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.
Thursday, May 26, 2016
Sunday, May 15, 2016
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.
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.
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