California Rifle and Pistol Association. They contended gun restrictions based on convictions for misdemeanors, punishable by no more than a year in jail, violate the constitutional right to possess firearms for self-defense that the Supreme Court recognized in 2008. They also argued that misdemeanor battery, Delacy's previous crime, is not necessarily violent."