Spencer's Super-Happy Fun-Time Right-Wing Word Pit

Korynn's Blog for the day deserves a response. First of all. Korynn, I love you. Just have to say it. You do a really good job of expressing yourself and it is always refreshing to read your blog. That being said...

I was talking to one of my assistant Scoutmasters last night, Chris. Chris is a lawyer. He works in the criminal system as a defense attourney, prosecution, and does some judging in a county somewhere around here in TN. He is currently defending a 17 yr old girl on an assault charge.
Anyway, we talked about this very case last night.

I appreciate hearing the view of a defense attourney as well as the view of a dispatcher (former). It gives me (or at least I hope it does) some perspective on the matter.

So here is my opinion...
Good for him. No really, good for him. We all know that "when seconds count, the police are only minutes away". Not because police are slow, but because they have plenty to do. I want someone like that living next to me. But I think there is more to it than that. Here is a quote from Mr. Horn; "I know what a hero is, and that's not me," he said. "I'm a human being that was in a situation that I'd never been in before, and I didn't want to die."

I really feel like Joe felt that his life was in danger. I have been in that situation, except my neighbor was being raped. If I'd had a shotgun, I would have gone out, too. Now I know that in Joe's case, no one was being assaulted. But did we know whether or not the neighbor was home? The police report says that the men were burglarizing the neighbor's home. The common law definition of burglary includes: "The breaking and entering the house of another in the night time, with intent to commit a felony therein". It doesn't say to steal or to vandalize specifically, but to commit a felony therein. Did Joe know if his neighbor was home? Perhaps Joe thought that they would harm his neighbor or... if they found out that he wasn't home, they would turn their attention to him. Sound far fetched? Yes, until you understand the demographics.

Let's talk about Houston, Texas and illegal immigrants. According to many articles including this one from the International Herald Tribune, the great sport of kidnapping has spilled across the border and is becoming more commonplace. Also, Houston crime statistics are high. Infact, Houston's overall violent crime rate is twice the national average according to CityRating.com. Illegals are becoming more and more brazen in their crimes, especially the crimes of robbery and kidnapping. But these are 2003 numbers. I am sure that crime hasn't significantly reduced in the last 5 years. But hey.

The point is... He was scared. I have been there. You don't know what to do. You are half asleep, you say and do things in a fog of feer and grogginess that you wouldn't normally do.

Despite what Joe said to the dispatchers, his house was in danger and he needed to protect it. From the 911 tapes, about 2:10 in, he states that the 2 men focused their attention to his house. He states that they were standing in front of his house with a crowbar, but he didn't know if they were armed. From his account, he stepped out on his own porch to see if they were gone and it looked like they were to his relief. The men then approached him from around the corner of the other house. They approached him. He ordered them to stop or he would use deadly force. One of the men charged him. Joe was scared. It sounds like he got off as many rounds as he could.

Here's the thing, and this is what goes through your head in that situation. You think: "Are they coming for me next?" "What happens if they start shooting, will I get hit?" "The police aren't here yet and they are going to get away with hurting me or my neighbor."

I don't think that for one minute, even after hearing the 911 tapes, that Joe was vigilante determined. I think he was scared. You can hear it in his voice.

Now, I do think that if he had stayed in his house, he'd be OK. But the fact is, he stepped out, they came after him. Had they not, things would have been different.

But I think that he deserves a little credit. Illegal immigrants will think twice if their risk increases. Joe Horn just increased their risk.