This is why you lock them up. Part VII

Two British tourists shot dead in a Florida ghetto:

Shawn Tyson, a 16-year-old drop-out from a special needs school, has been charged with killing the pair.
He lives just 100 yards from the site of the murders and had been released from youth custody for allegedly firing a gun at a car only 12 hours before the killings.

More lives lost because of our catch and release criminal justice system.

This is why you lock them up. Part VI

Same as usual: Criminal with an extensive violent history gets reduced sentence, commits yet another violent crime.

Johnny Simms, 22, had an extensive criminal record that included selling marijuana in high school, cocaine trafficking after getting out of jail, armed robbery and a homicide.

Simms violated his probation when he was again arrested in June 2010, this time for robbery with a deadly weapon and selling cocaine. He pleaded guilty and Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Julio Jimenez sentenced him to one year in prison plus five years' probation.

But Simms served only one month because he had earned credit for time served earlier in a Miami-Dade jail. He was released in September 2010 on five years of court-mandated ``administrative probation,'' a low-level form of supervision that does not require regular check-ins with authorities.

Simms hadn't been out a month before he was again implicated in a violent act.

Out of the 30k'ish gun deaths that occur every year, I wonder how many others can be traced back to incompetent judges giving out softball sentences?


More examples of people who should have stayed locked up:
This is why you lock them up, Part VI
This is why you lock them up. Part IV
This is why you lock them up. Part III
This is why you lock them up. Part II
This is why you lock them up.

Misdirection, thy name is Dupnik.

Apparently, Sheriff Dupnik (the guy who has been making his way around the media claiming how horrible Arizona is) has had prior contact with Jared Loughner for death threats against people.

In this day and age of Homeland Security Theater, wouldn't threatening to kill someone be considered a "Terroristic Threat"? You know, a crime that results in people being locked up?

Instead of being angry with Arizona for being so "bigoted", perhaps he should be angry with himself for letting a criminal walk the streets who would eventually go on to attempt to assassinate a sitting member of congress.

For the entire story read: Jared Loughner is a product of Sheriff Dupnik's office.

Why police shoot guys with knives.

This is also another example of why repeat violent criminals should stay locked up.

Statesman.com

Maurice Pierce, who was once jailed in Austin's infamous 1991 yogurt shop murders and had remained a suspect in the unresolved case, was shot dead Thursday night after taking a police officer's knife and slashing the officer's trachea and carotid artery, police said Friday.

This is why you lock them up. Part V

Known violent criminal brings gun into a Gun Free Zone; Commits more violence. Luckily someone with a gun was there to stop him:

PANAMA CITY, Fla. – A gunman calmly walked up to a podium, spray painted a red "V" with a circle around it on a wall and opened fire at school board members Tuesday, sending people scrambling and diving for cover. A security guard soon ran in, exchanged shots with and wounded the man who then killed himself, police said.

Here is the non-shocker:

State prison records show Duke was charged in October 1999 with aggravated stalking, shooting or throwing a missile into a building or vehicle and obstructing justice. He was convicted and sentenced in January 2000 to five years in prison but was released in January 2004.

My opinion is that if you can't be trusted to own a gun, you can't be trusted to live in free society. To some, that may sound extreme. But if the price of letting violent people walk free is further erosion my 2nd Amendment Rights, then by all means keep violent people locked up. And if were not going to keep violent criminals locked up for our safety, let's do it for their safety. Because more often than not, violent criminals have their lives violently ended.

More examples of people who should have stayed locked up:
This is why you lock them up. Part IV
This is why you lock them up. Part III
This is why you lock them up. Part II
This is why you lock them up.

This is why you lock them up. Part IV

What is so hard about keeping criminals in jail?

Following another Chicago tragedy, it turns out the shooter was just another product of our revolving door criminal justice system:

Prosecutors say he was convicted of a felony gun possession charge two months ago and remains on probation. Brisco also had a juvenile burglary conviction.

Probation for a felony gun charge? Surely it was because he was just another nice kid caught up in a bad situation, right?

Witnesses told authorities that Brisco admitted to being the triggerman shortly after the shooting — even bragging about it, prosecutors said.

Brisco made “several incriminating statements including, ‘We let loose on 107th Street,’ and ‘We got down on them, and aired them out,’ ” according to a written list of allegations presented by prosecutors.

“When asked if he knew if the girls were out there, [Brisco told witnesses,] ‘Yes, but we didn’t care, we let the whole 40 clip go,” according to prosecutors.

Sounds like a great kid. Maybe this time they will actually put him in jail rather than releasing him into the wild to kill more innocent people.

This is why you lock them up. Part III

By now, everyone has heard of Maurice Clemons. The now dead child molesting ex-con who was a person of interest in the execution of 4 Seattle area police officers. Naturally, the gun controllers begin their "blood dance". But some in the media are smart enough to see the real problem.

Clemons is just another in a long line of violent, repeat offenders, who if still locked up up, would have never been able to commit their latest heinous crime.

Increased restrictions on guns might have saved the lives of those four police officers. Keep in mind, Clemons was already breaking numerous firearm laws by simply possessing a firearm. However, the surefire way to have prevented those officers' deaths and even Clemons own death was to never have let Clemons out in the first place. Anyone with a record as long and brutal as his should have stayed locked up.

This is why you lock them up. Part II

A tragic shooting in Money Mike's backyard: Bronx girl, 15, shot in head walking home.

Naturally, this will be followed by cries for Common Sense® gun control, all for The Children® of course. But what won't be discussed is the criminal histories of those responsible for the shooting:

DWAYNE TAYLOR
- 14 arrests since Dec. 2002
- Charges include: weapons possession, harassment, grand larceny, burglary, assault and endangering the welfare of a child.
- In April 2006, Taylor allegedly pushed his ex-girlfriend into a wall, grabbed her hair and bit her back. Her young children were home and saw the attack. He left girlfriend’s apartment, but returned and kicked and banged on door.


CARVETT GENTLES
- No prior arrests


CLIVIE SMITH, aka Moe
- Nine arrests since Feb. 2007
- Charges include: weapons possession, menacing, drug possession and sale, gang assault
- In July, armed with a handgun, he allegedly threatened his aunt, Zelita Mighty, and told her: “I’ll make one phone call and all this will be smashed up.”


CLEVE SMITH
- Six arrests since May 2005
- Charges include: assault, menacing, harassment, grand larceny, robbery, drug possession and sale
- In October, he allegedly told a cop who asked him and friends to disperse from a scene: “F--- you. I’m not leaving.” He then resisted arrest, swung at the cop, caused a cut and swelling.


ROHAN FRANCIS
- Five arrests since Sept. 2007
- Charges include: weapons possession, drug possession, gang assault, robbery, drug sales.

Excluding, Gentles who has no record, none of these people should have been walking free. The most law-abiding among them still had 5 arrests and all them have records of assault. And these are all arrests within the past 7 years. That means on average, each of these criminals is being arrested twice a year.

There is a serious problem in a system where a person can be arrested nearly twice a year for 7 years and still walk free. Had all of the responsible parties been locked up for a minimum of 5-10 years after their third arrest, this shooting would have never occurred.

This is why you lock them up.

On Mikeb302000's blog, I called it:

That may work with young, first-time offenders, but for older, habitual offenders, it's completely pointless. These are people who have made crime into a lifestyle and are more often than not, completely unrepentant for doing so. For those types of offenders, I say keep them locked up. Not only for the safety of society, but their own safety as well. Because it's only a matter of time before they come across an armed citizen who will guarantee they'll never go through the criminal justice system again.

And what happens? Repeat offender killed during the commission of a crime.

The new details shed more light on the circumstances that led up to the death of Donald D. Rice, 49, a repeat offender who had been released from jail over the weekend.

He didn't even wait a whole week before going back to his criminal lifestyle. And the guy bled to death after having his left hand severed with a sword. That's an agonizing way to die. And imagine if Rice had a gun and decided to shoot his sword wielding captor. That would have been a true tragedy.

Luckily that wasn't the case. For now, only the criminal has paid the price for the criminal's (and government's) stupidity. They are still deciding on whether to charge the sword wielding student. Even if they don't charge him, his life will never be the same again.

If you think rehabilitation will help career criminals, here is another criminal killed during the commission of a crime:

A suspected burglar who was shot to death by a Nichols Hills police officer Monday morning was an inmate on a work release program, according to department of correction records.

Here you have a criminal in a rehabilitation program still committing crimes. Again, luckily, only the criminal has paid the price for the criminal's (and government's) stupidity. Sadly, the police officer's life will never be the same again.