Fla. mom gets 20 years for firing warning shots

[Skeeter Barnes]

14. People see the good guys in movies fire warning shots so they think its a good idea.

It's reckless discharge of a firearm and it's illegal. If you are being attacked, fire at the attacker if you fear grave bodily harm. If you are not in fear for your life, don't pull the trigger. IIRC, she fired two shots. That's two fewer rounds available to her if she actually did need to stop the guy.

More recently, Case Nine took place in the Southeast. A young man was violently attacked in a driveway—as he tried to exit the scene, and when the side window of his car was smashed in by one of his multiple assailants, he came up with a .38 and fired, stopping the attacker, who died from the gunfire. As he backed into the street, he fired again into the air. He said later that he did so to keep them from harming him. That single bullet, intentionally fired upward, buried itself harmlessly in a building. A skilled defense lawyer won him an acquittal on the grounds of self-defense for the fatal shooting itself, but the jury found him guilty of the lesser included offense of recklessly firing that last shot, and he wound up serving hard time with a criminal conviction on the record for the rest of his life.

The bottom line is, there are good reasons why police are forbidden to fire warning shots, and why wise armed citizens don’t put the warning shot in their repertoire of defensive responses. Be able to explain why you didn’t fire a warning shot…and share with those who seek your advice why they shouldn’t fire one, either.

http://www.tactical-life.com/combat-handguns/warning-shot-misconceptions/

20 years in prison is insane, though. There needs to be some way for judges to show some leniency. She wasn't in trouble before and this was a threatening situation for sure.