Another Self Defence Story

Following on from the recent case of Munir Hussain, we get another story about self defence. This one.

Builder David Fullard, 46, from Brough, East Yorkshire, was prosecuted for attacking Michael Severs, 22, after using a “battlefield weapon” to defend his home when he and Michael Smith, 19, forced their way into his home. However he was cleared of unlawful wounding in November last year following a nine-month legal battle.

In this instance, the householder was confronting intruders while in the home, which is just enough to change matters, which is why this jury reached a different decision to the one in the Munir Hussain case. And correctly so.

The court heard that Severs and Smith, who were high on drink and drugs, vaguely knew Mr Fullard’s eldest son Tom, 17, and knocked on the door of the family home claiming he owed them £5. The pair then barged into the living room and threatened Mr Fullard’s long-term partner Susan Neal, 53. Mr Fullard’s youngest son Danny, 14, was also in the house.

“I wanted the flat of the sword to hit him. I hit him once. I thought he was going to kill me or put me in hospital. I thought to myself he is going to take me apart,” Mr Fullard told the jury.

“If there had been a walking stick there. I would have hit him with a walking stick. I just wanted to stop him.”

I would argue that this was reasonable force. The jury clearly agrees. These people were in Mr Fullard’s home and threatening him, so he reached for whatever was nearest to defend himself. This is the very definition of self-defence. What beggars belief is that it took nine months to reach that conclusion. Frankly, it beggars belief that it got beyond the original investigation, as this was a clear case of self defence.

The prosecution had argued that the use of the Samurai sword was a case of self defence gone too far.

No. It could have been anything that came to hand. That it was a Samurai sword was merely fortunate – although a little lower might have been more appropriate, that’s what the Samurai would have done and Mr Severs would have lost rather more than an ear…