The Posse Man's Death

A young man, aged about eighteen, was wanted on a theft warrant in the Indian Territory. A deputy marshal took a posse to arrest him. One posse member came upon him and fired first. The young man fired back and killed him. He says he did not know the man was an officer and shot only to save his own life. The law allows self-defence against a stranger who attacks, but the judge told the jury that the accused's own threatening conduct could take that right away.