Ralph Yarl Shooter Using Stand Your Ground Defense Is 'Nearly Impossible'

It will be extremely difficult for the man who shot 16-year-old Ralph Yarl to mount a successful defense under Missouri's "stand your ground" law, legal experts told Newsweek.

The honors student was shot after he went to the wrong home in Kansas City, Missouri, to pick up his younger brothers last Thursday night.

The teen was supposed to go to a residence on 115th Terrace to collect them, but instead showed up at Andrew Lester's home on nearby 115th Street at around 10 p.m.

Lester, an 84-year-old white man, told police he fired because he thought Yarl, who is Black, was trying to break in and was "scared to death."

He told police he had just gotten in bed when he heard the doorbell and picked up his revolver before answering the door.

According to the probable cause statement, he said he saw Yarl pulling on the storm door handle—something Yarl disputes. Lester told police he fired twice without saying a word.

Yarl said the first shot hit him in the head, causing him to fall to the ground. As he lay there, a second bullet hit his arm. "Don't come around here," Yarl said he heard Lester yell as he fled to avoid being shot again.

Lester was charged with first-degree assault on Monday, which carries a penalty of up to life in prison, and turned himself in on Tuesday. He also was charged with armed criminal action, which has a penalty range of three to 15 years.

The shooting outraged people in Kansas City and across the country, and prompted calls for Lester to be charged with a hate crime.

On Monday, Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said there is a "racial component" to the shooting, without elaborating. He later said nothing in the charging documents says the shooting was racially motivated.

He added that first-degree assault is a higher-level crime with a longer sentence.

Lester's arraignment is scheduled for Wednesday. An attorney was not yet listed for him.

Although it is not yet known if Lester will claim self-defense under Missouri's "stand your ground" law. the shooting has renewed attention on the laws, which have long played a role in the country's gun debates.

Missouri is among 30 states that have enacted "stand your ground" laws "applicable in all public places," according to the nonprofit Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. They allow for the use of deadly force if a person fears for his or her life.

Another eight states without those laws permit people to use deadly force in self-defense with no duty to retreat, based on court decisions and other factors.

"Stand Your Ground is going to be a nearly impossible defense to make" in this case, Duncan Levin, a criminal defense attorney, told Newsweek.

"To be successful, Lester will have to show that the victim, Ralph Yarl, was threatening him, and at least from what is publicly available, that does not appear to be the case."

Levin noted that the available information indicates Yarl "did not enter the home and Lester shot through the glass part of a locked door." It also appears that Lester did not call police, Levin said.

"Furthermore, to make out a successful Stand Your Ground defense, Lester would also have to justify why he shot a second time while the victim was already on the ground and clearly not a threat," he said. "All of the public information is inconsistent with a successful Stand Your Ground defense."

Neama Rahmani, an attorney and former federal prosecutor, noted that although states with "stand your ground" laws allow someone to use deadly force to protect themselves without having any duty to retreat, the force must be "reasonable and proportionate to the threat."

Lester "must have reasonably believed he was at risk of death or serious bodily injury when he shot Yarl," Rahmani told Newsweek. "That is going to be a tough hurdle for Lester to overcome."

Andrew Lieb, an attorney, agreed. Missouri's "stand your ground" law requires that Lester "reasonably believes such force to be necessary to defend himself," Lieb said.

"This situation is insane and any thought of a defense based on this law is either a misreading of the law or a miscarriage of justice," he said.

"I hope that even in your castle, someone ringing your doorbell could never create such a reasonable belief, ever, for anyone to shoot a kid in the head and then, again, when he is on the ground."

He added: "Simply, if you don't want to do the time, don't shoot people who ring your doorbell."