Education
On a visit to Johns Hopkins University today I learned how a student defended himself and his housemates and killed the intruder with a Samurai sword, hacking off his hand. Better than savoring a John Belushi skit. Given that Maryland authorities had considered prosecuting the exposers of ACORN antics, it is not surprising that they are still considering charges against the undergraduate student.
Here's a sample Belushi Samurai clip.
It does not surprise me that they would go after the guy for defending himself when, in New York, they prosecuted and sentenced this guy to two years for the horrible crime of accidentally shooting himself with his own gun. https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=At9Z1rgZfRr8VdbHFrKiF5JDubYF?slug=ap-burress-weaponscharges&prov=ap&type=lgns
As a Baltimore resident who lives just a few blocks from the crime scene, I can vouch for the large amount of home burglaries in that area by seemingly dangerous people.
I think one part of this story that's overlooked is the lack of interaction that many students at urban universities have with the rest of the city. JHU students live in beautiful old row houses paid for with dad's salary and never stray off their main drags of coffee shops and veggie cafes. They don't really engage with the giant, lively municipality around them, save for a Saturday morning trip to the farmers' markets. This lack of interaction breeds misunderstanding, which in turn breeds fear, which in turn can cause tragic incidents like the one that transpired last week.
I'm not saying that people shouldn't defend themselves from intruders. But by interacting with the locals, students could learn how to identify the dangerous people wielding weapons and the people who are just trying to steal a laptop so they can buy another fix. It also builds trust and friendship among citizens, which can only lead to a safer neighborhood.
The guy might've taken his video game system. Clearly, he deserved death.
The intruder had just been released from jail, days earlier. If Maryland had a "three strikes law" such as California, he might have been deterred from habitual criminality or at least alive behind bars.
Or he might have raped and murdered the person. The criminal forced that judgement call and I just don't think there is any way that a state can take the right to make that call away from the individual; what are they saying: if he murders you don't worry he will get 15 years in prison. Don't break in and steal things or start using. Mabye we need educated by the state to deal with this. Possibly a CBS drama the meth head whisperer is in order.
Another citizen hero:
https://www.theonion.com/content/video/little_boy_heroically_shoots?utm_source=a-section