I'd say your stance implies that what Joe Horn did was wrong, and that he "got away with murder". I really don't mean to put words in your mouth, just that's how it reads to me.
You read it correctly. I believe he got away with murder. I believe that what he did was wrong.
In my view, if those 2 guys were stealing something, they deserved to be shot.
That's pretty extreme, isn't it? You steal something from a house where there was no one, and that means you deserve to be shot and killed? What if it had been a kid stealing a pair of shoes from a shoe store? Would you say the store employees would be right in shooting the kid?
And they were. The law says so. Has some mincy conditions on when and where, but that's quibbling about physics and proximity of moving objects.
Some laws are written badly, as the Florida, and apparently Texas, SYG laws show.
In which case, Joe Horn, in doing the right thing,
I disagree. If the two guys had broken into Joe's home, then sure, he has at least a reason to fear for his life and defend himself by shooting the two guys. But that's not what happened. What happened was an old guy called 911 and told the dispatcher “Well here it goes, buddy. You hear the shotgun clicking and I’m going” after the dispatcher had told him not to go outside. This is a guy that decided he wanted to play hero and killed two guys that stole some stuff from an unoccupied home. To you he may have been doing the right thing. To me? Not so much.
Good. Two other guys lost their lives.
Did he go to jail? Nope. If you don't call killing two guys and getting off a win, I'm not sure what to tell you.
And blowing his whole wad on a grand jury which is "not a trial" is a pretty hefty cost.
Right, so losing your house is a fair punishment for killing two people, but stealing something means you deserve to get shot and killed? Doesn't really seem proportionate to the crimes, does it? Did the two burglars deserve to be punished? Of course they did. Killed? No. Arrest them and send them to jail. That's a punishment for burglary. Kill them for stealing a few things? Pretty damn extreme punishment.
I doubt he set out to murder 2 people when he woke up that day. He was an old retired guy. Not set to start over from scratch.
Well then maybe he should have stayed inside and not gone out to play hero. It doesn't really matter if he woke up that morning and set out to kill two people. The second he said “Well here it goes, buddy. You hear the shotgun clicking and I’m going," he was determined to shoot. So, if he lost his home? Doesn't really bother me. He lost his life savings? I don't really feel sorry for him. Two guys lost their lives, and Joe got to keep his freedom. He should feel lucky. And hopefully, one day, when Joe gets angry at someone, that person doesn't turn around and pop a few bullets in Joe's face. Then Joe can feel lucky that some people can be responsible gun owners that don't go out trying to play hero.
