The right to keep and bear arms--a study of civilian homicides committed against those involved in criminal acts in metropolitan Dade County from between 1957 to 1982.

A study of civilian homicides in metro Dade County from 1957 to 1982 was performed. Cases in which civilians, not police, killed perpetrators of crime in order to protect life or property were collected and then analyzed as to age, race, sex, Spanish surname, alcohol, and location of incident of the victim. The method of homicide and, in more recent cases, drugs detected at autopsy along with prior arrest record of the victim were also noted. Graphical and statistical analysis on racial and ethnic variations in victims were also done. A total of 151 cases were studied.