LANDLORD: CHANGE DEADLY FORCE LAW!

By Larry Ault/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF

A Pine Bluff woman charged with second degree battery following a 2005 incident in which her gun discharged during an altercation says her case illustrates why legislators should remove the requirement of Arkansas’ law that civilians retreat before they use deadly force.

Jean Painton of Pine Bluff, president of the Jefferson County Landlord’s Association, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday at the state Capitol that she was charged with a criminal offense and sued in civil court for attempting to intervene with a gun to help an 11-year-old at an apartment near her office.

One of five men who had broken into the rental apartment where the girl was staying allegedly grabbed Painton’s pistol and the gun went off and shot the man in the leg, she said.

State Sen. Jerry Taylor, D-Pine Bluff, sponsor of Senate Bill 2, that would have removed the retreat requirement, pulled the bill from consideration before a vote during a barrage of criticism in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Taylor blamed opposition from Arkansas prosecutors who do not support the proposed change in state law.

“Their objection is it takes away from their authority,” Taylor said. “You ought to have a right to defend yourself.”

Taylor said if a person meets deadly force with deadly force, they face the likelihood of being charged.

“Inside your home, it’s not a question,” Taylor said, explaining home owners are entitled to use deadly force to protect themselves in homes without fear of being prosecuted.

“My bill would make it any public place,” Taylor said. “I’m not giving in. I’ve got a ways to go.”

Taylor said he is considering expanding a person’s right to use deadly force to include “porches and front yards.”

A second bill filed by state Rep. Mike Burris, D-Malvern, is expected to be considered by the House Judiciary Committee.

State Rep. Earnest Brown of Pine Bluff said the Burris bill which was on the agenda of the House Judiciary Committee was differed and a hearing on it was not held Thursday.

The Arkansas Prosecuting Attorney’s Association described Taylor’s bill as “broad and vague” and Arkansas prosecutors oppose what are known as “stand your ground laws” as unnecessary.

Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Steve Dalrymple said members of the Arkansas Prosecuting Attorney’s Coordinator’s Office opposed the bills because prosecutors are concerned proposed changes may encourage a person to “be more aggressive in instances where deadly force is not justified.”

Painton questions the current law.

“The law says you have to retreat,” Painton said. “If you do not retreat, you will be sued. The prosecuting attorney will decide on whether they will file criminal charges.”

“Do you want the ramifications of being sued if you shoot someone?” she asked.

Painton said she was charged with second degree battery Aug. 19, 2005. The charge was nolle prossed in October of 2006, she said.

“I was assaulted. The guy pulled a gun out of my hand and it went off,” she said.

She didn’t reatreat at the rental property where the incident occured on West 12th Avenue, however, her gun was later confiscated, Painton said.

“They told me if I didn’t give them (law enforcement officials) my gun, they would take me to trial,” she said. “That rubs me the wrong way.”

“I don’t want this to happen to someone else,” she said.

Chuck Lange, director of the Arkansas Sheriff’s Association, said the “stand your ground law,” as the measures are known around the nation, is “going to be one of those hot topic items at the state Capitol.”

Lange admitted there is “some concern about the (Burris) bill” but said he is surveying Arkansas’ 75 sheriffs and cannot predict their responses. Lange said he doubted the two proposed bills would result in more people shooting indiscriminately at each other.

“As a civilian, I don’t have any problem with any of it. It offers some protection,” he said.

Under current law, Lange said if a person shoots someone in self defense they may be charged with manslaughter. Even if the charge is dropped later on, it can haunt a person later on in life, such as if they are job hunting.

“This bill affords the citizens some protection,” Lange said.

Lange said the proposed changes make it “harder for them to prosecute” a person who has used a weapon to defend themselves.

“Everyone is trying to come up with a ‘stand your ground’ bill,” Lange said, explaining the crime rate has dropped in Florida where similar legislation was adopted there. “Citizens are scared,” he said.

Lt. Bob Rawlinson, a spokesman for the Pine Bluff Police Department, said the department will support the law, “no matter what it is.”

“The law says you have a right to defend yourself including using deadly force,” Rawlinson said.

Every case involving deadly force is looked at individually, regardless of whether it involves a law enforcement officer or a private citizen, he said.

“We don’t advocate the non-discriminatory use of any weapon or deadly force,” he said.

After an investigation of an incident involving deadly force, Rawlinson said the evidence is turned over to the prosecuting attorney’s office for a decision on whether or not charges should be filed.