You Be the Judge--A TOL Contest!
TOL is running a special contest for it's membership. The prize--a one year bronze subscription.:bannana:
The contest rules are simple. Read the case file below and based upon the information contained judge the guilt or innocence of the homeowmer, his son, and the two intruders. Then, as judge, pass sentence upon parties you deem to be guilty of criminal activity based upon scriptural standards of criminal justice. A select panel of TOL members will act as judges to determine which member judgement best reflects God's principles of criminal justice, and the membership will be awarded.
Any member who is not a TOL moderator or administrator or contest judge may enter. Christian or non-Christian poster's entries will be accepted--we know that there are non-Christians out there with knowledge of scriptures. If a subscriber wins the contest, the prize will be awarded to the non-subscribing member of his or her choice or he or she may elect to choose and name a smiley, subject to approval by Knight.
The contest will be judged on the following criteria, in this order of importance.
- 1. Adherence to biblical principles on the administration of justice. (50 points possible)
2. Logical and concise explaination of how guilt or innocence was determined in the case of the homeowner, his family members, and each of the intruders. (25 points possible)
3. Reference to applicable supporting scriptures in determining guilt or innocence--scriptures need not be quoted, merely cited and linked to BibleGateway.com. (15 points possible)
4. Layout, spelling, punctuation, and style. (10 points possible)
The contest will run from 12:01am EST Monday April 25--11:59 pm EST Sunday May 1. Each participant may submit one post only. The winner will be announced no later than Monday May 9. Once submitted, enteries may not be edited. Enteries are to be posted in this thread. Good luck! You may quote the following set up post in whole or part in your response. Submit your entries here.
Those of you who wish to comment on the contest or seek clarification of rules may do so IN THIS THREAD ONLY. Posts that are not entries will be deleted from the contest thread.
Judging Contest Case File
A woman is awakened by a sound at night. Thinking that her cat has knocked something off the mantle again, she gets up without waking her husband, and goes downstairs. She walks into the living room and suprises two men in the process of robbing her house. One man who is very young looking grabs her, puts a hand to her throat, and tells her to shut up or he'll kill her. The other man continues to remove electronics and other valuables.
Her husband wakes up. He calls for his wife and gets no answer. He hears muffled noises and unfamiliar voices from the first floor, and becomes suspicious. He gets his Colt semi-auto 45 out of the dresser drawer, inserts a magazine, and goes downstairs. He sees the two men, one still holding and threatening his wife. He shoots the man restraining his wife in the arm, wounding him slightly. The wounded man moves toward him and the homeowner shoots him in the chest. The other man runs toward the front door, which is located behind the homeowner. The homeowner shoots that intruder in the abdomen, which results in the intruder becoming permanantly paralyzed from the waist down. The homeowner then calls 911, and asks for police and ambulance service. He comforts his wife, who is sobbing and trembling. In the meantime, the intruder shot in the chest dies.
The homeowner's 17 year old daughter comes down stairs. She recognizes both intruders as friends of her brother. The police investigate the scene.and conduct interviews.
These are the results of the investigation--
- Neither intruder was armed.
The police determine that the homeowner's burglar alarm was disabled and that this was done from the exterior of the house.
The surviving intruder states that the homeowner's 18 year old son had given him information that allowed him to locate the alarm and disable it without tripping the alarm in exchange for drugs.
The alarm is of a type that would be difficult to detect. Only the homeowner and his wife know the code to disable the alarm for more than a 5 minute interval.
The surviving intruder has 4 prior convictions--possession of illegal drugs with intent to distribute, battery, and two convictions of burglary.
The deceased intruder is a 16 year old homeless kid with no prior offenses. The surviving intruder is 19 and lives with his mother.
Neither intruder is known to the homeowner and his wife.
The homeowner has had several conversations with his neighbors to the effect that whoever breaks into his house will be carried out feet first.
The homeowner's son states that he has never had any dealings with either of the two except that they occasionally played pick up basketball in a local park.
The homeowner's son tests positive for marijuanna. He states that he smoked half a joint with a person whose name he doesn't know in the park two days ago--just a guy who hangs around there sometimes.
The homeowner's daughter and his next door neighbor's 8 year old daughter state they have both seen the homeowner's son smoking and talking with both intruders in the local park, away from the basketball court.
Both intruders are black. The homeowner's and his family are white.
On a prior occasion, the home had been broken into, and the homeowner responded by buying several firearms and installing an alarm system. The gun he shot the intruders with was equipped with hollowpoint ammunition, combat sights, and a special high-capacity magazine.
Several neighbors state that the homeowner has a bad temper and has verbally abused several other neighbors for minor incidents in the past several months.
The homeowner is suspected, but was not charged, of shooting a local dog 2 weeks after he told the dog's owner that he did not want to see that dog defecating in this yard again, and that if he did not keep his dog out of the yard, he would see to it himself that the dog did not foul his lawn again.
A copy of In The Gravest Extreme, by Massad Ayoob, detailing self-defense techniques and advocating the use of deadly force to protect one's self and family, was found in the master bathroom.
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