"Property's not worth killing someone over."
- a 911 dispatcher trying to convince Joe Horn, of Pasadena, Texas, not to confront two burglary suspects with his shotgun. This week, a grand jury cleared Horn of all criminal charges after he shot and killed both men, who were undocumented immigrants from Colombia. (Source: The Los Angeles Times)
At 7/03/2008 05:37:00 PM, 
Mike Clawson
You should acquaint yourself with the particulars of this situation (that's why I linked to the article - you can find more here). These men didn't break into Horn's house and this wasn't a case of self-defense. He saw them coming out of his neighbor's house and ran out at them with a shotgun, shooting them in the back as they attempted to run away. He wasn't protecting anyone's lives, he was simply protecting his neighbor's stuff - and thought that justified taking the lives of two men.
At 7/04/2008 04:10:00 AM, headscratching
i was a 911 dispatcher for five years. we often had these 'teachable moments' on the phone when people were acting more emotionally than rationally. unfortunately a bullet (or shotgun load) doesn't care much if it is fired by a person who is thinking rationally.
even though the guy with the gun was acquitted, he undoubtedly will have to bear the consequences of his decision for the rest of his life. it is unfortunate the burglars-turned-victims had to bear those consequences as well.
--sean
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