Texas Justice

Most of you are probably aware by now of a recent incident near Shiner, Texas, in which a father beat to death a man worthless pervert who was apparently molesting his four-year-old daughter. For those of you who aren't familiar with the story, here's a summary.

Shiner is a place you can raise your cattle and chickens under the hot Texas sun, cool off with a bottle from the Lone Star State's oldest independent brewery, then go to bed knowing all your neighbors and believing that you'll be safe.

But a few days ago, one of its trademark ranches turned into a crime scene. That's when a father reportedly spotted a man sexually assaulting his 5-year-old daughter, then beat the alleged abuser to death.

According to the Lavaca County Sheriff's office, the 23-year-old father and his family were enjoying a barbecue last Saturday at their ranch on Shiner's outskirts where they keep horses and chickens.

His young daughter had gone off toward the barn, to feed the chickens, the child's grandfather -- who isn't being named, to protect the identity of his granddaughter -- told CNN affiliates KSAT and KPRC.

Then her father heard screaming and ran. He found a 47-year-old man in the act of sexually abusing his daughter, according to Sheriff Mica Harmon.

The father stopped the alleged abuser, then pounded him repeatedly in the head.

Sheriff Harmon described the victim as an acquaintance of the family, known for his horse-grooming abilities. He has not yet been publicly identified by authorities.

The father himself called 911, telling them that his daughter's alleged abuser was lying, beaten, on the ground. Afterward, the sheriff said that the admitted killer appeared "very remorseful" and didn't know the other man would die at the scene.

Asked whether authorities would press charges against the father, the sheriff responded, "You have a right to defend your daughter. He acted in defense of his third person. Once the investigation is completed we will submit it to the district attorney, who then submits it to the grand jury, who will decide if they will indict him."

Neighbors portrayed the father as hard-working, friendly and polite, the type of guy who reliably addresses others as "Sir."

"He's not a violent guy, he's never been in any trouble in his life," said Veit of a man he described as a single father who worked nobly to make ends meet. "He's a good, honest, hard-working kid."

We have a saying here in Texas that's appropriate for cases like this: "He needed killing." Apparently some parts of this country don't share that belief. Case in point: this comment on the San Francisco Chronicle blog.

scallywagy     2:54 AM on June 13, 2012

What remain questionable is the fact that the father although tending to a heinous crime is whether he took the law into his own hands when striking the man? Had the situation being instead of a child being molested but that of a child being called names by a stranger and the father reacting by murdering that same man one would be compelled to wonder if the father had gone to unnecessary and extraordinary lengths?

Does the nature of the transgression inform us as a society whether it is now fine for one to take the law into their own hands?

Leaving aside the questionable grammar and spelling, let's think about the logic that scallywagy (obviously a product of the public school system) is trying so vainly to express - a pervert raping your daughter is equivalent to her being called names.

That's about what one might expect from California in general, and SF in particular.

Sadly, other people around the country share that 'thinking'. Hard as it may be for those of us with our heads screwed on straight to understand, not everyone agrees that the father's reaction was justified. In fact, there's enough backlash that local media felt compelled to respond.

You`re quite correct that the details about the incident are rather sketchy in spots. As the publisher of one of the local newspapers involved in the coverage, I can assure you it`s rather frustrating for us to not be able to access all the information our readers want immediately. However, I`d like to point out you`re missing a few details in your own commentary.

The man who died has not yet been identified because they can`t locate his next of kin. Sheriff Harmon told us yesterday it is very likely those people are not in this country. Since he had a Texas driver`s license, we assume he was a naturalized citizen or legal immigrant; however, there is a very vibrant underworld trade in this region in stolen identities.

Violent perverted acts performed in this country by someone who is quite likely an illegal immigrant. And non-Texan liberals wonder why we want to secure our border?

The father will NOT be identified by any reputable news organization UNLESS he is charged with a crime. If you identify the father, you identify the 4-year-old victim - and that`s what you`re overlooking in demanding the man`s identity.

"reputable news organization" - at least that seems to be true for local media. The national media, however, is another story.

In speaking with the Sheriff, we have the understanding that both men involved are Hispanic, so your hints of some ethnic (Hispanics and Caucasians are the same race, we`re all Texans here) motivation are off-key as well.

Sorry, all you professional liberal racists out there. This was a brown-on-brown incident: no whites involved. Put your race card back in your wallet and move along. There's nothing for you here.

You view with alarm the sentiments being expressed by citizens commenting to various news websites about this incident. Perhaps you`ve never had your child raped or been on the scene when they find the mutilated body of a child killed by a molester. Texas has a unique culture in that we have a right to defend ourselves, our families and our property; we don`t have to sit back and wait for the police.

Damn straight. And we intend to keep it that way.

The father expressed great regret that the other man died, and the initial report we received from the Sheriff was that once the father had pulled the man off his child he stopped hitting him. It wasn`t a summary execution. Your last paragraph is typical Texas-bashing. We Texans have long since ceased to get all worked up over such condescension from residents of the lesser states.

I'll disagree slightly with the concluding sentence. THIS Texan gets worked up over such condescension from residents of the lesser states.

My response to them is ESADMF.

If you need a translation scroll down past the image below, but be warned - it is definitely NSFW.

ESADMF = Eat Shit And Die, Mother Fucker!