Expert explains the one key difference between the shootings of Ralph Yarl and Kaylin Gillis
WASHINGTON, DC: A legal expert admitted there were striking similarities in the cases of two young people shot by homeowners last week, but pointed out one key difference in how they would play out in court. Ralph Yarl, 16, was shot when he rang the wrong doorbell when he was trying to pick up his younger siblings in Kansas City, Missouri, on Thursday, April 13. The teenager was released from the hospital on Monday, April 17, after being shot in the head and arm by Andrew Lester, 84.
On the other hand, 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis was in a car with friends looking for a friend's house in rural Upstate New York when they accidentally pulled into the wrong driveway Saturday night, April 15. Despite nobody exiting the vehicle, the homeowner Kevin Monahan, 65, went outside and shot at the group and hit Gillis who later succumbed to her injuries. While Monahan was quickly charged with second-degree murder, Lester was initially released after being held for just two hours. Prosecutors only charged Lester with first-degree assault and armed criminal action five days later and he has since been taken back into custody.
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Potential threat versus no threat
According to Henry Chambers, a law professor at the University of Richmond, the disparity in the two cases was likely because the case against Monahan was a lot more straightforward. "There can be a distinction between someone walking up to your door and entering the door versus you coming out of your house in order to shoot somebody," he told The Sun. Chambers explained that it will be difficult for Monahan to prove that Gillis and her group were a potential threat, which is required for a stand-your-ground defense. "It's kind of hard to argue that I needed to leave my house because I was afraid that people were actually actively breaking into my house when they never got out of the car," the professor said.
Meanwhile, since Yarl came right up to Lester's front door, the suspect can argue that he believed the teenager was trying to break into his domicile. Furthermore, the varying approaches to the cases may also have been due to variations in state law. Chambers noted that gun laws were generally stricter in New York than in Missouri. "People's visions of the use of weapons will be different in different places," he said. The law professor also explained the move to release Lester shortly after the shooting, saying the suspect's advanced age meant he was unlikely to flee. This likely made it easier for law enforcement to justify sending him home as they continue their investigation.
Uphill battle for both suspects
Having said that, both Monahan and Lester will likely face an uphill battle in court. "My guess is that the suspect will continue to say, 'I thought he was gonna break into my house,'" Chambers told the newspaper, adding, "He's got more latitude to use force if he says [that]." According to him, it will be hard to prove that was a reasonable deduction considering the details about the shooting that have been made public.
"What we've heard so far is that the young fellow rang the doorbell, stood back, and the next thing he knows, he gets shot twice," Chambers said, adding, "There's just no justification for [the shooting] if that's the way that this worked out." It's worth noting Lester was released on bail Tuesday night, April 18.