England Nonsense, Part ....(Eh, I've lost count)

One's home is definitely not one's castle in England these days.

A 56-year-old man, Patrick Walsh, woke up to find an intruder rummaging through his belongings. A struggle apparently ensued, and the battle ended with the homeowner winning:

"It is believed the intruder then smashed the window and clambered out on to a narrow ledge and fell to the ground."

The burglar ended up in the hospital with serious head injuries.

Problem solved, right? Nope. Remember, this is England we're discussing:

"Officers arrested Mr Walsh on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and are trying to establish whether the intruder was forced out of the window."

Of course he was forced out of the window, you dolts. He wasn't supposed to be there in the first place. Walsh was performing the perfectly reasonable act of defending his life and property from an unknown assailant. The assailant gets hurt in the process? Too bad. Except in England:

"Mr Walsh was later released on bail until November. If charged and convicted he could face a life sentence."

For defending himself.

Here's Mr. Walsh's lawyer on the subject:

"'However we appreciate that the public view might be that this is a man arrested in his own home defending his own property.'"

Unfortunately for Mr. Walsh, it's the government's view that counts, not the public's, and the government seems to think that defending one's life is a crime. What was he supposed to do, put on the kettle for some tea and show the burglar where the good stuff was?

Tellingly, the story doesn't even bother to mention the name of the burglar, as if he's somehow the victim in all of this. He'll probably sue Walsh for violating his rights or something.

Utter madness.

The trip embargo continues on.