Death Comes When Law Allows: These Two didn't Need to be Killed

  When a trail people are being killed because our laws are not just, it screams that those laws be changed.
   Makayla Yeaman, a drug addict who entered someone's home in 2018, gunned down in South Jordan when found hiding in a closet. The home occupant said he was but protecting his family.
   Bobby Ray Duckworth, who had been in court earlier in the day, who wanted to commit suicide-by-cop and the police officer responding knew as much. As he walked toward the officer, knives in each hand, the officer shot and killed him. The officer could have used a taser, could have retreated away on foot, or could have gotten back in his squad car and drove away. Instead, he shot the suicidal man dead.
   Duckworth's shooting came Sept. 10 -- one month ago today. I do not know how much fault should be found with the shooter. We do not know what was going through his mind. But, we can imagine officers are not trained to walk away, but rather to stand their ground.  "Put the knife down. I don't want to shoot you, but I will," the officer yelled at Duckworth.
   We should be able to see that Yeaman and Duckworth did not need to be killed. Our laws allowed it, though. When we have laws such as these, we should change them. Our Stand Your Ground law and our Castle law have loopholes in them -- the loopholes of death.