# Legally what would happen if I shot Osoma Bin Ladin inside the USA **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 23, 2002, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-what-would-happen-if-i-shot-osoma-bin-ladin-inside-the-usa/133599 "2002-10-23T23:33:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-what-would-happen-if-i-shot-osoma-bin-ladin-inside-the-usa/133599/1 "2002-10-23T23:33:33Z")
If I saw Osoma walking down the street in the USA and took the gun I have for home defense and shot him. I would think I could claim I was acting as part of the US unorganized militia but don’tbreally know. Would that even be a defense? Can I legally do this? ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-what-would-happen-if-i-shot-osoma-bin-ladin-inside-the-usa/133599/2 "2002-10-23T23:35:57Z")
I’m sure the local police and the FBI will bring you in for questioning. No matter how loathsome someone is, you just can’t take the law into your own hands and kill someone. I wouldn’t want to go to court with the unorganized militia defense. It could work. I’m sure juries would be sympathetic. I suppose you would want to be damn sure who you were killing and why. If you just shot some tall Arab man because you thought he looked Osama bin Laden, then you’ve got big problems. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-what-would-happen-if-i-shot-osoma-bin-ladin-inside-the-usa/133599/3 "2002-10-24T00:10:59Z")
Don’t do it! First, the Brady nuts would come in and scream that you shouldn’t have been allowed to have that gun, carry i concealed in public, etc. Then you get sued by Al-Qaeda for violating his civil rights! Jesse Jackson will come in and scream that you’re a bigot! Then you’ll be arrested and charged with murder, conspiracy (this thread is evidence of that:D) carrying a concealed weapon, discharging a firearm within city limits, etc. You shoot the most loathsome man in recent history and you end up on death row!😛 ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-what-would-happen-if-i-shot-osoma-bin-ladin-inside-the-usa/133599/4 "2002-10-24T00:16:46Z")
LOL **pkb** (but unfortunatly I could see it happening) ---
**Author:** ![tsunamisurfer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@tsunamisurfer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tsunamisurfer)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-what-would-happen-if-i-shot-osoma-bin-ladin-inside-the-usa/133599/5 "2002-10-24T00:20:03Z")
No D.A. with career aspirations would prosecute you. Any conceivable American jury would exonerate you. The judge would shake your hands, after the trial, in the elevator. Also this: You would be a worldwide media phenomenon. You could nail down a good living on the lecture tour. You could spin it into a book. Al Qaeda would spend the rest of your life trying to destroy everything you’ve ever cherished. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-what-would-happen-if-i-shot-osoma-bin-ladin-inside-the-usa/133599/6 "2002-10-24T00:46:57Z")
Truth to tell, it doesn’t matter what the law says, if you whack 'em, you’ll be a national hero and can expect a Presidential pardon the moment word of your prosecution gets out. ---
**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-what-would-happen-if-i-shot-osoma-bin-ladin-inside-the-usa/133599/7 "2002-10-24T00:52:00Z")
tsunamisurfer’s right. But that’s after the authorities have conclusively proven that it reall was Osama you shot. You’d be in custody until then, and then in protective custody for the rest of your life. And very likely technically guilty of at least second-degree murder, but, as stated, no jury would convict you. And I’m paranoid enough to wonder about how TPTB would react if a private citizen finds and kills Osama, pretty much without trying, where they had failed for years. I don’t think they’d be too happy. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-what-would-happen-if-i-shot-osoma-bin-ladin-inside-the-usa/133599/8 "2002-10-24T00:55:25Z")
What’s the TPTB? ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-what-would-happen-if-i-shot-osoma-bin-ladin-inside-the-usa/133599/9 "2002-10-24T00:59:50Z")
“The Powers That Be” ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-what-would-happen-if-i-shot-osoma-bin-ladin-inside-the-usa/133599/10 "2002-10-24T01:07:49Z")
I hate to be a voice of dissent in the orgy of self-congratulation going on above, but at the very least let me point out that the President has no particular power to pardon the offense described in the OP. Murder, or its lesser-included offenses, is a state crime, and it would fall to the particular governor to issue any pardons. - Rick ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-what-would-happen-if-i-shot-osoma-bin-ladin-inside-the-usa/133599/11 "2002-10-24T01:19:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TheLoadedDog \* > \*\*“The Powers That Be” \*\* :smack: > [@](#): > > I hate to be a voice of dissent in the orgy of self-congratulation going on above, but at the very least let me point out that the President has no particular power to pardon the offense described in the OP. Murder, or its lesser-included offenses, is a state crime, and it would fall to the particular governor to issue any pardons. I’m sure that the governor would be more than happy to issue a pardon, especially when hordes of folks armed with torches and pitchforks showed up outside the governor’s mansion to express their displeasure. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-what-would-happen-if-i-shot-osoma-bin-ladin-inside-the-usa/133599/12 "2002-10-24T01:39:21Z")
I bet it would pretty tough to find any witnesses to testify at the murder trial. I’m sure I wouldn’t have seen anything. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-what-would-happen-if-i-shot-osoma-bin-ladin-inside-the-usa/133599/13 "2002-10-24T01:39:25Z")
Probably more pitchforks than torches. Presumably, mobs use flashlights now. ---
**Author:** ![Dravin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dravin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dravin)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-what-would-happen-if-i-shot-osoma-bin-ladin-inside-the-usa/133599/14 "2002-10-24T01:51:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BobT \* > \*\*Probably more pitchforks than torches. Presumably, mobs use flashlights now. \*\* Mobs lack so much style nowa days, it’s just not an angry mob without the torches. ---
**Author:** ![Slugworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4bbf92/32.png) [@Slugworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slugworth)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-what-would-happen-if-i-shot-osoma-bin-ladin-inside-the-usa/133599/15 "2002-10-24T01:53:23Z")
Isn’t there a dead/alive price on his head? Who can legally kill him to get that bounty? Surely not a soldier, so I imagine an American civilian could kill him and not only not get jailed for it, but get a reward… ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Hand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mr.Hand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Hand)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-what-would-happen-if-i-shot-osoma-bin-ladin-inside-the-usa/133599/16 "2002-10-24T01:54:43Z")
What happened to Jack Ruby? ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-what-would-happen-if-i-shot-osoma-bin-ladin-inside-the-usa/133599/17 "2002-10-24T01:57:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bricker \* > I hate to be a voice of dissent in the orgy of self-congratulation going on above, but at the very least let me point out that the President has no particular power to pardon the offense described in the OP. Murder, or its lesser-included offenses, is a state crime, and it would fall to the particular governor to issue any pardons. > > - Rick bin Laden is also wanted on federal charges. So the President would be very well within his authority to grant a pardon upon any federal conviction, including federal murder charges. “The Rewards For Justice Program, United States Department of State, is offering a reward of up to $25 million for information leading directly to the apprehension or conviction of Usama Bin Laden. An additional $2 million is being offered through a program developed and funded by the Airline Pilots Association and the Air Transport Association.” Source: [http://www.fbi.gov/mostwant/topten/fugitives/laden.htm](http://www.fbi.gov/mostwant/topten/fugitives/laden.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Kyomara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8edcca/32.png) [@Kyomara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyomara)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-what-would-happen-if-i-shot-osoma-bin-ladin-inside-the-usa/133599/18 "2002-10-24T02:35:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr. Hand \* > \*\*What happened to Jack Ruby? \*\* > [@](#): > > [Ruby was arrested, tried, and sent to prison; he died there of cancer in 1967.](http://www.who2.com/jackruby.html) I suppose that by rights and by law the same thing _ought_to happen to you, but this whole discussion is pretty silly (no offense or ridicule intended) since OBL _ain’t_ gonna come walking down your street any time soon. ---
**Author:** ![Kyomara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8edcca/32.png) [@Kyomara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyomara)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-what-would-happen-if-i-shot-osoma-bin-ladin-inside-the-usa/133599/19 "2002-10-24T02:44:12Z")
Remember also that like Jack Ruby killing Lee Harvey Oswald, Osama’s death would mean that no one would be able to question him. A massive resource in the war on terrorism would be lost forever, and it would be your fault. The authorities probably wouldn’t like that. Didn’t I just call this discussion pretty silly? aarrrrggghhH!!! ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-what-would-happen-if-i-shot-osoma-bin-ladin-inside-the-usa/133599/20 "2002-10-24T04:08:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kyomara \* > Remember also that like Jack Ruby killing Lee Harvey Oswald, Osama’s death would mean that no one would be able to question him. A massive resource in the war on terrorism would be lost forever, and it would be your fault. Had he been captured, could we say that Hitler would have been a massive resource in the war on Nazism? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-what-would-happen-if-i-shot-osoma-bin-ladin-inside-the-usa/133599.md?page=2)