Mistaken for a prowler, an elderly man with Alzheimer’s was shot early Wednesday in rural Walker County, Georgia after approaching a house miles from his own. Authorities says the state’s "stand your ground" law may apply.
An investigation continues into the death of Ronald Westbrook,
72, who was shot in rural, northern Georgia’s Lookout Mountain
region by Joe Hendrix, 34, around 4 am (EST) Wednesday. Westbrook
was likely lost and confused when he rang Hendrix’s doorbell and
pulled on the house’s doorknob in Chickamauga, said Walker County
Sheriff Steve Wilson.
As his fiancee called 911, authorities say Hendrix ran outside
with a handgun to check his backyard upon hearing someone outside
his home. Hendrix told investigators he called at someone he saw
in silhouette who did not answer. When the person, Westbrook,
walked toward Hendrix, he fired his gun four times, once fatally.
"In my personal opinion, I believe that [Hendrix] should have
stayed inside the house," Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson
told the Times Free Press of Chattanooga, Tenn. "Did he
violate any laws by exiting the house? No."
Wilson said Wednesday it is up to the district attorney’s office
to determine whether Georgia’s "stand your ground" law
will apply in the case.
The state’s 2006 law states that a person "has no duty to
retreat" and has the right to "stand his or her
ground," including the use of deadly force pertaining to
self-defense of one’s home or property.
The law is modeled after a similar measure in Florida, which came
under national scrutiny following the shooting death of
Miami-area teenager Trayvon Martin by community watch volunteer George
Zimmerman, whose defense used part of the law to claim he shot to
protect himself.
"I'm certain the district attorney will certainly take that
code section, that law into consideration while he's reviewing
the case," said Wilson.
Critics say such laws make it difficult for prosecutors to charge
those claiming self-defense under precarious circumstances.
Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder in July as the
case also magnified the role race might play into such
self-defense laws.
Over 20 states have adopted similar measures after Florida passed
its own trailblazing law in 2005, which was heavily lobbied for by
the National Rifle Association and used as a model for other
states by the American Legislative Exchange Counsel (ALEC).
The state has not filed charges against Hendrix, who admitted to
the shooting, thus far. Wilson stressed the investigation is
ongoing.
"We feel like at this point that we should proceed cautiously
and with an open mind and let the evidence and the law take its
place," said Wilson.
Wilson said the case was difficult since he knew Hendrix
personally.
"He's a good man. I've known him. We attend church together.
We go to the same church. Just a fine man. A fine family,"
Wilson said, WRCB reported.
"There's no doubt in our mind that Mr. Hendrix and his fiance
felt threatened."
According to police, Westbrook, who his family says had been
suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for two years, had been
walking in the near-20 degree weather for four hours with his
dog, wearing only a light coat and a straw hat, before
approaching Hendrix’s home, possibly drawn by the house’s porch
light. Westbrook was clutching a piece of mail when he was found
by police.
Wilson said Westbrook’s wife didn’t realize he was gone until
after the shooting occurred.
"They just did not know that he had walked away until about the
time it happened. And it was just too late at that point. About
the time she discovered he was gone, the shooting had already
happened."
The sheriff added that the 911 recording makes clear the
dispatcher was not aware Hendrix had left the house. WRCB
reported it has made a request for the recording.
"Mr. Hendrix is clearly saddened and heartbroken," Sheriff
Wilson said, according to the Christian Science Monitor. "Mr.
Hendrix has to live with his actions for the rest of his
life."
Earlier this month, the civil rights leader Jesse Jackson’s
Rainbow PUSH coalition filed a lawsuit against Georgia for what
it alleges are uneven interpretations of the "stand your
ground'"law.
This week, Florida woman Marissa Alexander,
previously sentenced to 20 years in prison for firing a
“warning shot” during an altercation with her husband, was
released as she waited for a new trial after an appeals court
found that the judge presiding over her case did not properly
inform the jury what her defense was.
In 2012, Alexander was convicted on three counts of aggravated
assault with a gun, which required a mandatory minimum sentence
of two decades.
Before her conviction, Alexander argued that she fired the gun in
self-defense and attempted to invoke Florida’s "stand your
ground" clause. Alexander had an active restraining order
against her husband, Rico Gray, who had also previously been
convicted of domestic violence against her. She claimed Gray was
physically and emotionally abusing her before she fired the gun.
The “stand your ground” argument was thrown out by the
judge, however, because Alexander left the house to collect her
firearm. Prosecutors, meanwhile, claimed that the alleged warning
shot threatened Gray’s life since it flew past his head and into
a nearby wall.