OK.Four years ago, a British farmer shot and killed a 16-year-old burglar on his property and wounded an older accomplice.
The wounded intruder, a career criminal with 34 convictions, served 18 months for the burglary.
The Norfolk farmer, a recluse named Tony Martin, was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.
After getting his sentence reduced, Martin will soon be freed — nearly two years after the release of the man who tried to break into his home.
The story of that night at Bleak House farm and the justice that was dispensed later has captivated British tabloid readers for years — “a case that shook the nation,” according to the Daily Mail.
This weekend, it will become a local story in Salem, half a world away. A British television crew will be filming here for a few days.
They plan to draw parallels between the Martin case and the recent shooting death of a 16-year-old Aumsville teen by a South Salem resident.
In the local incident, a grand jury decided that homeowner Linn Stordahl was justified in shooting Anthony Choate on April 19.
I see a few problems with this 'documentary' the Beeb is going to make.
1. The only thing the Martin case and the one in Oregon have in common is the fact that both intruders were teenagers.
2. The producer already has his mind made up about how he's going to present the Oregon case.
Translation: I know the outcome of 'Real Story' even before I conduct my first interview. Maybe he could ask Michael Moore for assistance.“There is a lobby in this country that says the average man has the right to protect himself , and damn the cost,” Johnston said. “The Choate case provides a cautionary note to say this is not always the way to go. This kind of thing can happen.”
3. The Oregon shooter had a reasonable fear for his life. Tony Martin probably didn't (though I think he was justified in what he did merely by the fact the burglars were in his home).
Facts of the Oregon case;
(a) was drunk (BAC of .31) and had cocaine and marijuana in his system.
(b) broke into a locked garage.
(c) set a fire in the guy's garage.
(d) advanced on the homeowner (who was elderly) after being warned to stop not once, but twice. According to this story, the gun didn't even have a round chambered and it went 'click' the first time the trigger was pulled and the teen still didn't stop advancing.
If I was on that Grand Jury, I wouldn't vote to charge him with anything either.
The funniest quote from the article has to be this:
So staring a fire in his own garage was his normal behavior???Family and friends say he might have been confused and thought he was in his own garage.
What a country!Stordahl has since been the target of vandalism, harassment and protests outside his home.
An elderly man defends his life and property from a drunk teenager and the teen's buddies decide to blame the victim instead of their dumbass friend who'd still be alive if he didn't try to burn down someone else's property.
Maybe he needs to shoot one of his harassers?
