by Katherine Scardino
Everyone is talking about Joe Horn, the Pasadena, Texas citizen who shot two Black burglars in the back after he saw them burglarizing his neighbor’s residence. We have all heard the 911 taped conversation with Mr. Horn - where the Operator is saying "Don’t go out there" . . . "Stay inside" . . . "You are going to get shot." (Listen to the call here.)
And our Mr. Horn (pictured upper left) stating that he is going to go outside with his gun and shoot them. He did, and he killed two people. Two people who were Black, burglarizing a home, and I have heard, were illegal immigrants.
This week, he was "no-billed" by a Harris County Grand Jury, meaning he will not face criminal charges for the deaths of two people, Diego Ortiz (left center) and Miguel Antonio DeJesus (lower left).
Let’s look at our Penal Code to see whether we agree with the Grand Jury. Did he use deadly force in defense of himself? No, we know he was inside his house when he called 911 dispatch; the burglars were not burglarizing his home; nor did they provoke Mr. Horn.
How about the use of deadly force in defense of a third person? No, there was no "third person" around.
That leaves us with whether he was engaged in the "protection of one’s own property." He is justified in using deadly force to protect his property when he "reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to prevent or terminate the other’s trespass on the land or unlawful interference with the property."
But wait a second. That refers to his own property. How about another person’s property? Under this statute, he is justified in using deadly force if he "reasonably believes the deadly force is immediately necessary" to prevent the burglars from "imminent commission of arson, burglary, robbery, etc."
I thought the burglars were walking away from his neighbor’s home. If so, there is no "imminent" offense.
So why is he being allowed to walk away? What attitude have we assumed that says he did the right thing. I know. Could it be that the people in our area are sick and tired of their hard-earned property being stolen, their women being raped and/or assaulted, criminals breaking into homes and taking property, killing people, and the list goes on. We are just sick of it. And, you know what? I agree.
Do you think Joe Horn would be facing charges if Joe Horn was Black and he killed two White people under the very same circumstances? Yes, I believe that. I know it is terribly insulting to us to think that we are still racially motivated. But come on, let’s get real. Because we are fed up with crime and because he "only killed two Black people" who were "illegal immigrants" are the reasons Joe Horn can breathe easy today.
Maybe that’s OK. What do you think?
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