Defendant found not guilty in double-murder trial
Palm Beach Post Staff Report
Monday, June 25, 2007
June 25, 2007
WEST PALM BEACH — A jury today found Norman Borden not guilty of murdering two men and wounding another in a shooting he maintained was an act of self-defense.
Borden, 44, of suburban West Palm Beach fired 14 shots from his 9mm handgun at three men in a Jeep in the early-morning hours in October after a confrontation with them as he walked his four dogs in the Westgate neighborhood.
An attorney I know opined;
I watched this case closely and poked my head in on some the testimony. Every day, the sheriffs office would station 4 deputies outside the door to screen the gang members.
The prosecutor in this case made some arguments that I suspect he knew were false. The idea that a guy could reassess a life threatening situation according to what a prosecutor thinks is reasonable is flat out stupid. In almost every police shooting, the cops, who have plenty of training, typically exhaust their clips and many times do not even reassess the deadliness of the threat unless and until they are fully satisfied that their lives are no longer in danger. That means you typically get lots of rounds fired. This prosecutor knew full well that the gang members were truly dangerous, that they probably had a gun and that they had embarked upon a campaign in the Westgate neighborhood to let everyone know that they were the law and that any attempts by any residents to call the police would be dealt with severely. This guy was one of the libertarian, NRA, hate taxes type that got into it with them, walked away and even tried to walk his dogs where he thought they would not find him.
His shots were, from my opinion, a very tight grouping. He was clearly a very good shot in the most crucial of times. Once he got home and called 911, he went to jail. The rest of the gang burned down his house and when the flames were put out, bums and thieves made off with anything left of value. As he sat in jail, the County cited his home for code violations and the adjacent school sought its condemnation and foreclosure so that they could eminent domain it. The guy got death threats every day in jail and by chance, he just happened to get the Public Defender, the Public Defender. His attorney, before she was elected to her current position, used to get 300K to 500K for this type of case. She is one of the very best. She flat out outclassed, outworked and outshined a prosecutor who couldnt even keep the jury out on murder case for two hours. This prosecutor was quoted as saying the thing that really hurt him was the truth. Nice. Where was the plea offer that reflected the truth? Where was this honest assessment of a bad case before the jury made quick work of it? Now this prosecutor acts like the whole regrettable incident is at least over and he hopes that all of these gangbangers dont try to kill this guy.....again. Nice.
How can this be made right for a guy who spent 8 months in jail, lost his house and will be looking over his shoulder for the rest of his life?
