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Colorado prosecutor said he's frustrated that the state's "Make My Day"
law prevents him from charging a man who killed an acquaintance during a
drunken brawl that spilled into his home, becoming the latest test to
self-defense gun laws nationwide..
The New Year's Day shooting
involving "foolish, drunken children" likely was not what lawmakers had
in mind when they adopted Colorado's law, Mesa County District Attorney
Pete Hautzinger said. It protects homeowners from prosecution for using
deadly force when someone illegally enters their home and there's reason
to believe that person will commit a crime.
Self-defense laws
like Colorado's have received renewed attention recently after deadly
shootings in Montana, Minnesota and Nevada.
After a six-month
investigation, Hautzinger decided last week not to file charges against
Joseph Hoskins, 36, in the death of Randy Cook, 47.
After a
night of drinking at a party in the western Colorado city of Grand
Junction, Cook and another man went to fight Hoskins outside his house.
The fight moved inside and to Hoskins' bedroom, where the homeowner said
Cook tried to snatch away his shotgun. Hoskins tackled Cook and shot
him, according to Hoskins' account of the night, which was relayed to
investigators through an attorney.
"These grown men, otherwise
basically upstanding, law-abiding citizens, are acting like drunken
children, and as a result, a good man got killed, and I can't hold
anyone accountable for it in the criminal justice system," Hautzinger said.
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