Prosecutor clears amputee who shot attacker after losing prosthetic leg

A Tennessee prosecutor has cleared an armed amputee of any charges after he shot and killed a man who knocked off his prosthetic leg and kept beating him, a case Bearing Arms says shows why the right to self-defense matters most for those who can't outrun a threat.

Snapshot

According to Bearing Arms, a 24-year-old man was shot and killed in Johnson City, Tennessee in August after confronting another man over how he looked at his grandfather. The Johnson City Police Department determined the 24-year-old was the primary aggressor, and prosecutors ruled the shooting was justified self-defense.

Key points

• The confrontation: Authorities said the 24-year-old accused the other man of looking at his grandfather "in a disrespectful manner" and then turned physical.
• The injury: Police said the attacker threw the man to the ground so violently that it knocked loose his prosthetic leg, leaving him unable to flee.
• The shots fired: The man fired four rounds from a .38 caliber revolver as the attacker kept attacking him, striking him three times in the chest and arm, according to the police release.
• The legal outcome: Prosecutors concluded the shooting was self-defense, and Tennessee's Stand Your Ground law meant the man had no duty to retreat even if he'd been able to.
• The commentary: Bearing Arms' Cam Edwards argues the case illustrates how firearms let the disabled, elderly and physically outmatched defend their lives on equal footing with a stronger attacker.

Quick take

This case underscores a point gun owners raise often: a firearm doesn't require two good legs to work. Once his prosthetic was knocked off, the armed man had no way to run, and his revolver was the only thing standing between him and further injury or death. The ruling affirms that self-defense law doesn't ask victims to be able-bodied before it protects them.

Read the full story: bearingarms.com