It is. I once wandered off in a small seaside town and robbed loads of toy trains out of a toy shop. I was about 2 I think.
I read the news today oh boy! Page 856
Quote: Tursiops @ June 11 2012, 10:55 PM BSTOr in another version of events a man with no criminal record and a perfectly good reason for being on the property accidentally startles a small child who had been made terrified of strangers by an over-protective father, and the father leaps to conclusions and beats him to death with his bare fists without giving him any chance to explain.
Make up all the scenarios you'd like, but I'll trust what the sheriffs and detectives have to say.
CNN) -- A Texas father caught a man sexually assaulting his 4-year-old daughter and punched him in the head repeatedly, killing him, authorities said.
The father was casually acquainted with the alleged abuser, said Lavaca County Sheriff Micah Harmon.
Neither has been publicly identified.The girl was left inside the family's house during the social gathering, while other members of her family were tending to horses, the sheriff said.
The alleged abuser was known for his horse-grooming abilities, Harmon said.
The father returned to the house, caught the man in the act, and stopped him by striking him in the head several times, Harmon said.
The man was pronounced dead on the scene, while the daughter was taken to a local hospital in Victoria, Texas, for examinations before being released.
The incident took place Saturday.
Harmon described the girl as "OK besides the obvious mental trauma."
Asked whether they would press charges against the father, the sheriff responded, "You have a right to defend your daughter. He acted in defence of his third person. Once the investigation is completed we will submit it to the district attorney who then submits it to the grand jury, who will decide if they will indict him."
Harmon described the dad as "very remorseful," adding that he didn't know the man was going to die.
Authorities were withholding the deceased man's name while they notified next of kin. Officials did not know immediately if he has a prior criminal history.
So stop gloating over every act of vigilantism. It is a bit sick and sad.
I will never stop applauding good people for defending themselves against bad people. Molesters and murderers and rapists and kidnappers and burglars deserve what they get at the hands of the law-abiding populace.
Quote: Nat Wicks @ June 11 2012, 11:08 PM BSTIt is. I once wandered off in a small seaside town and robbed loads of toy trains out of a toy shop. I was about 2 I think.
I got lost queuing to see ET and a toy shop owner was horrible to me.
I think I cried.
Quote: DaButt @ June 11 2012, 11:17 PM BSTMake up all the scenarios you'd like, but I'll trust what the sheriffs and detectives have to say.
I will never stop applauding good people for defending themselves against bad people. Molesters and murderers and rapists and kidnappers and burglars deserve what they get at the hands of the law-abiding populace.
DaButt you're willingness to accept the initial untested statement from law enforcement officers is to be honest scary.
The Menendez case amongst a great many others. Shows how the police are every bit as fallible as you or I. Every bit as likely to make mistakes or look for an easy solution.
Quote: zooo @ June 11 2012, 11:04 PM BSTOn Twitter hundreds of people have been reminiscing about being left somewhere by accident for a bit, or leaving their kid somewhere. I think it's pretty common!
I'm surprised PigeonJon hasn't.
(I recently closed my account but still every now and again have a look at his)
Just to be upsides with all of this (Sigh) - two wee boys ran away with me in my pram which was parked outside the shop my mother was in. She saw them, ran after them and belted them round the head (without any consequences). Surely this must have left me psychologically scarred.
Quote: sootyj @ June 11 2012, 11:24 PM BSTDaButt you're willingness to accept the initial untested statement from law enforcement officers is to be honest scary.
The Menendez case amongst a great many others. Shows how the police are every bit as fallible as you or I. Every bit as likely to make mistakes or look for an easy solution.
The two cases couldn't be more dissimilar. The Texas man was grilled by detectives who don't appear to have found any inconsistencies in his story. His daughter was interviewed and medically examined as well. The other people in the vicinity will have been interviewed, too. And so far there's not a shred of evidence that conflicts with his story.
I'd love to have some of you on the jury if I'm ever caught red-handed in the commission of a crime. Despite the video recording of me sodomizing the goat, it would be very helpful if you would find me innocent because the man on the tape might have been a doppelgänger who materialized from a parallel universe, or perhaps I merely slipped and fell into the unfortunate position.
DaButt that you have such a prepared defence for goat sodomy is more impressive than scary.
But the Menedez case took a long time before it fell apart. At a chief inspector level, officers just lied and falsified evidence. It took an extremely thorough investigation before the truth was verified.
Oh and just one other thing. Proper interrogation of witnesses takes weeks not days.
Quote: keewik @ June 11 2012, 11:29 PM BSTJust to be upsides with all of this (Sigh) - two wee boys ran away with me in my pram which was parked outside the shop my mother was in. She saw them, ran after them and belted them round the head (without any consequences). Surely this must have left me psychologically scarred.
Ha, do you now hate boys?
Quote: DaButt @ June 11 2012, 11:17 PM BSTI will never stop applauding good people for defending themselves against bad people. Molesters and murderers and rapists and kidnappers and burglars deserve what they get at the hands of the law-abiding populace.
I'm with DaButt on this one. So many court cases have collapsed and evil people have walked free thanks to poor prosecutors, bad policing, corruption, technicalities, etc.
I heard a report on the news that in the UK, that most of the people who are sent to jail for any extended period of time have already been in and out of the court system several times.
But it seems that innocent until proven guilty only applies to the criminals in these cases and not the law abiding citizens who defend themselves.
Separate issue but very fair point.
To often kid shoplifts, cheeks a police office, carries a knife, assaults someone.
And gets no custodial sentence.
So when they move onto murder or GBH and get years in prison. It almost doesn't seem fair. They didn't get a meaningful punishment earlier on.
The thing is, I don't disagree that accidentally killing someone you catch molesting your child should be murder one, but it feels like when anyone dies at the hands of another, there should at least be a thorough review, if not a trial. It shouldn't be for police or a DA to decide someone's guilt or innocence. I know the system isn't perfect, but it is there to be as fair and balanced as possible. It feels like human life isn't valued as highly in the US, when there is the perception (whether right or wrong) of justification.
This is of course a very uninformed view, but it's how I feel.
Quote: zooo @ June 11 2012, 11:44 PM BSTHa, do you now hate boys?
No but I shudder every time I see a pram.
Quote: keewik @ June 11 2012, 11:58 PM BSTNo but I shudder every time I see a pram.
Understandable.
Quote: Nat Wicks @ June 11 2012, 11:56 PM BSTThe thing is, I don't disagree that accidentally killing someone you catch molesting your child should be murder one, but it feels like when anyone dies at the hands of another, there should at least be a thorough review, if not a trial. It shouldn't be for police or a DA to decide someone's guilt or innocence. I know the system isn't perfect, but it is there to be as fair and balanced as possible. It feels like human life isn't valued as highly in the US, when there is the perception (whether right or wrong) of justification.
This is of course a very uninformed view, but it's how I feel.
Wait until you have a four year old daughter and repost.
Pretty much my feeling on the subject.
The law should protect the least of us and the most aparently criminal. Or else those exceptions start creeping upwards.