Judge Throws Book at Trigger-Happy Homeowner

The Dearborn Heights, Mich., man who shot and killed 19-year-old Renisha McBride was sentenced to 17 to 30 years yesterday. Based on everything I'd heard about the case, this sounded about right. And after reading Boy Culture's recap of the case, I was ready to move on feeling some justice had been served.. But then I read the account of the tragic incident in -- of all places -- The New York Times, and suddenly I had considerably more sympathy for him:

I had heard she merely knocked on his door seeking help after her car broke down one night. In fact, The Times reports that she pounded on his front door, then went around and started pounding on the side door -- at 4:30 in the morning -- after smashing into a parked car. I agree 100 percent with the judge that making bad decisions does not mean you deserve to die. But witnesses at the scene described her as being "disoriented," refusing to stay at the scene, and refusing an ambulance despite being bloodied after smashing into another car, which has me wondering how bizarre and/or exaggerated her movements might have been on his porch and on the side of his house. (Read: scary to someone indoors who has no idea what is going on.)

To his state of mind, his car had recently been vandalized with a paint-ball gun.

The moral of this story remains the same: Don't go around SHOOTING PEOPLE. He should have merely called the police if he was frightened.

Still, I would sure like it if he could get 15 and George Zimmerman could get 15 instead of how things worked out. George Zimmerman created the situation with Trayvon Martin. This guy grossly mishandled a situation that was thrust upon him in the dead of night while he was sleeping. While I know for a fact I wouldn't have fired a gun through my screen door -- which I know is the point -- I'm not entirely sure how I would react in that situation either. So for that reason alone I have some sympathy.