HankT
State Researcher
imported post
Below is the recent story of a man who indisputably had a "do or die" self-defense situation while he was carrying a firearm. He got into a beef with 3 gang thugs, killing two and wounding the other.
There were some problems with his motives, his procedure, his actions and his judgment. But all that is over now. The man has been deemed to have been not guilty of any wrongdoing for which he could be tried in a court of law.
He is now a freeman.
But even a casual analysis of the situation can conclude that his life episode wasn't over when Norman Borden fired his fiveshots from hisgun. Or his last nine. Or when he was acquitted of murder chargeslast week.
There is somethingwhich can be learned from just about any self-defense event where deadly force is used (or not). AndNorman Borden'sevent seemsdistinctivelyeducational even with the muddling of certain details crucial to a full understanding of what happened the fatefulnight that Borden defended himself many months ago.
But what can we learn from Borden's case?
We discussed this case at:
http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/forum60/3174.html
But the question here today is: Howwell did Norman Borden do in the most important event of his life?
***You can select as many answer options as you wish in this poll.****
[font="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][/b]Palm Beach County man, acquitted of double murder, living in fear of retribution from gang members[/b][/font]
Nancy L. Othón
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
July 1, 2007
Norman Borden doesn't want to be the poster boy for Florida's self-defense laws.
He never wanted to kill anyone, but he did. He killed two.
More than eight months in a jail cell awaiting his murder trial gave Borden, 44, time for contemplation.
He wondered what might have happened if he hadn't done what he did.
How much of a beating could he have endured? How many times could he have been run over? Would he have been left in a vegetative state?
And even though he was acquitted Monday of two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of two young men, this is what Borden wants you to know.
"Stop saying I'm a murderer," Borden said in a lengthy telephone interview Thursday from a location he declined to disclose. "There has to be a new word for people who defend themselves. There has to be a word for people who are forced into a situation."
This was the situation, recounted in detail at Borden's trial last week:
He was walking his four dogs near his home in the Westgate neighborhood west of West Palm Beach with his friend. It was after 2 a.m. on Oct. 8, in the rough neighborhood where homeless settle and gang activity has grown.
There was an altercation between Borden and Juan Mendez, 21, and Christopher Araujo, 19. Heated words were exchanged, the men reportedly threatened to hurt Borden's dogs. He showed them he had a gun.
But it wasn't over. The men sped away and picked up Saul Trejo, 21, a documented member of a violent gang. Armed with bats, they headed straight to Borden, and he fired.
Fourteen gunshots later, Araujo and Trejo were dead, Mendez injured. Prosecutors said the first five shots fired at the windshield were self-defense, the next nine were murder.
"When I called 911 that night, I didn't believe I would be put in jail," Borden said. "The simple fact of the matter was that it was a do-or-die situation."
Borden said he's almost positive Mendez, who he said started the incident with taunts and threats, had a gun that night; his attorney told jurors that Mendez had opportunity to hide a gun before deputies and paramedics arrived.
"If I had done it out of anger, or spite, it would surely be him that would be dead," Borden said. "I'm glad he's alive because life gives opportunity for change. I hope and I pray he will change, and he will be an example for people to say, 'Turn away, stop, don't do these things.'"
Though Public Defender Carey Haughwout vigorously argued that Borden was immune from prosecution as a result of a 2005 Florida law that became known as the "stand your ground" law, Circuit Judge William Berger declined to dismiss the charges and the case went to trial. Eleven women and one man on the jury reached their not-guilty verdict in two hours.
Now he's a free man.
But he's a marked man.
Hours after the verdict, graffiti linked to Trejo's gang was painted outside the Palm Beach County Jail. Authorities speculate it was done to threaten Borden. After his arrest, his home was set on fire in what investigators have said was an act of retaliation, and at least one man is charged with arson.
He was under armed protection when he left the courthouse Monday a free man. He was put up in a motel for a few days until reaching his next destination, which Borden won't disclose.
He received a police escort to his home on Friday. He wanted to see the damage, wanted some level of closure.
His reluctance to give even a hint about where he'll end up comes from concern not only about his own safety but that of others.
"If I remain in Florida, I'll be living under the weight of being armed," he said. "What do you do, live the rest of your life looking over your shoulders? There is not only a threat to me, it's anyone who's seen with me. They're going to feel the threat and they're going to know it."
At the same time, Borden says, he doesn't really want to flee. He loves Florida, loves the outdoors. And he doesn't want any gang members to get the wrong idea .
"By me going away, it's empowering these individuals," he said.
Borden has gone through a "tremendous trauma," said Haughwout, his attorney.
"I think he recognizes that he needs to deal with those issues," she said. "I think he's got a real uphill battle ahead of him in terms of rebuilding and re-establishing himself."
Borden also is trying to come to terms with leaving the area he considers home, Haughwout said.
"He is struggling with that sense of being run out of town and how to deal with that," she added.
Borden must find a way to sell his property, which was on the verge of being condemned by the county. The Building Department delayed demolishing the house, which it had deemed an unsafe structure, to preserve any evidence that might be needed in the arson case.
A few possessions were recovered from the home on Hiawatha Avenue. Photos of his sister, who died when she was 23. He has nothing else. His four beloved pit bulls were held for more than a month at Palm Beach County Animal Care & Control before they were euthanized.
Borden called every friend he could think of to pick up the dogs, but most people had a collect-call block on their phones, and he couldn't get through to them from the jail.
Even months later, Borden finds it difficult to talk about the loss of his dogs. Acorn, the dog he owned the longest, appears in his happy dreams.
He said he is a simple man. He loves gardening, likes watching movies and lifting weights. He struggled financially but always worked enough to feed his dogs. He has earned a living doing mostly odd jobs, repairing sprinkler heads or assisting a cabinet-maker. He figures maybe he can get a job in construction. He knows enough Spanish that he might be able to lead a crew, he said.
He has been deeply affected by the fact that he killed two men, but he doesn't know whether he'll seek therapy. He read many books while in jail. One in particular, The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom, A Toltec Wisdom Book, has words he'll try to live by.
If he is confronted with violence, he'll protect himself again. He hopes that Florida's law, which eliminates the duty to retreat and allows people to use deadly force to protect themselves against bodily harm, will protect him. "How can you put a law on the books and then leave a person to be twisting in agony because you didn't work out all the fine details?" Borden asked.
Part of his life was destroyed that night, part of his humanity was stripped away, Borden said. He hopes to make the best of his future.
"I like being free," he said. "I like looking at the stars at night."
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flpborden0701pnjul01,0,5205247.story?coll=sfla-news-palm
Below is the recent story of a man who indisputably had a "do or die" self-defense situation while he was carrying a firearm. He got into a beef with 3 gang thugs, killing two and wounding the other.
There were some problems with his motives, his procedure, his actions and his judgment. But all that is over now. The man has been deemed to have been not guilty of any wrongdoing for which he could be tried in a court of law.
He is now a freeman.
But even a casual analysis of the situation can conclude that his life episode wasn't over when Norman Borden fired his fiveshots from hisgun. Or his last nine. Or when he was acquitted of murder chargeslast week.
There is somethingwhich can be learned from just about any self-defense event where deadly force is used (or not). AndNorman Borden'sevent seemsdistinctivelyeducational even with the muddling of certain details crucial to a full understanding of what happened the fatefulnight that Borden defended himself many months ago.
But what can we learn from Borden's case?
We discussed this case at:
http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/forum60/3174.html
But the question here today is: Howwell did Norman Borden do in the most important event of his life?
***You can select as many answer options as you wish in this poll.****
[font="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][/b]Palm Beach County man, acquitted of double murder, living in fear of retribution from gang members[/b][/font]
Nancy L. Othón
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
July 1, 2007
Norman Borden doesn't want to be the poster boy for Florida's self-defense laws.
He never wanted to kill anyone, but he did. He killed two.
More than eight months in a jail cell awaiting his murder trial gave Borden, 44, time for contemplation.
He wondered what might have happened if he hadn't done what he did.
How much of a beating could he have endured? How many times could he have been run over? Would he have been left in a vegetative state?
And even though he was acquitted Monday of two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of two young men, this is what Borden wants you to know.
"Stop saying I'm a murderer," Borden said in a lengthy telephone interview Thursday from a location he declined to disclose. "There has to be a new word for people who defend themselves. There has to be a word for people who are forced into a situation."
This was the situation, recounted in detail at Borden's trial last week:
He was walking his four dogs near his home in the Westgate neighborhood west of West Palm Beach with his friend. It was after 2 a.m. on Oct. 8, in the rough neighborhood where homeless settle and gang activity has grown.
There was an altercation between Borden and Juan Mendez, 21, and Christopher Araujo, 19. Heated words were exchanged, the men reportedly threatened to hurt Borden's dogs. He showed them he had a gun.
But it wasn't over. The men sped away and picked up Saul Trejo, 21, a documented member of a violent gang. Armed with bats, they headed straight to Borden, and he fired.
Fourteen gunshots later, Araujo and Trejo were dead, Mendez injured. Prosecutors said the first five shots fired at the windshield were self-defense, the next nine were murder.
"When I called 911 that night, I didn't believe I would be put in jail," Borden said. "The simple fact of the matter was that it was a do-or-die situation."
Borden said he's almost positive Mendez, who he said started the incident with taunts and threats, had a gun that night; his attorney told jurors that Mendez had opportunity to hide a gun before deputies and paramedics arrived.
"If I had done it out of anger, or spite, it would surely be him that would be dead," Borden said. "I'm glad he's alive because life gives opportunity for change. I hope and I pray he will change, and he will be an example for people to say, 'Turn away, stop, don't do these things.'"
Though Public Defender Carey Haughwout vigorously argued that Borden was immune from prosecution as a result of a 2005 Florida law that became known as the "stand your ground" law, Circuit Judge William Berger declined to dismiss the charges and the case went to trial. Eleven women and one man on the jury reached their not-guilty verdict in two hours.
Now he's a free man.
But he's a marked man.
Hours after the verdict, graffiti linked to Trejo's gang was painted outside the Palm Beach County Jail. Authorities speculate it was done to threaten Borden. After his arrest, his home was set on fire in what investigators have said was an act of retaliation, and at least one man is charged with arson.
He was under armed protection when he left the courthouse Monday a free man. He was put up in a motel for a few days until reaching his next destination, which Borden won't disclose.
He received a police escort to his home on Friday. He wanted to see the damage, wanted some level of closure.
His reluctance to give even a hint about where he'll end up comes from concern not only about his own safety but that of others.
"If I remain in Florida, I'll be living under the weight of being armed," he said. "What do you do, live the rest of your life looking over your shoulders? There is not only a threat to me, it's anyone who's seen with me. They're going to feel the threat and they're going to know it."
At the same time, Borden says, he doesn't really want to flee. He loves Florida, loves the outdoors. And he doesn't want any gang members to get the wrong idea .
"By me going away, it's empowering these individuals," he said.
Borden has gone through a "tremendous trauma," said Haughwout, his attorney.
"I think he recognizes that he needs to deal with those issues," she said. "I think he's got a real uphill battle ahead of him in terms of rebuilding and re-establishing himself."
Borden also is trying to come to terms with leaving the area he considers home, Haughwout said.
"He is struggling with that sense of being run out of town and how to deal with that," she added.
Borden must find a way to sell his property, which was on the verge of being condemned by the county. The Building Department delayed demolishing the house, which it had deemed an unsafe structure, to preserve any evidence that might be needed in the arson case.
A few possessions were recovered from the home on Hiawatha Avenue. Photos of his sister, who died when she was 23. He has nothing else. His four beloved pit bulls were held for more than a month at Palm Beach County Animal Care & Control before they were euthanized.
Borden called every friend he could think of to pick up the dogs, but most people had a collect-call block on their phones, and he couldn't get through to them from the jail.
Even months later, Borden finds it difficult to talk about the loss of his dogs. Acorn, the dog he owned the longest, appears in his happy dreams.
He said he is a simple man. He loves gardening, likes watching movies and lifting weights. He struggled financially but always worked enough to feed his dogs. He has earned a living doing mostly odd jobs, repairing sprinkler heads or assisting a cabinet-maker. He figures maybe he can get a job in construction. He knows enough Spanish that he might be able to lead a crew, he said.
He has been deeply affected by the fact that he killed two men, but he doesn't know whether he'll seek therapy. He read many books while in jail. One in particular, The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom, A Toltec Wisdom Book, has words he'll try to live by.
If he is confronted with violence, he'll protect himself again. He hopes that Florida's law, which eliminates the duty to retreat and allows people to use deadly force to protect themselves against bodily harm, will protect him. "How can you put a law on the books and then leave a person to be twisting in agony because you didn't work out all the fine details?" Borden asked.
Part of his life was destroyed that night, part of his humanity was stripped away, Borden said. He hopes to make the best of his future.
"I like being free," he said. "I like looking at the stars at night."
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flpborden0701pnjul01,0,5205247.story?coll=sfla-news-palm
-- but I would rather make sure I am safe in the comforts of my home and have the police go deal with this type of scum.