Joe Horn cleared of all charges

flywallyfly

gabers wrote:

Give me a fucking break with the hero stuff. Hero?! Really?! For shooting burglers in his neighbor's yard in the back with a shotgun? Wow. I like to reserve the term hero for someone a little more fitting. People like to throw that term around way too often these days.

No kidding. I have no problem with defending your life but this was nowhere near that. Here is a photo of the three involved (they should just show the two dead guys' backs, IMO). What a "hero".

http://www.rackjite.com/graphics/joehorn2.jpg

eyedclaar

BamaPJFan wrote:

It's quite possible that Mr. Horn's actions did meet the elements of murder. However, because his victims were illegally in the United States and because they were in the process of commiting a crime(s), the grand jury was not sympathetic to their side. In other words, the victims (the two dead guys) were tainted because of their backgrounds.

I agree and even as a gun nut, there is no reason to shoot to kill in this situation. Sounds like he could have easily fired a warning shot and then had them lie down face first on the ground and wait for the cops to arrive... If you just have to get involved, it shouldn't be hard to control two people with a shotgun. Sounds to me like he wanted to shoot someone.

Of course, I wasn't there.

Kel Varnsen

eyedclaar wrote:

I agree and even as a gun nut, there is no reason to shoot to kill in this situation. Sounds like he could have easily fired a warning shot and then had them lie down face first on the ground and wait for the cops to arrive... If you just have to get involved, it shouldn't be hard to control two people with a shotgun. Sounds to me like he wanted to shoot someone.

Of course, I wasn't there.

On top of my post earlier, I also don't understand how you can shoot two people in self defense. I mean logically after you shoot the first one (in the back no less) I can't see the second guy trying to attack you or being any sort of a threat that you would need deadly force to defend yourself from.

Thorns2010

unsung wrote:

"The message we're trying to send today is the criminal justice system works," Harris County District Attorney Kenneth Magidson said.



"I understand the concerns of some in the community regarding Mr. Horn's conduct," Magidson said. "The use of deadly force is carefully limited in Texas law to certain circumstances ... In this case, however, the grand jury concluded that Mr. Horn's use of deadly force did not rise to a criminal offense."

Wait a second, is it just me, or does it sound like the District Attorney didn't think Joe Horn did anything wrong, and if so, how could he have even been trying to convict him?

Eliot Rosewater

This is good news. I had plans to pick him up late in this year's fantasy draft.

Anon

I still don't understand why he ignored the dispatchers many pleas to stay inside..

"I've got a shotgun; you want me to stop him?" Horn asked the dispatcher.

"Nope. Don't do that," the dispatcher replied. "Ain't no property worth shooting somebody over, OK?"

Horn was clearly upset by the dispatcher's response.

"I'm not gonna let them get away with it," he said. "I can't take a chance getting killed over this, OK."

Despite the dispatcher's protects, Horn said, "I'm gonna shoot! I'm gonna shoot!"

The 911 dispatcher warned Horn to stay inside at least a dozen separate times, telling him, "An officer is coming out there. I don't want you to go outside that house."

Then Horn — sounding angrier by the moment — cited the new Texas law.

"OK, but I have a right to protect myself too, sir," he said. "And you understand that. And the laws have been changed in this country since September the first, and you know it and I know it."

Moments later, Horn saw two burglars leave his neighbor's house, one of them carrying a bag filled with cash and jewelry.

"I'm gonna kill him," Horn said.
"Stay in the house," the dispatcher said.
"They're getting away," Horn replied.
"That's all right," the dispatcher said. "Property's not worth killing someone over. OK?"
"---damn it," said Horn, who then defied the dispatcher.

"Well, here it goes, buddy, you hear the shotgun clicking, and I'm going," he said.

"Don't go outside," the dispatcher warned.

fanch75

By Gawd, at'll lern 'em!

LikeAnOpeningBandForTheSun

blackredyellow wrote:

Keep that in mind next time you cut through your neighbor's yard.

with his tv?

Smellyman2

MrSmith wrote:

with his tv?

Well if they have the tv then shoot them in the kneecaps and torture them a while before killing them.

Joe Horn should be locked up for the rest of his pathetic life.

Kann

eyedclaar wrote:

I agree and even as a gun nut, there is no reason to shoot to kill in this situation.

That's a good point. You (generic you) can argue on wether he needed to go out and shoot but he certainly didn't need to kill. If you follow that train of thought he also could have tortured them slowly before killing them.

Derrick

The amount of legal fees involved here probably outweighed whatever the robbers stole. Listening to the 911 tape is really haunting. This person was so excited to have the opportunity to shoot the robbers.

Heineken Helen

Smellyman wrote:

Well if they have the tv then shoot them in the kneecaps and torture them a while before killing them.

Joe Horn should be locked up for the rest of his pathetic life.

I strongly disagree. I'm having a seriously fucking hard time feeling sorry for these guys. It should be known that if you decide to help yourself to somebody elses stuff that THEY worked to pay for... that you put your life in your hands.

Thieves are scum... the lowest kind. Fuck em! This guy probably would have been robbed the following night... and probably killed in the process. These fuckers don't just do it once ya know.

eyedclaar

Heineken Helen wrote:

I strongly disagree. I'm having a seriously fucking hard time feeling sorry for these guys. It should be known that if you decide to help yourself to somebody elses stuff that THEY worked to pay for... that you put your life in your hands.

Thieves are scum... the lowest kind. Fuck em! This guy probably would have been robbed the following night... and probably killed in the process. These fuckers don't just do it once ya know.

Jeebus! I think there are a bunch of sensitive folks in this pit that don't like me because I talk about being a gun owner. I hope to hell you don't own any guns, Helen, despite otherwise enjoying your personality. I once got into this petty theft cycle as a young guy where I would steal something like a candy bar from a store just to see if I could get away with it. Would you have been just as excited to read about a store owner blowing me away over a candy bar??? I'm sorry, some transgressions just don't rise to the level of shooting someone in the back with a shotgun especially when the police are already on the way. Like I said, if you have to get involved, control the situation until the police arrive and if you have to shoot, take out their legs. Now, if they have guns and are threatening you, I don't care, go Rambo on their asses.

I'm surprised at how blood thirsty some of you are. Maybe you haven't seen what gun shot wounds look like up close.

And I'm the gun nut?!?

Kel Varnsen

Heineken Helen wrote:

I strongly disagree. I'm having a seriously fucking hard time feeling sorry for these guys. It should be known that if you decide to help yourself to somebody elses stuff that THEY worked to pay for... that you put your life in your hands.

Thieves are scum... the lowest kind. Fuck em! This guy probably would have been robbed the following night... and probably killed in the process. These fuckers don't just do it once ya know.

What if a 3rd person with a gun (either walking by or a neighbor) saw this guy gun down two people. If he didn't know the two guys were burglars, would he be right for using his own gun to shoot Joe Horn? It seems simple to me that deadly force is not the appropriate reaction for breaking and entering.

blackredyellow

Heineken Helen wrote:

Thieves are scum... the lowest kind. Fuck em! This guy probably would have been robbed the following night... and probably killed in the process. These fuckers don't just do it once ya know.

Kill 'em all... next kill everyone who does drugs, because you know some of those people eventually will still for their habit, and therefore by your logic, will probably kill, so we might as well shoot them all now.

eyedclaar

blackredyellow wrote:

Kill 'em all... next kill everyone who does drugs, because you know some of those people eventually will still for their habit, and therefore by your logic, will probably kill, so we might as well shoot them all now.

I was also thinking why stop there? You just know the guy that cut you off in traffic without even signaling is just going to do it again. Why not drag him out of his car at the next intersection and shoot him in the face? I'm also setting up land mines on my lawn as I'm tired of neighborhood kids trespassing on my property to retrieve their frisbee. So many people, so few bullets...

know1

I'll bet that if Joe Horn were a police officer he would have at least faced a trial.

In my opinion he should be locked up for murder.

THC

one day mr. horn will be judged with the same measure he used to judge these men....

that's what it says in the good book....and i am inclinded to side with that judge and jury...

fanch75

know1 wrote:

In my opinion he should be locked up for murder.

From what I understand, he was perfectly within Texas law to shoot these people in the situation they were in.

eyedclaar

fanch75 wrote:

From what I understand, he was perfectly within Texas law to shoot these people in the situation they were in.

I'm not sure I would equate Texas law with common sense, especially in this instance. From what I understand, he was so eager to shoot these guys a police disbatcher couldn't talk him out of it. Clearly, if you aren't going to listen to the police when they are telling you not to shoot someone, you aren't going to listen to anyone.

If someone can get away with shooting people in this instance, I can think of about a million other instances where I could make a case for me shooting someone as well.