Justice denied and the value of life, again

Did you see this headline?

Hey Judge Persky, How Do We Explain A 6 Month Rape Sentence To Our Daughters?

What a shameful, disgusting display of injustice. By a judge more worried about the rapist than the victim.

(http://www.scarymommy.com/brock-allen-turner-judge-persky-6-month-rape-sentence/)

Did you see this spot-on letter from John Pavlovitz?

Dear Mr. Turner,

I’ve read your letter to the judge on behalf of your son Brock, asking for leniency in his rape conviction. I need you to understand something, and I say this as a father who dearly loves my son as much as you must love yours:Brock is not the victim here. His victim is the victim. She is the wounded one. He is the damager.  If his life has been “deeply altered” it is because he has horribly altered another human being; because he made a reprehensible choice to take advantage of someone for his own pleasure. This young woman will be dealing with this for far longer than the embarrassingly short six months your son is being penalized. She will endure the unthinkable trauma of his “20 minutes of action” for the duration of her lifetime, and the fact that you seem unaware of this fact is exactly why we have a problem.This is why young men continue to rape women.This is why so many men believe that they can do whatever they please to a woman’s body without accountability.This is the reason so many victims of sexual assault never step forward.This is why white privilege is real and insidious and usually those with it are oblivious to it.I understand you trying to humanize your son in your letter; talking to the judge about his favorite snacks and swim practice and about the memories that are sweet for you as his father—but to be honest I don’t give a damn and if his victim was your daughter I’m quite sure you wouldn’t either.I imagine this young woman had favorite snacks and sports too, and parents who had wonderful plans for her that didn’t include this nightmare.There is no scenario where your son should be the sympathetic figure here. He is the assailant. He is the rapist. I can’t imagine as a father how gut wrenching such a reality is for you, but it is still true. Brock has to register as a sex offender because he sexually assaulted an incapacitated young woman. This is why we have such requirements; because one vile act against another human being is one too many, because we don’t get a do-over when we do unspeakable things, because people need to be protected with knowledge of others in their midst who have failed so egregiously at respecting another person’s basic dignity.The idea that your son has never violated another woman next to a dumpster before isn’t a credit to his character. We don’t get kudos for only raping one person in our lifetime. I don’t believe your son is a monster but he acted like one and that needs to be accounted for. To be sure, this decision is not the sum total of Brock’s life, but it is an important part of the equation and it matters deeply. And to be clear, Mr. Turner,”alcohol and sexual promiscuity” are not the story here. The story here, is that young men have choices to make and these choices define them, even if those choices are made when temptation is great and opportunity is abundant. In fact, our humanity is most expressed when faced with such things, we choose integrity and decency; when we abstain from doing what is easy but wrong.We as parents don’t control our children. Most parents understand this. Despite our best efforts to the contrary, they fail and fall and do things we’d never consent to. I certainly hope this is such an occasion, though it is not coming across that way in your letter. It feels like you want more sympathy and goodwill toward your son than you want for the survivor of his crime, and that’s simply not good enough for her or for those young men and women watching.Here is her story. You love your son and you should. But love him enough to teach him to own the terrible decisions he’s made, to pay the debt to society as prescribed, and then to find a redemptive path to walk, doing the great work in the world that you say he will. For now though, as one father to another: help us teach our children to do better—by letting them see us do better. 

http://johnpavlovitz.com/2016/06/06/to-brock-turners-father-from-another-father/


Why, When, How did the justice system become one that is worried about the detrimental effects of incarceration on the criminals more than the victims of violent crimes themselves? Thank God there are journalists and ministers and citizens in this world who are willing to stand up and say and do the right thing instead of excusing and defending the criminally violent. 




How about "Hey Judge Rubin, How do we explain a 13 month Manslaughter sentence to our teenagers?"
 "...because one vile act against another human being is one too many, because we don’t get a do-over when we do unspeakable things, because people need to be protected with knowledge of others in their midst who have failed so egregiously at respecting another person’s basic dignity.""We don’t get kudos for only raping murdering one person in our lifetime. I don’t believe your son is a monster but he acted like one and that needs to be accounted for. To be sure, this decision is not the sum total of Brock’s Seth's life, but it is an important part of the equation and it matters deeply." 

SB 196

SB 196: a revision of 893.3, the Firearm Sentencing Enhancement statute. It removed the Judge's safety Valve that said if he found the sentence was to harsh he could impose whatever sentence he wished. The revision would have raised the absolute minimum to 3 years, for violent felonies that end in a firearm fatality.

A few weeks ago, SB 196 passed through the Senate without opposition, 37-0. Today, the bill failed to pass on the House floor, 33-50. Of course, the criminal defense attorneys in the House opposed it. So did the Black Caucus, which is interesting because in my mind a minimum sentence is color-blind and would be applied fairly to everyone. Concerns raised included taking away Judicial discretion (for goodness sake, we have minimums for purse snatching and cock fighting! 3-40 years is a lot of discretion), prison overcrowding (so we let the violent criminals go and keep the non-violent ones in?) 2nd amendment rights (wouldn't law abiding gun owners want a penalty for those choosing illicit gun use?) and that we shouldn't make laws based on one case. To us, this bill wasn't about our case, and thankfully the entire Senate and 33 representatives understood that. Nothing will change the outcome of our case--the judge is still on the bench, the murderer is walking the street and Austin is still dead. We supported this legislation because violent felonies that end in firearm fatalities rise to the level of a mandatory minimum sentence. All lives matter, all lives have value.
We may have lost this battle but the war isn't over.

One mama got her son back today

One mama got her son back today. It just wasn't me.


The man that killed our son was released from prison today. He served 10 1/2 months of a 13 month sentence. I have so many thoughts in my head today.  I don't know that I could ever fully put them into words, but I'll try.


Our justice system is so flawed. Louisiana's laws don't make sense to me. Manslaughter's sentence range is 0-40. Armed robbery, 10-99. Carjacking, 2-20 without a gun. Purse snatching, 2-20. That means there is no reason you can be sentenced to less than 10 years for robbing someone and brandishing a gun. Yet, you can shoot and kill them and get no prison time. I think mandatory minimums send a clear moral statement about which crimes society considers most serious. Does anyone value life anymore? 

Then we have the comments on social media. So many opinions, so few facts. Again, so many people that can come up with excuses why it is justified to take the life of a living, breathing, deeply loved and adored teenager, with so little consequence. It is deeply disturbing to witness the vile level of disrespect and disregard for human life in our community.

The man that murdered Austin is now 22 years old. He was 18 at the time. His defense included the "teen brain" theory, stating that male brains under 25 years of age are not fully developed and can lead to irrational, impulsive behavior. So if he behaves in a criminally violent manner (oops, sorry, I should have said impulsively) in the next 2 years, will the same excuse hold? And I suppose we shouldn't prosecute any criminal behavior of those under 25 years old for the same reason. Now there's a solution to prison overcrowding.  

Tuesday night Austin's chair at graduation will be empty. There is no tassel, no senior trip, no college applications, no choosing a college roommate. I could go on, of course, with the "no mores." It should be enough to say no more life-- HE'S DEAD from a hollow point bullet through his neck-- and every citizen should be outraged. His life was extinguished by someone who had no conscience and the Judge essentially excused his behavior. Shame on you, Judge.

But one mama got her son back today. 

1096 days

Today makes 3 years since I hugged Austin. 1096 days. He should be 18 years, 6 months and 25 days old today. While the hole in my heart is still there, most of my days are manageable now. Austin stories make me smile and laugh more than cry. His death is still incomprehensible to me, unlike the deaths of my parents and grandparents. I miss his sense of humor, I miss him hugging me and telling me I smell good, I miss his smile, I miss his name coming up on my phone. I didn't get to choose my circumstances but I do get to choose my response. I choose to have faith in a loving and merciful God, who has a plan that is far beyond my comprehension. I choose to have hope that I will see my Savior and my son someday, that this world is not all there is. And I choose to love, because loving those whom God puts in my path is a greater calling than any other. I have not been alone in my grief and I am not alone in my survival. Deepest heartfelt thanks to those of you who have walked side by side with me on this journey. Love to you for your prayers and support. I don't know what God has in store for me but I know he will reveal it to me in time. God will use this for his glory; I know Austin's work is not yet finished. He is catching bigger fish for sure!

Commentaries

I just can't get them out of my head, these commentaries. They're like scripts for a dialogue or monologue that I have with myself, Judge Rubin, the media, the man on the street...anyone who just doesn't "get it." Doesn't get the truth, doesn't know the facts.

These commentaries start as confrontations in my head and go something like this:

Them: Those boys deserved what they got, they were stealing from Seth!

Me: Really? Show me exactly what they stole and we could have replaced it. Can you show me a police report? What did they steal?

Them: No, nothing was stolen. But they were breaking into his truck!

Me: Really? How about that police report? Show me the vandalism done to his truck and we could have repaired it. Can you show me?

Them: No, there was no vandalism. But they were trying to break into his truck!

Me: Really? Did the DNA testing show their fingerprints on the truck?

Them: Well, no. But he said they were trespassing on his property!

Me: Really? Seth is the only one who said that, or claims to have seen them there. He had absolutely no evidence to back up any of his testimony. 

Tell me, where were the boys shot?

Them: In a stolen truck.

Me: Really? Did anyone report a stolen truck that night? The owner testified in court that the truck was not stolen. The owner's son gave the keys to the boys to run Austin home so he wouldn't have to walk. In fact, there were no police reports of any vandalism in the entire neighborhood that night.

Them: Well, they were under age and drinking!

Me: The driver was not drinking (he was tested at the hospital) and he had his learners permit. They had just planned on bringing Austin home, which was 1 mile away, in the neighborhood. They hadn't planned on going any farther. And by the way, Austin's blood alcohol level was 0.02. Underage, yes, but far from drunk (0.08)

Them: But the truck was fleeing the scene.

Me: How about passing his house? Just because they were driving away from his house doesn't mean they were fleeing. They had to pass his house to get to ours, 3 houses down the street. The vehicle was on the street, moving, with 3 people inside. He sped away once he felt the bullet wound and realized they were being shot at.

Them: Well, I would do the same thing if I thought someone was breaking into my truck.

Me: Then you should go to jail, too. If you own a gun you should know the law, take a handgun safety class! The law says you can only shoot at someone if your life is in danger. You can't just run out of your house and start shooting. It doesn't matter if they are driving down the road on your lawnmower, you can't shoot someone who isn't threatening you! Know the law! And lets go back to the police reports. What did they say?

Them: Well, No one filed a police report.

Me: Really? That's odd. Wouldn't you think that was the first thing you would do is call the police?

Them: He did, but he said the first one went to the wrong house. And later on the second one left without filing a report.

Me: Oh yes, I remember. On the witness stand, he accused not just one but 2 officers of lying about the police reports. Claimed the family never said they didn't want to file reports, the officers just made that up. It was the policemen's fault.

Them: Yes, and the police botched the investigation. They only fingerprinted one of the 3 cars in the driveway!

Me: Why would they fingerprint 2 vehicles that were not involved in the alleged incident?

Them: Well, he was only trying to scare them. He never meant to kill anyone.

Me: He fired a 9mm Beretta with hollow point bullets, to scare someone? Neither of which he could purchase for himself.

Them: He was shooting at the tailgate.

Me: Of a moving vehicle with a lethal weapon? Trucks don't drive themselves. Remember, 3 shots, 3 hits. One murdered. Know your target. Guns don't kill people, people kill people. (Heavy sigh. You can't fix stupid.)

"Other surprises along this grief journey have been to see how some people can be so callused and uncaring, while others are vile and seem to foam at the mouth as they share their own hate toward me and my family. They seem to go out of their way to try and hurt us; but we ignore them – for with each effort they grow ever smaller and weaker." ~~Mitchell's Journey