Killing or Wounding to Protect a Property Interest *

A farmer in Iowa named Briney had a farmhouse in which he stored old furniture and odds and ends, including some antiques of undisclosed value. After several thefts, Briney rigged a spring gun in the farmhouse. ¹ At his wife's suggestion, he pointed the gun so that it would hit an intruder in the legs—not, as Briney had initially planned, in the stomach. A man named Katko, who had previously stolen goods from the place, broke in, triggered the spring gun, and was badly wounded in the leg. He was initially charged with burglary but later permitted to plead guilty to petty larceny, fined $50, and given a suspended jail sentence. He brought a civil suit against the Brineys, charging that his wounding was a battery, and won a jury award of $20,000 in compensatory and $10,000 in punitive damages. The verdict occasioned a public outcry, and proposed legislation (modeled on a recent Nebraska law) that would explicitly have authorized the use of deadly force in defense of property ² was narrowly defeated in the state legislature. ³ At this writing the case is awaiting decision in the Supreme Court of Iowa on defendants” appeal. ⁴