Ault, Colorado



This isn't a terribly sympathetic person who did the shooting, but he appears to have been within his legal rights, and it sounds like he had good reason to be afraid for his life:

AULT - A Weld County man accused of killing his neighbor last week in a squabble over a barking dog will not be prosecuted. The district attorney says the shooting was justified under Colorado’s Make My Day Law.



Richard Hammock, 48, died Nov. 2 from a shotgun wound. His dog had been shot with a pellet gun and he went to his neighbor’s house to confront him about the incident.



Hammock was carrying a three-foot club when he went to 33-year-old Eric Griffin’s home. The district attorney says Hammock broke out the glass on Griffin’s front door and then Griffin shot him.



Griffin was arrested for the shooting, but district attorney Al Dominguez says he can't prosecute him because of the court's interpretation of the Make My Day Law. He says he believes it was a mistake for the state Legislature to pass the law.

If Griffin shot Hammock's barking dog (which seems at least open to discussion), then he certainly broke the law. But it still wouldn't justify Hammock going over to Griffin's house with a club, or breaking the glass on the front door.



I can see why Griffin might have felt legitimately afraid for his life. At least in most states, the moment when someone gets any part of their body through a broken window or door, they have committed breaking and entering.



The club could be interpreted as a sign of intent to attack Griffin. It could also be a sign that Hammock was afraid of Griffin--but if he was that afraid of Griffin, why did he go over there? Why didn't he call the police?