I've noticed a disturbing trend in criminal defense lately - if a criminal has children, they're using the children as a reason why the criminal should be released from custody. And get a lighter sentence. Now, it seems to me that once upon a time, it was opposite. If you were a criminal, you got your children taken away from you, so you could no longer influence them with your bad behavior.
One would think that having children would be a very good reason to not commit crimes. One would further think that, even if you weren't concerned how your criminal activities would influence your children, you would care that committing crimes might get your children taken away.
Why does the opposite seem to be happening?
This post actually came about because a woman who was pulled over on suspicion of shoplifting tried to escape by dragging the officer down the road with her car. And her defense attorney put forth the idea that because she has 4 children, she should be let off. :blinkblink:
Makes absolutely no sense. Feel sorry for the kids without their mom because she did something to get herself locked up? More like feel sorry for kids with a mom like that. She obviously doesn't give a rat's ass about her kids or she wouldn't be risking her freedom - freedom she needs so she can be with those kids. She doesn't care about raising her children to be upstanding members of society. She only cares about what she can get without having to pay for it.
And before anyone suggests that maybe she was shoplifting to provide for her children, her car looked pretty nice and she seemed to be able to pay for an attorney to represent her because when she finally turned herself in, she had an attorney with her. Not a public defender, who would've been assigned after her arrest. If she couldn't afford clothes, how is she affording an attorney?
Oh, and her rap sheet was already littered with other crimes. Not an upstanding, mother of the year type. With a role model like that, those four kids will be joining her behind bars eventually. I know the foster care system has problems, but at least there, they might have a chance.
Of course, I'm the horrible one for suggesting that perhaps her children would be better served away from her.
Sometimes I wonder who the hell is running our criminal justice system when the defense for a woman like this is to trot her kids out and say she needs to be with them so let her free.
Jus' Sayin'.
Showing posts with label crime. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crime. Show all posts
Monday, November 11, 2019
Friday, August 9, 2019
Suspended Sentence? WTF?
Our local paper puts out a court report once a month that tells basically who was arrested for what and what the sentence was. It came out in yesterday's paper.
The headline read '9 Incarcerated for Felonies.'
But when I flipped through, there were way more than 9 cases listed. Deciding this bore further investigation, I read deeper. Drug charges... suspended sentence. Theft (burglary, shoplifting, car theft)... suspended sentence. DWI... suspended sentence. Child molestation... suspended sentence. Non-payment of child support... suspended sentence. Battery... suspended sentence. (BTW, across the board of crimes, several of these people were listed as repeat or persistent offenders.)
Of the nine cases that actually saw someone's ass behind bars, only two of them were new. The other seven were for people who had violated their previous suspended sentences, probation, or what have you. Basically, they got caught committing the crime again, and in such a way, a slap on the wrist wouldn't do it.
Naturally, I was all like WTF??? And Hubs was like "Who the hell is our judge?" (Brief googling netted me no names. Apparently, it's a secret.)
Now, I'd like to say this was an isolated and unusual month, but it isn't. This is about par for the court report around here. People commit crimes, they get a slap on the wrist and probation, and then they continue to commit crimes because there is no consequence to their behavior.
And we have a conservative sheriff here who has to be tearing his hair out because whoever the judge is keeps letting these motherfuckers back out onto the streets.
It's no wonder that I was told numerous times when we first moved here to be careful driving the roads because meth-heads are everywhere. Of course, they're everywhere - no one is stopping them from being everywhere.
I'm pretty sure it isn't just in this county. It's here and it's there. In the county, in the city, everywhere. No consequences. You committed a crime? Oh, well sorry to have bothered you. Here's a lollipop. Run along. Oh, if you don't mind, please don't do it again or we shall have to smack your little paddies once more.
What in the sam hill is wrong with our judicial system? Blerg!
Perhaps, if there were actual punishments for crimes, the punishments would deter people from committing the crimes. Cuz obviously this whole suspended sentence thing ain't workin'.
Jus' sayin'.
The headline read '9 Incarcerated for Felonies.'
But when I flipped through, there were way more than 9 cases listed. Deciding this bore further investigation, I read deeper. Drug charges... suspended sentence. Theft (burglary, shoplifting, car theft)... suspended sentence. DWI... suspended sentence. Child molestation... suspended sentence. Non-payment of child support... suspended sentence. Battery... suspended sentence. (BTW, across the board of crimes, several of these people were listed as repeat or persistent offenders.)
Of the nine cases that actually saw someone's ass behind bars, only two of them were new. The other seven were for people who had violated their previous suspended sentences, probation, or what have you. Basically, they got caught committing the crime again, and in such a way, a slap on the wrist wouldn't do it.
Naturally, I was all like WTF??? And Hubs was like "Who the hell is our judge?" (Brief googling netted me no names. Apparently, it's a secret.)
Now, I'd like to say this was an isolated and unusual month, but it isn't. This is about par for the court report around here. People commit crimes, they get a slap on the wrist and probation, and then they continue to commit crimes because there is no consequence to their behavior.
And we have a conservative sheriff here who has to be tearing his hair out because whoever the judge is keeps letting these motherfuckers back out onto the streets.
It's no wonder that I was told numerous times when we first moved here to be careful driving the roads because meth-heads are everywhere. Of course, they're everywhere - no one is stopping them from being everywhere.
I'm pretty sure it isn't just in this county. It's here and it's there. In the county, in the city, everywhere. No consequences. You committed a crime? Oh, well sorry to have bothered you. Here's a lollipop. Run along. Oh, if you don't mind, please don't do it again or we shall have to smack your little paddies once more.
What in the sam hill is wrong with our judicial system? Blerg!
Perhaps, if there were actual punishments for crimes, the punishments would deter people from committing the crimes. Cuz obviously this whole suspended sentence thing ain't workin'.
Jus' sayin'.
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
Miranda Rights
Who in this country does not know their Miranda rights? I mean, seriously. I knew my Miranda rights by the time I was 12 - from watching cop shows on TV. I can recite the old version of them by heart now...
You have the right to remain silent. If you give up this right*, anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided to you.
From watching Live PD, they've added some more words to it, but it's basically the same gist. Right to remain silent. Right to an attorney - paid for by the state if you can't fork out the money yourself. Easy peasy.
The police used to be able to just tell you your rights, but now, I guess, they have to read them off a little card. They're the same either way.
Before the law enforcement official asks you any questions, he needs to read you your rights. If he doesn't, anything you say is probably inadmissible in court. (I'm not a lawyer, I just watch a lot of TV.) So, it benefits the law enforcers to make sure you are read your rights and understand them, so they can ask you stuff.
So, I find it funny when I'm watching COPS or Live PD and some person is squealing about not being read their rights before they're even to the interrogation phase. Officers do not need to read rights to put handcuffs on a person. They don't need to read rights to detain someone.
Then again, if these people were half as smart as they think they are, they probably wouldn't be in handcuffs. Jus' sayin'.
*That part doesn't sound right to me, but it's late and I'm tired. I'll correct it in the morning, if I remember.
You have the right to remain silent. If you give up this right*, anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided to you.
From watching Live PD, they've added some more words to it, but it's basically the same gist. Right to remain silent. Right to an attorney - paid for by the state if you can't fork out the money yourself. Easy peasy.
The police used to be able to just tell you your rights, but now, I guess, they have to read them off a little card. They're the same either way.
Before the law enforcement official asks you any questions, he needs to read you your rights. If he doesn't, anything you say is probably inadmissible in court. (I'm not a lawyer, I just watch a lot of TV.) So, it benefits the law enforcers to make sure you are read your rights and understand them, so they can ask you stuff.
So, I find it funny when I'm watching COPS or Live PD and some person is squealing about not being read their rights before they're even to the interrogation phase. Officers do not need to read rights to put handcuffs on a person. They don't need to read rights to detain someone.
Then again, if these people were half as smart as they think they are, they probably wouldn't be in handcuffs. Jus' sayin'.
*That part doesn't sound right to me, but it's late and I'm tired. I'll correct it in the morning, if I remember.
Monday, April 2, 2018
The Monkey was Framed
In this morning's news, there's a story about how a monkey supposedly snatched a newborn baby from beside its sleeping mother in some village in India. They found the baby dead a day or so later in a well just outside the family home. The baby, of course, showed signs of injury. They are proposing that the baby was injury because the monkey dropped it and then it ended up in the well.
As if that didn't send my crime sensors tingling, now the village is protesting to get compensation from the park service because it's their fault the baby died because it's their fault the monkeys are so out of control.
Now, it is not outside the realm of possibility that a monkey did, in fact, kill this baby. Monkeys are assholes.
But the more I read, the more suspicious I got that the monkey was framed.
First, monkeys are not known for being quiet. Mothers, on the other hand, are known for being hypersensitive to any noise generating from or around their newborn babies. But this mom supposedly slept through the abduction, awaking just in time to see said monkey making off with her child. Hmm.
Second, they said they searched frantically for this baby, but only noticed it was in the well 24 hours after it had been abducted. The well, as I noted, was right outside the family home. And apparently an open-air well so anyone could just look down it and see the baby floating there. (Which is apparently what finally happened.)
So, here's what I think actually occurred... The mother or the father for some reason or other accidentally or on purpose kills the baby. The villagers don't want to see the parent arrested by the police, so they come up with this monkey story. Who better to frame than the asshole monkeys, right? Plus, now the village can sue the park department for compensation. And maybe finally get rid of the furry little buggers who have been plaguing their village.
The Indian authorities are conducting an investigation, but right now, the only suspects they have are the monkeys. :eyeroll: We'll see if the truth ever comes out.
As if that didn't send my crime sensors tingling, now the village is protesting to get compensation from the park service because it's their fault the baby died because it's their fault the monkeys are so out of control.
Now, it is not outside the realm of possibility that a monkey did, in fact, kill this baby. Monkeys are assholes.
But the more I read, the more suspicious I got that the monkey was framed.
First, monkeys are not known for being quiet. Mothers, on the other hand, are known for being hypersensitive to any noise generating from or around their newborn babies. But this mom supposedly slept through the abduction, awaking just in time to see said monkey making off with her child. Hmm.
Second, they said they searched frantically for this baby, but only noticed it was in the well 24 hours after it had been abducted. The well, as I noted, was right outside the family home. And apparently an open-air well so anyone could just look down it and see the baby floating there. (Which is apparently what finally happened.)
So, here's what I think actually occurred... The mother or the father for some reason or other accidentally or on purpose kills the baby. The villagers don't want to see the parent arrested by the police, so they come up with this monkey story. Who better to frame than the asshole monkeys, right? Plus, now the village can sue the park department for compensation. And maybe finally get rid of the furry little buggers who have been plaguing their village.
The Indian authorities are conducting an investigation, but right now, the only suspects they have are the monkeys. :eyeroll: We'll see if the truth ever comes out.
Monday, March 26, 2018
Scanning the Scanners
A while back I started following a Facebook page for the people who monitor the scanners in Genesee County, MI. Not sure of the reason, but I've been following it for a while. Probably started to keep tabs on the crime in the area where my mother still resides. Anyway, the other day she was telling me about something and I went to the scanner page to see if they had more info. Nope. So I searched for related pages and found the one for Flint, MI. I followed it.
It's an educational experience, lemme tell ya. Not that it's telling me anything I didn't already suspect. Crime in Flint is rampant and as out of control as it was in the '80s.
I looked for a similar page here, but no. I guess we're too rural or something. I searched Greene County, MO - which is Springfield. Springfield is crimey enough that it's now a regular contributor to Live PD. Hell, when I still watched the local news, it seemed crimey enough for me to think it was trying to compete against Flint for most crime-ridden smallish city in the US. :shrug: But no scanner page. It would've been interesting to see.
Anyway, whoever contributes to these scanner pages on FB apparently listens to the local police scanner and then types up whatever it is they hear. (Sometimes with horribly atrocious spelling errors, but I guess that can't be helped.) For instance, Friday night there was a person with a gun in the lobby of a hospital located in the downtown Flint area. There was also 'unknown trouble' at a local strip club, two calls to area bars, numerous domestic disturbances, several overdoses, lots of 'shots fired', and a fight involving 25+ people. Makes me want to kidnap Mom and move her somewhere safe - if such a place even exists anymore. (For the record, she does not live in Flint. Just a suburb of it. Which is bad enough, lemme tell ya.)
Personally, I don't have a scanner. Like I said, rural. It would have to have a really huge range to get me any kind of anything interesting. I might maybe catch an accident call on the highway near here, but I can read about those in the paper later. It might've been interesting to listen to when we had those two murders we've had near here.
Still, I'm finding it all interesting. And who knows, I might find some story ideas in there somewhere. ;o)
Edited to add: Sometimes reading the scanners pages leads to trouble when the scanner doesn't give complete information and you read about an event near someone you know, but you can't figure out if it's them or someone else until it gets later in the morning so you can contact them. It's Mondaying all over me this morning. (It was not the person I know and love, but I had twenty interesting minutes trying to figure that out. 20 minutes, 3 cigarettes, a concerned email (too early to call and said person would be en route to work anyway), and a cup of coffee later I found an article with witness statements that told me for sure it wasn't my person. Ugh.)
Do you listen to the scanner or follow any scanner pages on FB?
It's an educational experience, lemme tell ya. Not that it's telling me anything I didn't already suspect. Crime in Flint is rampant and as out of control as it was in the '80s.
I looked for a similar page here, but no. I guess we're too rural or something. I searched Greene County, MO - which is Springfield. Springfield is crimey enough that it's now a regular contributor to Live PD. Hell, when I still watched the local news, it seemed crimey enough for me to think it was trying to compete against Flint for most crime-ridden smallish city in the US. :shrug: But no scanner page. It would've been interesting to see.
Anyway, whoever contributes to these scanner pages on FB apparently listens to the local police scanner and then types up whatever it is they hear. (Sometimes with horribly atrocious spelling errors, but I guess that can't be helped.) For instance, Friday night there was a person with a gun in the lobby of a hospital located in the downtown Flint area. There was also 'unknown trouble' at a local strip club, two calls to area bars, numerous domestic disturbances, several overdoses, lots of 'shots fired', and a fight involving 25+ people. Makes me want to kidnap Mom and move her somewhere safe - if such a place even exists anymore. (For the record, she does not live in Flint. Just a suburb of it. Which is bad enough, lemme tell ya.)
Personally, I don't have a scanner. Like I said, rural. It would have to have a really huge range to get me any kind of anything interesting. I might maybe catch an accident call on the highway near here, but I can read about those in the paper later. It might've been interesting to listen to when we had those two murders we've had near here.
Still, I'm finding it all interesting. And who knows, I might find some story ideas in there somewhere. ;o)
Edited to add: Sometimes reading the scanners pages leads to trouble when the scanner doesn't give complete information and you read about an event near someone you know, but you can't figure out if it's them or someone else until it gets later in the morning so you can contact them. It's Mondaying all over me this morning. (It was not the person I know and love, but I had twenty interesting minutes trying to figure that out. 20 minutes, 3 cigarettes, a concerned email (too early to call and said person would be en route to work anyway), and a cup of coffee later I found an article with witness statements that told me for sure it wasn't my person. Ugh.)
Do you listen to the scanner or follow any scanner pages on FB?
Friday, January 19, 2018
Jus' Sayin'
The other day I was talking to the assistant manager at the local dollar store. He was bemoaning the fact that they're short-handed. They've been short-handed for months. And it's not that people aren't applying for jobs. It's that none of them can pass the background checks.
Think about that for a second. Having fucked your life up so bad you're unable to pass the background check for a job at a dollar store. You may say 'but they didn't fuck their whole life up, they just made one mistake, maybe'. To which I'd say, 'the one mistake fucked their whole life up because now they can't even get a job at a dollar store.'
Here's something I found at an online employment site (company name redacted) that tells what a background check would entail:
All employment offers at :dollar store: are contingent upon passing a background check. :dollar store: uses the background check to look for criminal convictions on your record. They also use it to verify the information that you’ve provided on your application. So don’t try to be sneaky and twist the facts — honesty is the best policy.
Let's think about that for another second. None of the people in this rural area can pass a background check. Which means either 1) criminal convictions or 2) lying on their application.
Sure, the reasons could be people lying. But why would someone lie on a dollar store application? They're so shorthanded that you don't need any experience, so you don't have to lie about that. So, the only reason I can think of for lying on your application would be a criminal background. And we're back to #1 again. Crime.
Oh, and you need to pass a drug test. Which, failing said test, would also mean a crime.
Back to the one mistake thing. One mistake can fuck your whole life up. So, knowing that - and if you don't know that you're either in denial or you live in a hole - why WHY Whyyy would you do something that might potentially fuck up your life? Jus' askin'.
I follow the Bangor, Maine Police Department on FB. They end a lot of their posts with the same advice: "Keep your hands to yourself, leave other people's things alone, and be kind to one another." Seems pretty simple, eh? Not a hard set of rules to follow that would lead to you not being unable to work at a dollar store, right?
Apparently it is a hard set of rules. Around here anyway. And I would suspect we aren't the only area experiencing a dearth of background passing applicants.
Jus' sayin'.
On a side note, it's nice to know I would have a job to fall back on if I needed one. Bet I could walk in there today and have a job by the end of the month. I already have a huge leg up on the other applicants. Because I can pass a freakin' background check. And that's just sad.
Wednesday, December 13, 2017
Crime and Punishment... Or Lack Thereof
I'm not really sure what's going on in the world lately. People are committing crimes and not being punished for them.
The guy who shot that gal in California but was found 'not guilty' because he said the gun went off - several times into a crowd - accidentally after he'd dropped it and picked it back up again. He was already a criminal, but hey...
The woman who passed out from being high on drugs and let her child freeze to death on her porch. No jail time.
The man who raped a 12-year old girl while wearing his monitoring anklet, who - if he'd been punished in the first place - would have been in a cage instead of walking around where he could ruin some poor girl's life.
The numerous people who get off on 'not guilty by reason of disease or mental defect'. (Personally, I'd prefer they re-word that to 'guilty but insane' and then they still get punished.)
Plea deals that let murderers walk free after 5 years.
Bleeding hearts who go easy on offenders who then go commit more, and often worse, crimes once they're let go.
People who commit multiple crimes but are only charged with one, and then get off lightly.
:shudder:
Punishment. Crimes are supposed to include punishment. Not reform. Not help. Pun-ish-ment. It's supposed to be a deterrent. Think about what you've done so you are less likely to do it again. What deters a criminal if they are either never punished at all or are lightly punished for a heavy crime?
Jus' somethin' to think about this morning.
The guy who shot that gal in California but was found 'not guilty' because he said the gun went off - several times into a crowd - accidentally after he'd dropped it and picked it back up again. He was already a criminal, but hey...
The woman who passed out from being high on drugs and let her child freeze to death on her porch. No jail time.
The man who raped a 12-year old girl while wearing his monitoring anklet, who - if he'd been punished in the first place - would have been in a cage instead of walking around where he could ruin some poor girl's life.
The numerous people who get off on 'not guilty by reason of disease or mental defect'. (Personally, I'd prefer they re-word that to 'guilty but insane' and then they still get punished.)
Plea deals that let murderers walk free after 5 years.
Bleeding hearts who go easy on offenders who then go commit more, and often worse, crimes once they're let go.
People who commit multiple crimes but are only charged with one, and then get off lightly.
:shudder:
Punishment. Crimes are supposed to include punishment. Not reform. Not help. Pun-ish-ment. It's supposed to be a deterrent. Think about what you've done so you are less likely to do it again. What deters a criminal if they are either never punished at all or are lightly punished for a heavy crime?
Jus' somethin' to think about this morning.
Friday, December 8, 2017
Crime at the Holidays
Christmas is the season where we're supposed to be all giving and full of the milk of human kindness for our fellow man. Unfortunately, there are also shitheads who don't care and make this time of year their hunting season. And then there are the people who use the stress of the holidays and the imbibing of alcohol as an excuse to commit crimes against other people.
So far this week, right here in the back of beyond, we had a murder in a house I pass every time I go to the park to go fishing. One gentleman stabbed another repeatedly. Early reports are that they were friends. And the gas station, where I fill up my vehicle with fuel and myself with coffee, got robbed by an employee who also had a bunch of drugs in his car. AND someone busted in the front door of the feed store where I pick up grain for the critters. Assholes didn't get anything, thank goodness, but still, you really don't expect that shit in the middle of freakin' nowhere.
I assume most of you don't live in the middle of nowhere, though. You're living in more heavily populated areas and thus must be even more vigilant than my fellow Ozarkians. (I'm vigilant all the damn time because I have lived in big cities and little cities, burgs and towns and villages and rural locales. It all made me watchful.)
I watched a video this morning of police officers asking whether a woman had locked her car before going into the mall. She said 'yes, of course' and then another officer went to her car. The back door opened right up. Her alarms went off, of course, but by the time anyone would notice (or care... car alarms go off all the time and no one cares anymore), her stuff would've been gone.
They'll steal stuff out of your car. They'll steal stuff out of your cart - like your purse, if you aren't paying attention. They'll steal stuff off your porch...
I saw a report a few days ago of a city's police department leaving fake packages on people's porches around town. The packages were equipped with GPS tracking, so when the assholes stole the packages, the police could catch them in the act. Smart.
Anyway, be alert out there. Stay away from drunks. You know who amongst your friends and family can't handle their booze and become 'instant asshole' (instant asshole, just add alcohol). Lock everything, all the time. If you're having packages delivered, be home. And if you can't be home, have them delivered to someone you know will be home or at your place of work or to a rented PO Box.
Don't let a criminal ruin your holiday season, okay? And have as merry a little Christmas as you can. Or a pleasant Hannukah. Or whatever.
So far this week, right here in the back of beyond, we had a murder in a house I pass every time I go to the park to go fishing. One gentleman stabbed another repeatedly. Early reports are that they were friends. And the gas station, where I fill up my vehicle with fuel and myself with coffee, got robbed by an employee who also had a bunch of drugs in his car. AND someone busted in the front door of the feed store where I pick up grain for the critters. Assholes didn't get anything, thank goodness, but still, you really don't expect that shit in the middle of freakin' nowhere.
I assume most of you don't live in the middle of nowhere, though. You're living in more heavily populated areas and thus must be even more vigilant than my fellow Ozarkians. (I'm vigilant all the damn time because I have lived in big cities and little cities, burgs and towns and villages and rural locales. It all made me watchful.)
I watched a video this morning of police officers asking whether a woman had locked her car before going into the mall. She said 'yes, of course' and then another officer went to her car. The back door opened right up. Her alarms went off, of course, but by the time anyone would notice (or care... car alarms go off all the time and no one cares anymore), her stuff would've been gone.
They'll steal stuff out of your car. They'll steal stuff out of your cart - like your purse, if you aren't paying attention. They'll steal stuff off your porch...
I saw a report a few days ago of a city's police department leaving fake packages on people's porches around town. The packages were equipped with GPS tracking, so when the assholes stole the packages, the police could catch them in the act. Smart.
Anyway, be alert out there. Stay away from drunks. You know who amongst your friends and family can't handle their booze and become 'instant asshole' (instant asshole, just add alcohol). Lock everything, all the time. If you're having packages delivered, be home. And if you can't be home, have them delivered to someone you know will be home or at your place of work or to a rented PO Box.
Don't let a criminal ruin your holiday season, okay? And have as merry a little Christmas as you can. Or a pleasant Hannukah. Or whatever.
Monday, June 26, 2017
Robbery in the Back of Beyond
I was out and about in the world yesterday... Okay, I was out fishing... when I stopped at my favorite bait shop. It's a little place in the middle of nowhere, near the entrance to a state park. The two gals that work there are nice, salt of the earth people. And I chat with them when I'm there.
The older of the two ladies was working. And we happened to get on the topic of crime.
You see, I had picked up a box of worms ($3) and a beverage. I asked her if the beverage was under $2 because I only had a five with me. After she assured me I was fine, I explained that I never carry more than my driver's license and a little cash because I don't feel safe leaving my purse in the car while I'm fishing. She nodded her head and told me she understood because her home had recently been broken into.
In a tiny town in the back of beyond, her home where she'd lived for 30 years without ever worrying about locking her doors had been robbed.
The thieves didn't get much. She doesn't have much. She works in a goddamn bait store for petesakes. They took mostly things she wasn't attached to - which she will still have to pay money to replace - and a few items that were irreplaceable. Heirlooms. Memories. The ring her husband, who had since passed on, purchased for her 50 years ago. An item that had been her grandmother's. (She's easily in her 70s, so you can imagine how old that was.) A dish full of candy that she keeps on a counter for when her grandchildren visit.
I'd say it was a sign of the times, and perhaps it is, but my family's home was broken into back in 1976. We lived in the middle of nowhere, too. Farther away from other people than my acquaintance here. And of all the things those assholes back then took, the things I think my mother misses most are the heirlooms.
I think the impetus was the same in either case - things the thieves could turn into money for drugs. Little things. Unimportant items in the scheme of things. But extremely important things to the individuals who owned them.
Now, I do know some people who insist that if drugs were legalized, crimes of this nature would cease. I don't agree. Whether the drugs cost $100 or $20, the people doing the drugs would still need money to pay for them, and since doing drugs leads to an inability to do quality, dependable work, which leads to unemployment, then the drug users would still need to steal to fund their habit. :shrug:
I don't know. I know this incident makes me sad. She's a lovely person, minding her own business, and working to supplement whatever income she has (I assume). And these silly, stupid motherfuckers break into her house to take her belongings.
On the upside, she relayed the whole story to me without an ounce of feeling sorry for herself and without the rage I know I'd be feeling. Like I said, she's a nice person. I'd be ranting to anyone who would listen. I'd want blood.
I left, wishing her luck in the apprehension of the robbers and offering a hope that she gets her stuff back. We both knew that's unlikely. They never caught the people who robbed us back in 1976. The police here aren't any better or worse than those back then, but the obstacles are the same. Petty crime, small items...
And I came home glad I live here instead of there - even if it's only a few miles difference. Oh, I know it could easily happen here. Which is why we lock our doors even when we're home, even if we're just going into the back yard. Always. Sad that we have to do that because other people can't keep their hands to themselves. =o\
The older of the two ladies was working. And we happened to get on the topic of crime.
You see, I had picked up a box of worms ($3) and a beverage. I asked her if the beverage was under $2 because I only had a five with me. After she assured me I was fine, I explained that I never carry more than my driver's license and a little cash because I don't feel safe leaving my purse in the car while I'm fishing. She nodded her head and told me she understood because her home had recently been broken into.
In a tiny town in the back of beyond, her home where she'd lived for 30 years without ever worrying about locking her doors had been robbed.
The thieves didn't get much. She doesn't have much. She works in a goddamn bait store for petesakes. They took mostly things she wasn't attached to - which she will still have to pay money to replace - and a few items that were irreplaceable. Heirlooms. Memories. The ring her husband, who had since passed on, purchased for her 50 years ago. An item that had been her grandmother's. (She's easily in her 70s, so you can imagine how old that was.) A dish full of candy that she keeps on a counter for when her grandchildren visit.
I'd say it was a sign of the times, and perhaps it is, but my family's home was broken into back in 1976. We lived in the middle of nowhere, too. Farther away from other people than my acquaintance here. And of all the things those assholes back then took, the things I think my mother misses most are the heirlooms.
I think the impetus was the same in either case - things the thieves could turn into money for drugs. Little things. Unimportant items in the scheme of things. But extremely important things to the individuals who owned them.
Now, I do know some people who insist that if drugs were legalized, crimes of this nature would cease. I don't agree. Whether the drugs cost $100 or $20, the people doing the drugs would still need money to pay for them, and since doing drugs leads to an inability to do quality, dependable work, which leads to unemployment, then the drug users would still need to steal to fund their habit. :shrug:
I don't know. I know this incident makes me sad. She's a lovely person, minding her own business, and working to supplement whatever income she has (I assume). And these silly, stupid motherfuckers break into her house to take her belongings.
On the upside, she relayed the whole story to me without an ounce of feeling sorry for herself and without the rage I know I'd be feeling. Like I said, she's a nice person. I'd be ranting to anyone who would listen. I'd want blood.
I left, wishing her luck in the apprehension of the robbers and offering a hope that she gets her stuff back. We both knew that's unlikely. They never caught the people who robbed us back in 1976. The police here aren't any better or worse than those back then, but the obstacles are the same. Petty crime, small items...
And I came home glad I live here instead of there - even if it's only a few miles difference. Oh, I know it could easily happen here. Which is why we lock our doors even when we're home, even if we're just going into the back yard. Always. Sad that we have to do that because other people can't keep their hands to themselves. =o\
Friday, June 2, 2017
Crime and Punishment in the News
I'm trying something new and building this post throughout the week rather than all at once on Friday morning. Less scrambling around trying to remember what news stories I saw. Here are the ones I thought you might find interesting.
Federal judge throws out sentencing for DC sniper because the dude was a 'minor' at the time of the crimes. 10 people dead, but hey, he was 17 so he didn't really mean it. http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/05/27/federal-judge-throws-out-convicted-d-c-snipers-four-life-sentences/
Woman in NYC gets slashed in the face by a crazy person because she didn't want to sit with her baby next to the bitch. When they finally caught the attacker, they found she'd already been arrested 60 times. Umm... WTF? http://nypost.com/2017/05/28/woman-slashed-on-subway-platform-at-grand-central/
Meanwhile in Chicago, a dude going about his business as an Uber driver, trying to make a living, gets hacked to death in a random incident by a 16 year old girl who stole the weapons she used to kill him. This article calls it a spontaneous attack. Not really sure about that since she stole the knife and the machete, called for an Uber pick-up, and then started stabbing the guy right after she got into his car. That shit sounds planned to me. Sorta like she said to herself that morning 'today I'm gonna stab the shit out of some unsuspecting Uber driver' and whichever one picked her up was the one that got it. http://www.fox32chicago.com/news/crime/257826860-story
In Philadelphia, someone stabbed a city councilman. It seems like they're making the assumption that it was a robbery gone bad, but my bullshit senses are tingling. Random robbery in a residential area where there's typically little foot traffic? Umm, ri-ight. http://www.fox29.com/news/258191304-story
Sorry there isn't as much punishment as crime this week. That's sometimes the way of things, I guess.
Federal judge throws out sentencing for DC sniper because the dude was a 'minor' at the time of the crimes. 10 people dead, but hey, he was 17 so he didn't really mean it. http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/05/27/federal-judge-throws-out-convicted-d-c-snipers-four-life-sentences/
Woman in NYC gets slashed in the face by a crazy person because she didn't want to sit with her baby next to the bitch. When they finally caught the attacker, they found she'd already been arrested 60 times. Umm... WTF? http://nypost.com/2017/05/28/woman-slashed-on-subway-platform-at-grand-central/
Meanwhile in Chicago, a dude going about his business as an Uber driver, trying to make a living, gets hacked to death in a random incident by a 16 year old girl who stole the weapons she used to kill him. This article calls it a spontaneous attack. Not really sure about that since she stole the knife and the machete, called for an Uber pick-up, and then started stabbing the guy right after she got into his car. That shit sounds planned to me. Sorta like she said to herself that morning 'today I'm gonna stab the shit out of some unsuspecting Uber driver' and whichever one picked her up was the one that got it. http://www.fox32chicago.com/news/crime/257826860-story
In Philadelphia, someone stabbed a city councilman. It seems like they're making the assumption that it was a robbery gone bad, but my bullshit senses are tingling. Random robbery in a residential area where there's typically little foot traffic? Umm, ri-ight. http://www.fox29.com/news/258191304-story
Sorry there isn't as much punishment as crime this week. That's sometimes the way of things, I guess.
Friday, May 26, 2017
Crime and Punishment in the News
In recent crime and punishment news*...
Alabama executed the supposed 'Houdini of Death Row' (because he'd managed to wiggle his way out of 7 other execution dates): http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2017/05/live_updates_alabama_death_row.html
Kuwaiti officials apprehend pigeon carrying backpack full of drugs: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-40042260
Then there's the 8-yr old car thief: http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/2017/05/16/police-8-year-old-arrested-palm-bay-car-burglary-case/101740458/
And the other little hoodlums in the same town: http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/2017/05/17/more-youth-arrested-palm-bay-car-theft/101784600/
And these assholes who killed a little boy after they stole the car he was asleep inside: http://ktla.com/2017/05/18/3-mississippi-teenagers-arrested-for-allegedly-killing-6-year-old-boy-after-stealing-car-he-was-left-in/
In happier news, here's a Chicago cabbie who rescued a little girl in the same situation as above: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-girl-unharmed-after-north-side-car-theft-20170518-story.html
And the feds are finally getting tough on crime again. http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/sessions-directs-federal-prosecutors-to-seek-max-punishment-for-crimes/article/2622895
* You may notice a major omission in the crime news from this week. I prefer not to touch on the horrific crimes in Manchester at this time. It will lead to ranting and arm-waving and a rise in blood pressure, and I'm not in the mood.
Alabama executed the supposed 'Houdini of Death Row' (because he'd managed to wiggle his way out of 7 other execution dates): http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2017/05/live_updates_alabama_death_row.html
Kuwaiti officials apprehend pigeon carrying backpack full of drugs: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-40042260
Then there's the 8-yr old car thief: http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/2017/05/16/police-8-year-old-arrested-palm-bay-car-burglary-case/101740458/
And the other little hoodlums in the same town: http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/2017/05/17/more-youth-arrested-palm-bay-car-theft/101784600/
And these assholes who killed a little boy after they stole the car he was asleep inside: http://ktla.com/2017/05/18/3-mississippi-teenagers-arrested-for-allegedly-killing-6-year-old-boy-after-stealing-car-he-was-left-in/
In happier news, here's a Chicago cabbie who rescued a little girl in the same situation as above: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-girl-unharmed-after-north-side-car-theft-20170518-story.html
And the feds are finally getting tough on crime again. http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/sessions-directs-federal-prosecutors-to-seek-max-punishment-for-crimes/article/2622895
* You may notice a major omission in the crime news from this week. I prefer not to touch on the horrific crimes in Manchester at this time. It will lead to ranting and arm-waving and a rise in blood pressure, and I'm not in the mood.
Friday, May 5, 2017
Crime in the News... Yesteryear Edition
Dateline 1979... Not that big a trip in the wayback machine, but definitely not a current event.
A pregnant woman is brutally raped and beaten She loses the baby and sustains a major head injury. After the fact, she cannot remember the attack or the events leading up to it. Months later, she has a flashback of sorts and suddenly, she is certain her husband is the culprit. He stands trial and, based on her testimony, he is found guilty and sentenced to 15 - life.
He maintains his innocence. (But don't they all, right?) He swears he was out getting burgers at the time of her attack and came home to find her afterwards. He says he saw a man getting into a vehicle and leaving the area when he got home from his burger run. None of that matters because his wife swears he's the one who attacked her.
Flash forward to 1996 when DNA technology was in its infancy but already becoming a major tool in crime investigation. They test the rape kit from the attack. The DNA matches... a serial rapist who had been hunting that area during the time of her attack and is in prison for raping and attacking other women. After 16 years in prison, the husband is exonerated.
Three years later, he is awarded over $600K for his wrongful imprisonment. Two months after that, he settles a lawsuit with his now ex-wife who is still sure he had some measure of responsibility in the death of their baby.
Umm... yeah. There are so many things wrong with this, I'm not sure where to begin.
Oh, I get why he was convicted. Kind of. She said he did it. She, who had sustained brain damage during the attack, giving her all the joys that come with that shit, took the stand and pointed at him. It should've been a defense attorney's field day. In the couple occasions where I might've been called upon to testify for the prosecution, I worried that some defense attorney might bring up my own brain injury as a weapon to use against my testimony. In her case, I suspect someone was helping plant those memories in her shattered head.
Plus, back in 1980, they only had blood type to go on with regard to evidence. He had O+, the attacker had O+. (The most common blood type, btw.) Bingo bango bongo, he's guilty. Except when he isn't.
And I get why he settled the lawsuit. After all both he and she had been through, he didn't want to drag them both through a court battle. Hell, he probably feels some measure of displaced guilt because if he hadn't left her home alone that night, the whole thing might not have happened.
I don't get why she brought the lawsuit in the first place. Except he'd just come into a boatload of money. Which is kind of sick, in my opinion. Using the tragedy of all that occurred to squeeze cash out of a man who'd already paid for something he didn't do with 16 years of his life. Feh.
Anyway, as people (as in The Innocence Project) look into more and more of these older crimes using newer technology, we're seeing more and more cases get overturned. Cases that today would never end in a guilty verdict. And one hopes that as the old crimes age and disappear, we'll stop seeing this kind of miscarriage of justice. Technology is an awesome thing.
A pregnant woman is brutally raped and beaten She loses the baby and sustains a major head injury. After the fact, she cannot remember the attack or the events leading up to it. Months later, she has a flashback of sorts and suddenly, she is certain her husband is the culprit. He stands trial and, based on her testimony, he is found guilty and sentenced to 15 - life.
He maintains his innocence. (But don't they all, right?) He swears he was out getting burgers at the time of her attack and came home to find her afterwards. He says he saw a man getting into a vehicle and leaving the area when he got home from his burger run. None of that matters because his wife swears he's the one who attacked her.
Flash forward to 1996 when DNA technology was in its infancy but already becoming a major tool in crime investigation. They test the rape kit from the attack. The DNA matches... a serial rapist who had been hunting that area during the time of her attack and is in prison for raping and attacking other women. After 16 years in prison, the husband is exonerated.
Three years later, he is awarded over $600K for his wrongful imprisonment. Two months after that, he settles a lawsuit with his now ex-wife who is still sure he had some measure of responsibility in the death of their baby.
Umm... yeah. There are so many things wrong with this, I'm not sure where to begin.
Oh, I get why he was convicted. Kind of. She said he did it. She, who had sustained brain damage during the attack, giving her all the joys that come with that shit, took the stand and pointed at him. It should've been a defense attorney's field day. In the couple occasions where I might've been called upon to testify for the prosecution, I worried that some defense attorney might bring up my own brain injury as a weapon to use against my testimony. In her case, I suspect someone was helping plant those memories in her shattered head.
Plus, back in 1980, they only had blood type to go on with regard to evidence. He had O+, the attacker had O+. (The most common blood type, btw.) Bingo bango bongo, he's guilty. Except when he isn't.
And I get why he settled the lawsuit. After all both he and she had been through, he didn't want to drag them both through a court battle. Hell, he probably feels some measure of displaced guilt because if he hadn't left her home alone that night, the whole thing might not have happened.
I don't get why she brought the lawsuit in the first place. Except he'd just come into a boatload of money. Which is kind of sick, in my opinion. Using the tragedy of all that occurred to squeeze cash out of a man who'd already paid for something he didn't do with 16 years of his life. Feh.
Anyway, as people (as in The Innocence Project) look into more and more of these older crimes using newer technology, we're seeing more and more cases get overturned. Cases that today would never end in a guilty verdict. And one hopes that as the old crimes age and disappear, we'll stop seeing this kind of miscarriage of justice. Technology is an awesome thing.
Friday, April 28, 2017
Crime in the News...
In today's crime news...
A Delaware state trooper was murdered earlier this week. This morning, his killer came out of the hole where he was hiding, tried firing on the officers who had his hole surrounded, and ended up dead. Glad he took that way out instead of sitting in jail for decades. http://www.capitalgazette.com/bowie_bladenews/news/ph-ac-bb-bowie-trooper-20170427-story.html
Arkansas executes its fourth criminal in a week. Should've been eight, in my opinion. Anyway, people seem to be waving their arms all over the place because he experienced convulsions before he died. Boo fuckin' hoo. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/04/28/lawyer-calls-to-investigate-arkansas-execution-after-inmate-convulsed-before-dying.html
In Michigan, a group of butchers calling themselves doctors have been arrested for mutilating little girls' private parts in the name of their religion. May they rot in hell. http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/26/health/fgm-indictment-michigan/
A little, 1-yr old girl who was reported missing was actually dead inside the 'home' in Illinois where she lived with her family and a bunch of other people. I get the feeling they made it sound like she'd just wandered off, but she'd only just learned to walk. She was stuffed inside a couch in the house. (I put quotes around home up there because it was a shithole where a bunch of people were squatting.) http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-missing-joliet-toddler-dead20170427-story.html
That's it for me for right now. Searching crime is kind of depressing.
A Delaware state trooper was murdered earlier this week. This morning, his killer came out of the hole where he was hiding, tried firing on the officers who had his hole surrounded, and ended up dead. Glad he took that way out instead of sitting in jail for decades. http://www.capitalgazette.com/bowie_bladenews/news/ph-ac-bb-bowie-trooper-20170427-story.html
Arkansas executes its fourth criminal in a week. Should've been eight, in my opinion. Anyway, people seem to be waving their arms all over the place because he experienced convulsions before he died. Boo fuckin' hoo. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/04/28/lawyer-calls-to-investigate-arkansas-execution-after-inmate-convulsed-before-dying.html
In Michigan, a group of butchers calling themselves doctors have been arrested for mutilating little girls' private parts in the name of their religion. May they rot in hell. http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/26/health/fgm-indictment-michigan/
A little, 1-yr old girl who was reported missing was actually dead inside the 'home' in Illinois where she lived with her family and a bunch of other people. I get the feeling they made it sound like she'd just wandered off, but she'd only just learned to walk. She was stuffed inside a couch in the house. (I put quotes around home up there because it was a shithole where a bunch of people were squatting.) http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-missing-joliet-toddler-dead20170427-story.html
That's it for me for right now. Searching crime is kind of depressing.
Monday, April 24, 2017
Crime in the News... Or Not So Much
Yesterday I heard about a horrific story being in the news. Two men lured a 22 yr old autistic woman into their home where they held her against her will, raped her, and beat her for 2-3 days.
I say I heard about it being in the news rather than saying I heard it from the news or directly in the news because I heard about it third hand. So I searched the internet for more information and found it on a local news station's site.
Now, before we go much further, I'll admit that I stopped following local news back in December. Well, except for really local, as in rural SWMO, news. The big network stations? Nuh-uh. Too much spin and not enough facts. Instead, I watch the headlines in my FB newsfeed every day and if I see something that interests me, I google for more info. I also sometimes go directly to google and type 'news' into the search and then click on News. It's a long way around, but I find more reliable sources that way.
So, anyway, back to this horrible story. It wasn't in the newsfeed. At all. I didn't see it at any of the major news networks when I searched for it after hearing about it third hand. One story on the NBC affiliate out of Springfield.
Why?
Well, it could be because another story about two Hispanic men raping and beating a woman harshes the narrative they're trying to push - because one of the men was an illegal alien. Sadly, it could be because shit like this happens so often in our country these days that it's not worthy of being on national news. (Although why anyone with the last name of Jenner/Kardashian or with a speck of celebrity is news and not this is beyond me.) It could even be that the news - and I use that word loosely these days - feels like they have more important things to spin for the American public than one autistic chick getting brutalized by two assholes over the course of a weekend.
Or maybe I really am living in a cave. Have any of you heard this news story?
Well, anyway, apparently they picked the wrong autistic girl because this one still had the presence of mind to tell the police exactly what had been done to her - albeit through a child advocate since she reportedly has the mind of a 9 yr old. The illegal is being held without bond and the other one is looking at $150,000 bond. Fry 'em both, I say.
But that's me.
I say I heard about it being in the news rather than saying I heard it from the news or directly in the news because I heard about it third hand. So I searched the internet for more information and found it on a local news station's site.
Now, before we go much further, I'll admit that I stopped following local news back in December. Well, except for really local, as in rural SWMO, news. The big network stations? Nuh-uh. Too much spin and not enough facts. Instead, I watch the headlines in my FB newsfeed every day and if I see something that interests me, I google for more info. I also sometimes go directly to google and type 'news' into the search and then click on News. It's a long way around, but I find more reliable sources that way.
So, anyway, back to this horrible story. It wasn't in the newsfeed. At all. I didn't see it at any of the major news networks when I searched for it after hearing about it third hand. One story on the NBC affiliate out of Springfield.
Why?
Well, it could be because another story about two Hispanic men raping and beating a woman harshes the narrative they're trying to push - because one of the men was an illegal alien. Sadly, it could be because shit like this happens so often in our country these days that it's not worthy of being on national news. (Although why anyone with the last name of Jenner/Kardashian or with a speck of celebrity is news and not this is beyond me.) It could even be that the news - and I use that word loosely these days - feels like they have more important things to spin for the American public than one autistic chick getting brutalized by two assholes over the course of a weekend.
Or maybe I really am living in a cave. Have any of you heard this news story?
Well, anyway, apparently they picked the wrong autistic girl because this one still had the presence of mind to tell the police exactly what had been done to her - albeit through a child advocate since she reportedly has the mind of a 9 yr old. The illegal is being held without bond and the other one is looking at $150,000 bond. Fry 'em both, I say.
But that's me.
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
What More Can They Do to Him?
We were watching an episode of Evil Lives Here on ID the other night. (If you haven't seen that one, it shows the events surrounding a murder or murders from the perspective of a family member of the suspect or some other person peripherally associated with the case.) In this particular instance, they were speaking with the wife of a man convicted of murdering and raping a 17 year old girl.
They got him and he's doing life without parole. Which is always good.
Anyway, after he was in prison, his wife and her friend finally opened up his locked shed and found all manner of disturbing stuff inside, including what one could assume were trophies from his other crimes. Throughout the show, they'd hinted that maybe the one girl wasn't his only kill. So, it made sense there would be other trophies.
What didn't make sense was near the end of the program when the wife said something to the effect of 'well, he's already doing life without parole, what else can they do to him?'
Derp. It's not about what they 'can do to him'. It should be about justice.
They could provide closure for the families of all the other women he might've killed. They could close out some cold cases. They could bring justice for those other victims.
I mean, the first thing we couldn't figure out was why the police never opened up that damn shed during the investigation of that man and the wife ended up opening it after the conviction. Umm, police work a little maybe? Holy shit.
They talked about all the 'gifts' this guy had given to his wife and their daughters that could've been taken from his kills. Nothing was done about that either. (I know. I used the google-fu and checked around to see if he'd ever been tried for anything else. Nope. And sure enough, they said that at the end of the program. He's NEVER been tried for other crimes.)
Argh.
And it wasn't like he only committed crimes in the state where he was originally convicted. He was a long-haul trucker. He could've committed crimes in multiple states - which, unless I miss my guess would make this federal - but no one has done anything. Yeah, they can't add more years to life, but that isn't the point. They could find a crime he committed in a death-penalty state and use the treat of that to get him to pony up the details of his other crimes, but no. Not doing that either. He's just sitting there, getting older, wrapped in the knowledge that he got away with murder(s).
This happened back in 1994. 23 years. 23 more years of people never knowing what happened to their sisters, their daughters, their loved ones. Imagine their pain.
Then imagine how, with the technological advancements of 2017 vs 1994, all of those trophies could help investigators figure out how many other women this dude raped and killed.
But nope.
I know the end of that thoroughly pissed Hubs and I off. It was a whole WTF, jaw-dropping thing.
Oh, wait a second... That's right... His victims were supposedly hookers and runaways. (The girl he was convicted of killing was a runaway.) I guess someone assumes they don't deserve justice. Umm, yah.
That's messed up.
What do you think?
They got him and he's doing life without parole. Which is always good.
Anyway, after he was in prison, his wife and her friend finally opened up his locked shed and found all manner of disturbing stuff inside, including what one could assume were trophies from his other crimes. Throughout the show, they'd hinted that maybe the one girl wasn't his only kill. So, it made sense there would be other trophies.
What didn't make sense was near the end of the program when the wife said something to the effect of 'well, he's already doing life without parole, what else can they do to him?'
Derp. It's not about what they 'can do to him'. It should be about justice.
They could provide closure for the families of all the other women he might've killed. They could close out some cold cases. They could bring justice for those other victims.
I mean, the first thing we couldn't figure out was why the police never opened up that damn shed during the investigation of that man and the wife ended up opening it after the conviction. Umm, police work a little maybe? Holy shit.
They talked about all the 'gifts' this guy had given to his wife and their daughters that could've been taken from his kills. Nothing was done about that either. (I know. I used the google-fu and checked around to see if he'd ever been tried for anything else. Nope. And sure enough, they said that at the end of the program. He's NEVER been tried for other crimes.)
Argh.
And it wasn't like he only committed crimes in the state where he was originally convicted. He was a long-haul trucker. He could've committed crimes in multiple states - which, unless I miss my guess would make this federal - but no one has done anything. Yeah, they can't add more years to life, but that isn't the point. They could find a crime he committed in a death-penalty state and use the treat of that to get him to pony up the details of his other crimes, but no. Not doing that either. He's just sitting there, getting older, wrapped in the knowledge that he got away with murder(s).
This happened back in 1994. 23 years. 23 more years of people never knowing what happened to their sisters, their daughters, their loved ones. Imagine their pain.
Then imagine how, with the technological advancements of 2017 vs 1994, all of those trophies could help investigators figure out how many other women this dude raped and killed.
But nope.
I know the end of that thoroughly pissed Hubs and I off. It was a whole WTF, jaw-dropping thing.
Oh, wait a second... That's right... His victims were supposedly hookers and runaways. (The girl he was convicted of killing was a runaway.) I guess someone assumes they don't deserve justice. Umm, yah.
That's messed up.
What do you think?
Friday, February 24, 2017
Means of Execution
There's been a lot of hullabaloo about the death penalty and whether the means the state uses to execute criminals is 'cruel'. I'm confused by this. Every day in the US, animals are euthanized humanely. Watch a few episodes of Dr. Pol and you'll see how humanely these animals are put out of their misery. A shot of something to make them sleep. Then a shot directly to the heart to end their pain. (The animal control officer I used to work for did it the same way.) It's quick. It's painless, because they're asleep duh. And it's probably a helluva a lot cheaper than what they do to execute criminals now.
But let's step away from that for a moment. Every day, thousands of people are knocked out so that surgeons can cut them open and play around with their insides. No pain at all. I know, I've been there. Once, I had a procedure using a local rather than a general. The operation took longer than they thought it would, so I started to actually feel what the surgeon was doing. Not pain. It just felt like he was touching the inside of my leg. Gross, but not painful. I told the anesthesiologist what was happening and he put me all the way out before it reached painful.
Why can't the prison system use those drugs? They're awesome drugs. You get sleepy and kind of loopy and everything is wonderful, then you fall asleep and don't feel shit until you wake up. They just wouldn't get to the 'wake up' part.
Derp. It all seems really simple to me.
But let's step away from that, too. So, they're worried about violating the 'cruel and unusual' part by drawing out the pain before the death. It seems to me that beheading was probably way quicker. Hanging, if done right, was pretty quick. Unless they screwed up the knot and the prisoner suffocated rather than getting their necks broken. Firing squad? Nah. That one seems like it would take too long. The electric chair was pretty quick, but I don't know about painless. Drawing and quartering is flat out.
But let's step back one more time. I know we have a law against cruel and unusual punishment. But who determines what's cruel and unusual. Personally, I would think sitting on death row for decades would be cruel, if not unusual because there are so many people in that situation right now. The hope that maybe this next appeal will be the one that will save them from their fate, only to have that hope dashed? To me, that's cruel.
And when we consider the cruel and unusual thing, the cruelty of having these criminals kept alive for decades to the actual victims never seems to come into play. But maybe that's me.
Anyway, it all seems pretty simple to me. Knock 'em out. Take 'em out. And way more humane treatment than they ever gave their victims.
Jus' sayin'.
But let's step away from that for a moment. Every day, thousands of people are knocked out so that surgeons can cut them open and play around with their insides. No pain at all. I know, I've been there. Once, I had a procedure using a local rather than a general. The operation took longer than they thought it would, so I started to actually feel what the surgeon was doing. Not pain. It just felt like he was touching the inside of my leg. Gross, but not painful. I told the anesthesiologist what was happening and he put me all the way out before it reached painful.
Why can't the prison system use those drugs? They're awesome drugs. You get sleepy and kind of loopy and everything is wonderful, then you fall asleep and don't feel shit until you wake up. They just wouldn't get to the 'wake up' part.
Derp. It all seems really simple to me.
But let's step away from that, too. So, they're worried about violating the 'cruel and unusual' part by drawing out the pain before the death. It seems to me that beheading was probably way quicker. Hanging, if done right, was pretty quick. Unless they screwed up the knot and the prisoner suffocated rather than getting their necks broken. Firing squad? Nah. That one seems like it would take too long. The electric chair was pretty quick, but I don't know about painless. Drawing and quartering is flat out.
But let's step back one more time. I know we have a law against cruel and unusual punishment. But who determines what's cruel and unusual. Personally, I would think sitting on death row for decades would be cruel, if not unusual because there are so many people in that situation right now. The hope that maybe this next appeal will be the one that will save them from their fate, only to have that hope dashed? To me, that's cruel.
And when we consider the cruel and unusual thing, the cruelty of having these criminals kept alive for decades to the actual victims never seems to come into play. But maybe that's me.
Anyway, it all seems pretty simple to me. Knock 'em out. Take 'em out. And way more humane treatment than they ever gave their victims.
Jus' sayin'.
Friday, February 10, 2017
Friday Tip
Stay away from places you aren't supposed to be.
It seems to me like a large majority of people who get into trouble are somewhere they probably shouldn't have been anyway. I know, I know... It's a free country, so anyone should be able to go anywhere they want without fear of being accosted.
Should be. But there are a lot of things that should be that don't necessarily jibe with reality. And don't get me started there.
Ahem. Back to the original point.
If your instincts say 'don't go there', then you probably shouldn't go there. Convenience stores late at night, the bad part of town, inside stranger's vehicles, poorly lit parking lots...
When I was younger, I ended up in places doing things that instinct told me was a bad idea. I got extremely lucky. Getting into a car with a guy I only just met in one bar to go to another bar, thus leaving the safety of my friends' company and the ride I came in to waltz off with stranger dude. Lucky for me, he took me home when I asked. Which brings me to the other stupid thing - I let him take me to my home, so if he had been a psycho, he then knew where I lived. Or the many times I spent walking city streets alone at night. Not smart. Lucky, but still not smart. (Hindsight is 20/20 after all.)
Listen to the voice that tells you this is a bad idea. (And it'll talk to you if you haven't drowned it in alcohol. Jus' sayin'.)
And stay safe out there.
It seems to me like a large majority of people who get into trouble are somewhere they probably shouldn't have been anyway. I know, I know... It's a free country, so anyone should be able to go anywhere they want without fear of being accosted.
Should be. But there are a lot of things that should be that don't necessarily jibe with reality. And don't get me started there.
Ahem. Back to the original point.
If your instincts say 'don't go there', then you probably shouldn't go there. Convenience stores late at night, the bad part of town, inside stranger's vehicles, poorly lit parking lots...
When I was younger, I ended up in places doing things that instinct told me was a bad idea. I got extremely lucky. Getting into a car with a guy I only just met in one bar to go to another bar, thus leaving the safety of my friends' company and the ride I came in to waltz off with stranger dude. Lucky for me, he took me home when I asked. Which brings me to the other stupid thing - I let him take me to my home, so if he had been a psycho, he then knew where I lived. Or the many times I spent walking city streets alone at night. Not smart. Lucky, but still not smart. (Hindsight is 20/20 after all.)
Listen to the voice that tells you this is a bad idea. (And it'll talk to you if you haven't drowned it in alcohol. Jus' sayin'.)
And stay safe out there.
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Crime in the News - Deadly Duo
Recently, a couple went on a killing spree. I've seen them referred to as serial killers and I've seen them compared to Bonnie and Clyde. And, for once, I agree. They're criminals just like that famous couple. Period. Romanticizing thieves and murderers ain't my bag. Even if they are in their own twisted romantic relationship.
Anyway, they finally caught the duo. She came out when the police told them to come out and then everyone heard the single shot of him killing himself. One less asshole living on the taxpayers' dime, if you ask me.
Oh, sure, I'd like to see people like that get the justice they deserve at the hands of the courts, but then again, that shit costs a lot of money, so if they choose to take the more cost-effective way out, I can live with it.
Not quite sure what's going to happen with her. Likely, she'll say he did it all and she was a helpless dupe. I hope they have evidence to the contrary - if, in fact, she wasn't a dupe. I've seen too many instances where I thought it was pretty clear the woman was involved, or even the mastermind, but she got off on the 'he made me do it' defense. Umm, yah.
Despite all the progress we've made in women's equality, there are still a lot of people who think a woman couldn't possibly do all the bad things. :shrug: I suggest those people read Kipling.
Anyway, they finally caught the duo. She came out when the police told them to come out and then everyone heard the single shot of him killing himself. One less asshole living on the taxpayers' dime, if you ask me.
Oh, sure, I'd like to see people like that get the justice they deserve at the hands of the courts, but then again, that shit costs a lot of money, so if they choose to take the more cost-effective way out, I can live with it.
Not quite sure what's going to happen with her. Likely, she'll say he did it all and she was a helpless dupe. I hope they have evidence to the contrary - if, in fact, she wasn't a dupe. I've seen too many instances where I thought it was pretty clear the woman was involved, or even the mastermind, but she got off on the 'he made me do it' defense. Umm, yah.
Despite all the progress we've made in women's equality, there are still a lot of people who think a woman couldn't possibly do all the bad things. :shrug: I suggest those people read Kipling.
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Crime in the News: What Do You Think?
A couple of days ago... maybe yesterday, I lose track of time... I saw a news story about a known gang member who'd been sentenced to 19 years (for what, I don't remember) and had his sentence commuted by Obama. The news story was that the man had been murdered in the halfway house where he lived after his dis-incarceration.
Here's what I remember from the story. Two masked, armed men came into the house. While one man held the other residents at bay, the other man shot and killed the dude. Then they left. No one else was harmed. So, basically, a hit.
Okay, here's the question of the day... Do you think the hit was carried out by vigilantes or by rival gang members?
Personally, I think it could go either way. If it's rival gang members, it should be this one killing and that's it. If it's vigilantes, prepare to see more of this. Obama did commute an awful lot of sentences before he left offices.
* No, I don't know if he commuted more sentences than other outgoing presidents. Just stating the fact that he commuted sentences and an opinion that it seemed like a lot to me.
Here's what I remember from the story. Two masked, armed men came into the house. While one man held the other residents at bay, the other man shot and killed the dude. Then they left. No one else was harmed. So, basically, a hit.
Okay, here's the question of the day... Do you think the hit was carried out by vigilantes or by rival gang members?
Personally, I think it could go either way. If it's rival gang members, it should be this one killing and that's it. If it's vigilantes, prepare to see more of this. Obama did commute an awful lot of sentences before he left offices.
* No, I don't know if he commuted more sentences than other outgoing presidents. Just stating the fact that he commuted sentences and an opinion that it seemed like a lot to me.
Wednesday, December 28, 2016
Infamous Murder Case
Last night, Hubs and I were looking for something to watch when I hit an episode of A Crime to Remember on ID (Investigation Discovery) that we hadn't seen yet. I don't remember the title, but it detailed a killing spree in Lincoln, NE back in 1957.
The details seemed familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it. So during a commercial break, I did some googling. Turns out it was the Starkweather murders.
Not familiar with the Starkweather murders? Billy Joel mentioned them in his song "We Didn't Start the Fire" - 'Starkweather homicides, children of Thalidomide". Or if you've ever seen the movie The Frighteners, the bad guy in that says something to the effect of 'got me one more than Starkweather'. Oh, and I guess there was a movie based on the killing spree - Badlands, starring Cissy Spacek and Martin Sheen, in 1973.
You see, 19 year old Charlie Starkweather decided he was going to do some killing one day. No one quite knows the reason. And he took his 14 year old girlfriend, Caril Ann, along for the ride. They started out with a gas station attendant and ended with the murder of a traveling salesman. Eleven people dead by the time they were through - including her mother, her stepfather, and her 2 year old baby sister.
Starkweather got the chair in June of 1959. His girlfriend got life in prison, but got out in 1976 - perhaps because she was only 14 at the time of the murders and some bleeding heart decided she'd served enough time. I dunno.
She maintains she had nothing to do with the killings, but I'm not buying it. Some of the details seemed... off... somehow. In one case, he shot two teenagers - a boy and a girl. The girl was mutilated with a knife afterwards. Later, he shoots a husband and ties up the wife and the maid. The wife and the maid were stabbed to death, but he claims they were alive when he left them. A rifle was his weapon of choice. Stabbing seems more her thing.
She claims that he was holding her captive. Of course, the fact that they spent 6 days in the house with her dead family and she did nothing to alert the authorities makes me think she wasn't quite the victim she wanted people to believe she was.
The world will never know for certain.
What do you think?
The details seemed familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it. So during a commercial break, I did some googling. Turns out it was the Starkweather murders.
Not familiar with the Starkweather murders? Billy Joel mentioned them in his song "We Didn't Start the Fire" - 'Starkweather homicides, children of Thalidomide". Or if you've ever seen the movie The Frighteners, the bad guy in that says something to the effect of 'got me one more than Starkweather'. Oh, and I guess there was a movie based on the killing spree - Badlands, starring Cissy Spacek and Martin Sheen, in 1973.
You see, 19 year old Charlie Starkweather decided he was going to do some killing one day. No one quite knows the reason. And he took his 14 year old girlfriend, Caril Ann, along for the ride. They started out with a gas station attendant and ended with the murder of a traveling salesman. Eleven people dead by the time they were through - including her mother, her stepfather, and her 2 year old baby sister.
Starkweather got the chair in June of 1959. His girlfriend got life in prison, but got out in 1976 - perhaps because she was only 14 at the time of the murders and some bleeding heart decided she'd served enough time. I dunno.
She maintains she had nothing to do with the killings, but I'm not buying it. Some of the details seemed... off... somehow. In one case, he shot two teenagers - a boy and a girl. The girl was mutilated with a knife afterwards. Later, he shoots a husband and ties up the wife and the maid. The wife and the maid were stabbed to death, but he claims they were alive when he left them. A rifle was his weapon of choice. Stabbing seems more her thing.
She claims that he was holding her captive. Of course, the fact that they spent 6 days in the house with her dead family and she did nothing to alert the authorities makes me think she wasn't quite the victim she wanted people to believe she was.
The world will never know for certain.
What do you think?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)