In article ,
"Ed Huntress" wrote:

"John Husvar" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Ignoramus30064 wrote:

On 2010-07-09, J. Clarke wrote:
On 7/9/2010 3:22 AM, azotic wrote:
WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. - Admitted thieves are going free, while an elderly
Wheat Ridge man is facing the possibility of spending the rest of his
life behind bars, all, he says, for trying to defend his property and
his life.

82-year-old Robert Wallace said in February that he looked out his
window and saw two men hooking his flatbed trailer up to their pickup.
He yelled at them to stop, but they sped away, stealing his trailer.
He
told police he fired two shots at the pickup.

Minutes later, police say 32-year-old Damacio Torres dropped
28-year-old
Alvaro Cardona off at a hospital emergency room with a gunshot wound
to
the face.

Torres did not stay to talk with police, but they caught up with him
later. According to court documents, he admitted he and Cardona stole
the trailer.

Wallace did not want to talk on camera, but when we asked him if the
two
men threatened him he said, "They almost ran me over."

The Jefferson County DA's office said that neither Torres nor Cardona
have been charged with anything at this point, even though Torres
confessed to the crime. However, the homeowner, Wallace is facing
twelve
felony counts, including four counts of attempted first degree murder.
If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Sources say Torres and Cardona are believed to be in the country
illegally and both have an arrest record. Cardona's record includes
public fighting and numerous traffic offenses like driving without a
license or insurance. Torres's record includes agricultural
trespassing
as well as a 2005 arrest for aggravated motor vehicle theft for which
he
was given a plea bargain to a lesser crime. Sources say Torres is also
under investigation for being part of a major auto theft ring.

Wallace is out on bond and due back in court in September to enter his
plea.

Neighbors say the thieves should be the ones facing charges and
Wallace
should be given an award for protecting the neighborhood.

http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-theive...d-txt,0,231586.
sto
ry?

Elected official in that county. Whaddya bet the DA just flushed his
career?


As far as I know, like it or not, what Rober Wallace did (shooting at
thieves driving away) is a crime in every state of the United States.

Except at night in Texas.

"Like it or not?" OK, not, well, not much. Pity, but if just plain
thievery was potentially fatal, there might be less of it.

Indeed. That's the theory that the Iranians apply to adultery. The amount of
it going on there probably is pretty modest compared to the US.

The difference is a matter of barbarity. Within limits, the more barbarous a
government is, the less crime. That is, unless people are really desperate
under a barbarous regime, in which case the effect of brutal penalties is
less.

There is that diminishing returns thing. Once, legend (possibly urban)
says, a person could be hanged for stealing a loaf of bread. Didn't seem
to stop starving people from stealing bread. I wonder why.


The US has opted for low punitive barbarousness, and fairly high levels of
crime.

I'd draw some distinction between barbarousness and brutality, but I
understand your point. I'm of the totally unsupported opinion that
civilized merely means citified and barbarity does not preclude
civility. Some barbarians were quite civil folks and some city dwellers
were quite barbaric, stereotypically speaking.

Protecting criminals' rights inevitably has a cost in something, most
often higher crime, I agree. But I consider it worth it.



After all, a
thief is stealing whatever part of a victim's life it took to earn the
money to buy the object. Take part of a life, risk losing all of one's
own.

That's the old theory, all right. In Saudi Arabia, they cut off your hand.
It's more proportional. And it opens up business opportunities, such as
teaching people how to get along with one hand.

Prosthetics shops and Occupational Therapists might do well.




That thieves were in the country illegally, is completely immaterial.

'Fraid so. Thieves running away do not seem to be considered threats to
life. No threat to life, no shoot, period.

That's what you get in a country that places a high value on human life.

Funny how that value varies depending on whether it's my life or
somebody else's, not at all humorous but funny.


(Isn't that redundant, period and a "."?)

Uh, yes. g

Thought it might be.

shut up, John. You're getting silly!