As a once-kid who used to take shortcuts across open ranch land, this bill would give land owners a license to kill:
The bill comes as an Arizona rancher awaits trial after he was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and aggravated assault for killing 48-year-old Gabriel Cuen-Butimea after he shot at a group of unarmed migrants walking through his 170-acre ranch outside of Nogales. Under its provisions, 73-year-old George Alan Kelly would have been justified for allegedly killing any of the migrants.
" B. A person may use deadly physical force under subsection A only in the defense of himself or third persons as described in sections 13-405 and 13-406. "
Yeah, it still doesn’t give a license to kill trespassers. Only ones that could be perceived as a threat to you or someone else, which basically means that them trespassing is moot since that rule is in place already under justified self defence.
The only change here really is clarification that any form of structure that could lodge humans you have a right to defend via threats of violence. You’re still not allowed to actually carry through those threats unless the trespassers get violent or threaten violence. Before a barn would likely not stand as being a building you’re allowed to defend via threats of bodily harm but now you can.
Which is exceedingly easy to argue when your opponent is dead. “They charged right at me”
The problem really would be if the police want to investigate properly or not. It’s often very easy to see if the body has been moved into a place where you’re allowed to threaten them, i.e. a “premise” as defined by the law in question. And further easy to see if any weapons present are planted or not. And wether any traces exist to prove or disprove the charge claim. Like footsteps, distance between where the shot was fired and the body etc. but it’s of course entirely possible that the Police go “his story checks out, the illegal charged him with a weapon”. Without doing any police work. But in that case very few laws help anyway.
“So I had to shoot them in the back, from 200 yards away”
No, you walk right up to them, rifle in hand, then claim to be afraid. We’ve seen it before (the case is in the article in fact).