From what I know of the story, Joe Horn did the right thing considering who he was and the circumstances he was in. Would I do what he did? Probably not! I've read that there was an undercover cop that witnessed the entire exchange, that the burglars moved towards Joe in a threatening manner when he confronted them, etc. etc. I've also read about how the deceased were "good family men, shot in the back" according to local sympathizing liberal media, when in fact they were nothing more than illegal immigrants with rap sheets longer than a really long thing. A local race activist came to protest Joe's actions in his neighborhood and was met with a staunch counterinsurgency of Joe Horn supporters. Joe Horn was under scrutiny by a grand jury, but they decided not to indict, and thank goodness! Long live Joe Horn, and the Castle Doctrine!
Now, was he in the right? I guess that all depends. The fact that the grand jury declined to indict him leads me to believe that he did not break the law. Did he break some social norms? Definitely. These crooks had apparently been casing the neighborhood and hitting several houses while the occupants were away at work or on vacation, as was the case with Joe's neighbors. Another reason that I believe that Joe Horn probably did the right thing was the level of support he received from his own neighborhood.
Now, if I was in his situation, I don't think I would get involved. 1) I'm not too keen on shooting people, unless of course it is absolutely necessary, and 2) I'm not sure that people deserve to die for stealing consumer goods. If I had a video camera or something that I could use to record the incident, maybe, but even then, I wouldn't mind having a gun around in case the perps decided they wanted to mess with me as well, and if they did, well, that's where things would get interesting. I don't think Joe Horn really left his house with the intent to kill, but when the situation demanded it, he pulled the trigger. Multiple times. I'm pretty sure he just wanted to stop the crime, and that the deceased escalated the situation, which is pretty dumb, considering the fact that they had a big-bore weapon pointed in their direction.
I remember a story (I don't remember where) about some older guy that was having problems with teenagers breaking into his trailer, so he set up a shotgun trap at his door. The next time the kids broke in, on of them got his lower legs blown off and he bled to death on the guy's porch. That guy is now in jail, but I don't think he's in Texas. Interesting how all these moral ramifications just go away if the initial crimes are never committed...
--Geoff
Now, was he in the right? I guess that all depends. The fact that the grand jury declined to indict him leads me to believe that he did not break the law. Did he break some social norms? Definitely. These crooks had apparently been casing the neighborhood and hitting several houses while the occupants were away at work or on vacation, as was the case with Joe's neighbors. Another reason that I believe that Joe Horn probably did the right thing was the level of support he received from his own neighborhood.
Now, if I was in his situation, I don't think I would get involved. 1) I'm not too keen on shooting people, unless of course it is absolutely necessary, and 2) I'm not sure that people deserve to die for stealing consumer goods. If I had a video camera or something that I could use to record the incident, maybe, but even then, I wouldn't mind having a gun around in case the perps decided they wanted to mess with me as well, and if they did, well, that's where things would get interesting. I don't think Joe Horn really left his house with the intent to kill, but when the situation demanded it, he pulled the trigger. Multiple times. I'm pretty sure he just wanted to stop the crime, and that the deceased escalated the situation, which is pretty dumb, considering the fact that they had a big-bore weapon pointed in their direction.
I remember a story (I don't remember where) about some older guy that was having problems with teenagers breaking into his trailer, so he set up a shotgun trap at his door. The next time the kids broke in, on of them got his lower legs blown off and he bled to death on the guy's porch. That guy is now in jail, but I don't think he's in Texas. Interesting how all these moral ramifications just go away if the initial crimes are never committed...
--Geoff
