“A good shoot isn’t a good shoot until a prosecutor says it’s a good shoot — or a judge and jury says it’s a good shoot,” said Marty Hayes, founder of the Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Network, Inc., in our interview at the 2016 SHOT Show.
Marty’s point, to Jon Hodoway, the interviewer, is that while one may have acted by the book in one’s use of force, including deadly force, against an assailant it’s not considered lawful until the prosecutor, the judge, or the jury signs off on it.
As Marty goes on to say, “You can have a perfectly legitimate act of self-defense, but a prosecutor decide that I want to prosecute that person because my biases and my political agenda.” Simply put, one is not off the hook until the legal system runs its course. And as we all know, it’s not cheap to fight off criminal or civil prosecution.
So, what can you do to prepare against unmeritorious prosecution should you find yourself in the crosshairs of a feckless prosecutor following the use of deadly against an attacker?
Well, you can buy insurance. Essentially, that what the Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Network, Inc. is. It’s insurance against unmeritorious prosecution.
As a paying member of the ACLDN, one is entitled to certain benefits, such as $10,000 toward an attorney, up to $25,000 in bail money, access to use of force experts to help provide expert testimony, among others.
To become a member one must be a law-abiding resident of the U.S. Annual dues are $135 with 25 percent of that going directly to the legal defense fund. One can purchase a three-year membership for $295 or a 10-year membership for $790.
Find out more by visiting the ACLDN website.