I’m not easily stunned by the news of the day, but this one did it for me. A Sheriff’s Deputy was released for prison after one year for murdering a suspect that was handcuffed and laying on the ground
Given the circumstances (the suspect had just killed the cop’s partner), I can certainly understand taking a pass on first degree murder. It obviously wasn’t premeditated and the cop was under a great deal of stress. I can understand a light sentence. But one year? For killing an already neutralized threat? And apparently the only reason he spent a year in jail was that he used a firearm to do it. If he’d just found a pick-axe he might have gotten off on probation.
The world will absolutely not miss the guy that was killed. But we have a criminal justice department for a reason. I honestly wish the guy weren’t handcuffed or that it wasn’t caught on tape so that there were some credible excuse for what happened. But the guy wasn’t and it was. The system should behave accordingly.
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3 Responses to A Year For A Life
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On these kinds of questions, I think it’s best to go back to why we punish people in the first place:
– would additional jail time have helped this guy assimilate back into society better? (probably not)
– would additional jail time have helped deter future crimes? (possibly; perhaps it would make police feel less immuntiy for such things)
I don’t think he should face a big sentence merely because there was a big consequence to his actions (i.e. death).
There’s a longstanding tradition in punishment for “manslaughter” for crimes committed “in the heat of passion.”
Example: you’re likely to get an absurdly light sentence if you kill someone who has just killed your child/spouse /etc (or whom you’ve just found out did it).
I can see the same applying to a suspect who, even if he was handcuffed and on the ground, had just killed the policeman’s working partner.
I’d actually say this one was about right. Should he be a cop any more? Obviously not. Should he be stuck to rot in jail for 10 years? I think of everything a cop goes through on a day-to-day basis, I think of all the crap police are forced to put up with, I think of all the times that the justice system assumes the worst of police while pretending that an obvious criminal is the “victim” of something, and I for one am glad that at least once now, the justice system didn’t decide to fuck the cop over completely.
Bob,
My main concern is your second bullet point.
Web,
Would a non-cop that temporarily lost his mind and shot a guy he found sleeping with his wife get a similar punishment? I’m thinking not (the cases I’m familiar with were typically 5-10 years for non-premeditated killing), though you’re welcome to provide cases where it’s happened. If it’s more common than I believe it to be, I’ll reconsider. The cases I’m familiar with are at least in upwards of 5-10 years.
And regardless of the fact that he is a criminal, he is a victim, as well.