Posted on 07/03/2012 5:40:25 AM PDT by marktwain
In Houston early Friday, a 19-year-old convenience store clerk shot and killed a 52-year-old man who stole beer, according to police. The matter remains under investigation, but the clerk was not arrested.
In Texas and elsewhere, each time someone is shot dead with a claim of self-defense, a grand jury must decide if an indictment is warranted. However, deliberations by grand juries are secret and the basis of their decisions is seldom public.
The Chronicle also examined times of death, gender and race of both the shooters and the dead. Citizen shootings most often happen after dark, and involve a male shooting a handgun during a home invasion.
The person doing the killing is most often a minority, as is the person killed, according to the Chronicle analysis.
But the exchanges play out in an array of settings: From the taco truck parked on the corner of a street packed with tiny cantinas to the outside of a liquor store in Montrose, from the bedroom of a one-story house in northwest Houston to a gentrifying neighborhood northeast of downtown where townhouses tower over decaying shacks.
"The Castle Doctrine is now the law, and this is Texas," said Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos. "If someone is invading your home or your place of business, you should not be obligated to retreat.
"At the same time, people should never seek a confrontation," she said.
'A losing situation'
Mark Brown had just returned home from a morning trip to the grocery store when he realized his home was being burglarized. He grabbed a 12-gauge shotgun, headed to the bedroom, where he saw his rings, watches, cuff links and bracelets piled in the middle of a bed. He heard a noise in the closet behind the closed door and fired one shot.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
There are many Texans who “need killin’” in Houston alone. We won’t ever run out of them.
</sarcasm>
I don’t believe that stealing a beer justifies the use of deadly force. If you’re going to take somebody’s life, you’d better have a damn good reason for doing it.
When would-be criminals see career criminals getting shot-up by crazed ‘victims’, then things are working out just fine.
The idea isn’t to end crime (there will always be people that test the limits), but rather to just ‘encourage’ others that their chances of making to old age might improve if they choose to play by the rules. And keep in mind that there are not that many pathological criminals - the vast majority of bad guys do a cost/benefit analysis (in the back of their mind) before choosing that life. Now the cost is going up a bit...
Exactly right. It is my home, you're on my property uninvited doing me and my family harm. Further, I will not give up a tactical advantage, I will not give up the initiative, I will take it. You're here, harming me and my family, I have no way of knowing how far you intend to take that harmful behavior, no reason to trust in your good judgement, so I will respond with overwhelming, deadly force.
Depends on the brand of beer...
<GRIN>
The only numbers that matter are: has the ratio of justifiable homicides to felony homicides improved? Has the raw number of home invasions declined?
The clerk did society a big favor. Good riddance.
FWIW...other reports show the 52 year old beer thief to be a repeat offender...stole from the store every day.
If you tell him to stop that and he threatens you or takes a threatening stance (”Wachou gonna do, MoFo?”), that’s good enough reason.
Good shooting, Citizens. Civilization thanks you (in spite of what some pinheaded LIBs say at the Chronic).
“When would-be criminals see career criminals getting shot-up by crazed ‘victims’, then things are working out just fine.”
We’re going through a learning curve right now and it will take a while until the bad guys figure out that the game has changed. Fortunately, a lot of them will be eliminated in the process.
30 years ago I was working at night in a Circle K in Loma Linda, California. A teenager came into the store and ran out with 2 12 packs of beer. I chased him out into the parking lot, where he jumped into a waiting car and sped off. I told my boss what had happened, and she reprimanded me. Apparently it was corporate policy to not attempt to apprehend shoplifters once they left the store. She told me that she had fired a guy who caught the kid in the parking lot and beat the snot out of him.
The clerk did have a good reason. The perp was stealing from him. Your goods represent a portion of your life, the time you invested to earn them. If someone is stealing your stuff they are stealing the time you spent to get that stuff. Time you CANNOT get back. They are stealing your life.
If the thugs don't want to die, then maybe they should just stop attacking people.
I applaud any citizen who defends themselves.
a 6 pack?
a case?
how about if a group comes in and starts loading up ALL the alcohol because word has spread that you wont do anything to stop them and you don't care if your beer is taken?
when you lose you business because of theft and your house because you lost your business, and your family, ect.. you might look at that statement differently.
Courageous guy! Cheers!
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