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Originally Posted by macallan25
Personally, I don't think he broke the law either. Also, how are many of you stating that he was in no danger, didn't feel threatened, etc. Were you all there? Do you know the guy?
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More importantly, feeling "danger" and being "threatened" are not elements which are necessary to raise the defense.
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Macallan, I would be one...listen to the 911 call, he clearly was in no danger as long as he stayed in the house, he never made it sound as if the robbers were coming to his house, he never made it sound as if they threatened him, from the recording, as long as he stayed put and let the cops do their job, he was safe.
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None of that stuff is necessary either. Texas doesn't have a duty to retreat, nor does it specify that you have to feel there's a danger of death or serious bodily harm, or papercuts, or that the defense can't be raised on days starting with a T. The statute is pretty clearly set up to allow homeowners to take care of situations which may
potentially become dangerous, thus allowing the homeowner to avoid having to ever be in danger at all.
Weighing the equities here, I'm going to have to say that I'll place the security and safety of homeowners above burglars' lives every single time. You don't know that by calling the cops, if there had been the duty to retreat, etc., that there would have eventually been a hostage situation, or something dangerous like that. You just don't know.
In Texas, they prefer not to find out.
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