Texas Man Aquitted of Killing Burlars

A Texas man has been cleared of charges of shooting and killing two illegal immigrants as they burglarized a home in suburban Houston. On November 14, 2007, Joe Horn, saw two burglars crawling out of his neighbor's window and gunned them down.

The two men killed had already broken the law by coming to the country illegally, and one of the men had already been convicted of selling drugs. In Texas, Joe Horn has the law on his side even though the two thieves were running from him when they were killed.

There's are bumper stickers and t-shirts that say things like, "Don't Mess with Texas". Texans have a reputation for being tough on crime. The philosophy toward criminals is to hit 'em hard and hit 'em again. Texas juries don't mess around when it comes to crime as witnessed by the fact that the state leads the country in executions.

On radio talk shows and blogs comments about the acquittal ranged from, "they (the burglars) had it coming", "tough stuff", and "they shouldn't have broken the law". The common theme was that people were sick of crime and Joe Horn was given a big thumbs up.

I suppose when you chose a professional such as burglary, you better consider the occupational hazards that come with the job....especially in Texas.