The Illustrated Guide to Criminal Law
Chapter 15: It Was Either Him or Me
Self-Defense pg 3: Mere Property
Eddie argues with Arnold, as Rico and his horse sneakily drag the steer away
EDDIE
What the hell is your problem, Arnold?
ARNOLD
You can’t use deadly force to prevent someone from stealing mere property!
Eddie and Arnold get in each other’s faces
EDDIE
I can threaten to shoot, can’t I?
ARNOLD
In some states, maybe.
But you were gonna shoot. (I know you, Arnold.) And you can never kill someone just to stop them from taking your stuff.
Eddie gives in as Arnold climbs onto (the wrong side, artistic license) of his horse.
EDDIE
All right, I get that mere stuff isn’t worth taking a life. But what can we do instead?
ARNOLD
We can use non-deadly force.
Now mount up. We’ve got ourselves a rustler to catch.