Joe Horn of Pasadena, Texas - Not Guilty Of Killing Illegals

[LeavingMass]

Actually,

The law that I read (please someone correct me if I am wrong), you are NOT allowed to protect your neighbor's property, you are only allowed to protect YOUR property....

You are CORRECT , Joe Horn was on Good Morning America this morning, and GMA pointed out where the Author of the Castle Doctrine reinforced that. ( will wait til GMA transcript is available to link )


my take on the case

Joe Horn is no hero, he gives gun owners a bad rep

[Bohemian]

Actually,

The law that I read (please someone correct me if I am wrong), you are NOT allowed to protect your neighbor's property, you are only allowed to protect YOUR property.

I am not saying he was wrong, and hey, they were criminals anyway, but I just can't justify shooting them in the back over some personal property. Then again, I wasn't there, I don't know what happened, as there is no video.

WRONG...

The TEXAS LAW Specifically spells it out; it was on Fox News Last Night... Clear and Concise...

Joe Horn followed the letter of the law despite how he has been vilified...

That is why the grand jury did not indict him; he did not break the law...

This has nothing to do with the Castle Doctrine in this scenario...

Now if he lived in New York, Massachusetts, California, or Illinois it would be a different story...

he'd be on death row with Barack Obama waiting to pull the switch...

[tbone1964]

Okay Based on what i ahve read and heard on the news John Horn didnt shoot anyone "in the back", When the illeagals saw him with the gun and hopped the fence into Mr Horns yard they were facing him, not away from him, the act of jumping the fence and approaching Mr Horn will in the commision of a felony, gave the impression that Mr Horn was in dire threat of great bodily harm, as outlined by texas law and was there by justified in his actions. Had the criminals upon seeing Mr horn armed and decided to split, then the outcome would indeed be very different.

[Bohemian]

Okay Based on what i ahve read and heard on the news John Horn didnt shoot anyone "in the back", When the illeagals saw him with the gun and hopped the fence into Mr Horns yard they were facing him, not away from him, the act of jumping the fence and approaching Mr Horn will in the commision of a felony, gave the impression that Mr Horn was in dire threat of great bodily harm, as outlined by texas law and was there by justified in his actions. Had the criminals upon seeing Mr horn armed and decided to split, then the outcome would indeed be very different.

please re-read post #1 coming from primary sources...

Joe Horn shot both illegal aliens in the back and as I see it; they got what was coming to them...

[KathleenElsie]

We live in the country. There have been two confirmed home invasions near us. If I could not confirm that the person that was running was the only perp my instance would probably be to shoot no matter what. I don't live near the border. Yet there are confirmed cases of illegals bring drugs and harming people near us. It is no time to give someone the benefit of the doubt when you are in fear of you safety and the safety of your family. "Stop and drop or I will shoot" should be enough.

[rainman97361]

$5 says he gets sued in civil court for violating their civil rights, or some other nonsense.

[Bohemian]

$5 says he gets sued in civil court for violating their civil rights, or some other nonsense.

Been over two years...

Looks like Joe Horn is in the clear on all accounts for killing two criminal illegal aliens ...

In my view the crime rate would be nil if there were more Joe Horn's and more places like Pasadena, Texas in this country...

[HK4U]

It is legal in Texas under certain circumstances to use deadly force to protect property that is not yours. If Joe Horn is guilty of anything it is not knowing when to keep his mouth shut.

[SC Tiger]

Didn't he play for the Saints?

IMO he was in a bad spot once he called 911 - if he tells them he's going outside he looks like he's wanting a fight, if he doesn't that could be used against him as well.

It sounds like a justified shooting to me (I'm no lawyer or LEO). Personally, after calling 911 I would not have gone out to confront the BGs simply because (and assuming) no one's life was in danger and I see more bad coming from it than good for me and my family (lawsuits, possible jail time, etc), but I don't live in his neighborhood and have no idea what he faces on a day-to-day basis. This looks like something that could have gone either way and he got lucky that the law covered his actions (since he did not know).

IMO the families should not be able to sue him. He was found not guilty by a jury of his peers. The fact that the law allows him to be sued is, IMO, a travesty of justice. I didn't like the precedent (which it wasn't really a precedent) in the OJ trial - though I do like the fact he was held accountable in at least some sense - and I hope it doesn't happen here.

The two burglars being dead is no big deal to me. They chose their line of "work" and have to live with the consequences. Them being illegals IMO adds to the fact that they got what was coming to them.

One thing it underscores - a shotgun is the absolute best home defense weapon there is.

[Bohemian]

Didn't he play for the Saints?

IMO he was in a bad spot once he called 911 - if he tells them he's going outside he looks like he's wanting a fight, if he doesn't that could be used against him as well.

It sounds like a justified shooting to me (I'm no lawyer or LEO). Personally, after calling 911 I would not have gone out to confront the BGs simply because (and assuming) no one's life was in danger and I see more bad coming from it than good, but I don't live in his neighborhood and have no idea what he faces on a day-to-day basis. This looks like something that could have gone either way and he got lucky that the law covered his actions (since he did not know).

The two burglars being dead is no big deal to me. They chose their line of "work" and have to live with the consequences. Them being illegals IMO adds to the fact that they got what was coming to them.

One thing it underscores - a shotgun is the absolute best home defense weapon there is.

IMO a shotgun is great for close quarters with a couple of BG, but once you get into a scenario like Hurricane Katrina where you had gangs of 20-30 and more going house to house, something in the semi-auto/full-auto area would be more appropriate...

Another good option would be a Saiga 12/AA-12 with a couple of 20-30 round drums handy...