Joe Horn and John White are killers. However, they aren’t notorious criminals with illicit rap sheets. Both men are law-abiding citizens who felt bound to protect themselves from perceived dangers they encountered in their homes.

Horn, a 61-year-old white male from Houston, called a 911 operator on Nov. 14, 2007, after witnessing two men burglarizing his next-door neighbor’s home. During the intense conversation, Horn told the 911 operator that he had a 12-gauge shot gun and was contemplating shooting the two suspects whom he described as black. The operator pleaded with him to wait for a police officer to arrive, but Horn took it upon himself to stop the criminals by shooting them both in the back as they ran away.

White, a 53-year-old black male from Long Island, New York, was awakened at 11:30 p.m. on the night of Aug. 9, 2006. Five bat-wielding white teenagers came to his home to confront his son, Aaron, over a MySpace prank. According to police reports, the teens were belligerent and shouted racial slurs at John and Aaron. The elder White eventually killed 17-year-old Daniel Cicciaro after he reached for White’s gun.

But while White faces incarceration of 12 to 20 years after being convicted of second-degree manslaughter, Horn remains a free man and is currently receiving praise for his vigilance.

These similar incidents prove that the nation’s laws and those who interpret them remain racially biased. There aren’t any lawful repercussions for an old white man who feels obligated to shoot two individuals in their backs. But a black parent, who chooses to defend himself and his son from five rambunctious white teenagers, will serve time in prison for doing what any responsible father would do. We can’t allow this miscarriage of justice to occur. If we don’t educate ourselves on the laws of this land, the legal system will continue to treat blacks as powerless individuals who lack value. –amir shaw – forrest green III

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