I have a sister, who I am not close with at all, who told me a few years ago that she was abused by a husband, now ex. I am a nonviolent person, and like I said, not very close with my sister. Yet I could see myself threatening him with a taser (known to be a nonlethal weapon) if he continued to go after her and her kids. I would not threaten him with a gun because that could be deadly. Given that Alex got 3 months for what could have been 20 years, I think there were many mitigating circumstances.
I'm certainly not here to defend Alex. I'm just saying that his actions alone (before killing Charles) might be something we should not judge him on. I suspect most of the people here might not be so much different from me if someone were abusing their sister. I'm not saying any of us would kill because I would not. But a warning with a taser might be something many guys would consider for a sister in danger.