Marq My Words

thedailywhat:

Maternal Instincts of the Day: The 18-year-old mother of a 3-month-old boy shot and killed a home invader after being told by a 911 dispatcher to “do what you have to do to protect your baby.”

Sarah McKinley of Blanchard, Oklahoma, called 911 after 24-year-old Justin Shane Martin broke into her mobile home. She told the dispatcher she had two guns in her hand, and asked for permission to shoot the intruder if he approached her.

“Well, you have to do whatever you can do to protect yourself,” said a Grady County Sheriff’s Office dispatcher according to just-released tapes of their conversation. “I can’t tell you that you can do that, but you have to do what you have to do to protect your baby.”

McKinley, who lost her husband to lung cancer on Christmas Day, eventually fired at Martin with a 12-gauge shotgun, who was reportedly holding a knife at the time.

No charges will be filed against McKinley, as authorities say she was acting in self-defense. Instead, prosecutors are charging Dustin Louis Stewart, Martin’s alleged accomplice, with first-degree murder.

“When you’re engaged in a crime such as first-degree burglary and a death results from the events of that crime, you’re subject to prosecution for it,” said attorney James Walters. 

[kfor / newsok.]

Moral of the story: Think twice before you break into an Oklahoma mother’s home.