Criminal Justice

Musician Shot in Deadly Force State

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A Texas keyboardist who played in two rock groups was shot and killed by a frightened homeowner three days after a new state law took effect that expanded the rights of crime victims to use deadly force to protect themselves.

Jeffrey Carter Albrecht, who played with Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians and the Dallas rock band Sorta, was shot in the head after he began banging on the door of his girlfriend’s neighbor at 4 a.m, the New York Times reports.

The neighbor fired a gun through the top of the door, thinking that Albrecht was breaking into his home, police said. Albrecht’s girlfriend said he was suffering a reaction from a combination of alcohol and an anti-smoking drug.

The new law expands Texas’ “stand your ground” law by permitting people to use deadly force to protect themselves in the workplace and in motor vehicles. The law already permitted people to use such force to protect their homes.

The new law also expands civil immunity for people who use such force.

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