70 yr old Cruise Passenger Kills 20 yr old mugger

[houcruzer]

Couldn't agree more that if this was in the US the retired military guy would be subject to all kinds of legal grief. Good for him and the other passengers to take a stand against thugs.

 

My concern for him is his health. My Dad, also ex military, had a similiar experience when he was 71 and a 30 yr old guy broke into his house. Dad took him down and held him by his hair with his knee in his back until police arrived. Within a couple of months of this Dad's general health began to decline and he has had to replace a knee and will soon have to replace the other knee and both hips. He was healthy and (obviously) strong until this incident but it really took a toll on him. Fortunately he didn't hurt the guy (he said the cops did worse to the would be thief in getting him out of the house then Dad did to him) and the guy attempted no legal action.

[superjerryw]

Perhaps we need to replace some of our public officials with some of the public officials from Costa Rica.

[shoreless]

Perhaps we need to replace some of our public officials with some of the public officials from Costa Rica.

 

Perhaps we need to be very careful what we wish for. ;)

[bob c]

If that had been in the US and EVEN if they would have not filed criminal charges the "victims" families would have filed a civil suit.

 

Sometimes I wonder why some tours take you in the bad areas.

[Host Kewlguy]

Sometimes I wonder why some tours take you in the bad areas.

 

Exactly how many "good areas" does Costa Rica have?

[CGTNORMANDIE]

I wonder if the perps were Costa Rican???

 

SEMPER FI to the 70 year old guy!!!

[rubrrick]

Great story. Good ending!!

[teacherkim]

I was glad to read that the Costa Rican authorities were not pressing charges and the tourist were allowed to leave with their ship. (Stranger things have happened) So few times in situations like that formalities outweigh what is right. Perhaps Cost Rica didn't want the bad publicity to hurt tourism.

 

I would guess you are right about the publicity. We spent a week on a land vacation in Costa Rica and many of the citizens there rely very heavily on the tourist trade. One of our guides spoke to us about crime and said that the people generally supported tough government actions against this type of thing because they want their country to have a reputation for welcoming tourists. In fact they are trying to promote Costa Rica as a retirement choice for Americans and I don't think they want any "punks" to ruin this vital part of the economy. ;)

BTW we had an awesome time in Costa Rica and found the people to be very welcoming and truly glad to have us there.