American Justice

SEATTLE – Police say the suspect in the slayings of four police officers at a suburban coffee shop was not found in the Seattle home where he was thought to have been holed up.
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Clemmons has a long criminal history, including a long prison sentence commuted by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee nearly a decade ago and a recent arrest for allegedly assaulting a police officer in Washington.

He went to a coffee house on Sunday morning and opened fire on the Lakewood officers, killing Sgt. Mark Renninger, 39, Ronald Owens, 37, Tina Griswold, 40, and Greg Richards, 42, as they caught up on paperwork at the beginning of their shifts. He fled but authorities believe he might have been wounded by one of his victims.

It is quite appropriate to be outraged by the killing of 4 people who were simply at a coffee shop. That should probably be the focus, as well as some later reflection on what triggers these sorts of things in order to help prevent it from happening in the future.

That's not going to happen. The focus will be on the commutation of a long sentence for a prior conviction. If we had just got "tough on crime", those 4 men would still be alive, right?

I suppose you can drastically cut down on crime by executing anyone convicted of a any crime. That would reduce recidivism by 100%. It's also not practical. There are people who are truly contrite and who truly will learn from their experience, and hopefully it'll make them better human beings. Ya, I know, that's the bleeding heart Liberal in me, but it seems counter to our humanity to write people off that easily.

The simple fact is, the world is a dangerous place. If we over-react to individual situations, we lose perspective on the bigger picture. How can we reduce crime over-all? Much of it traces it's roots to economic factors. We could try and enact policies that make sense to boost the prospects of the poor and middle class.

We know that's not going to happen.

This unfortunate and tragic crime will simply lead to the easy, knee-jerk reaction of locking people up and throwing away the key in ever increasing numbers. It's easier than addressing the real issues.

/update

On the kids that were sent to prison by the judges that were paid off by the private prison owners.

There's the 14-year-old girl who was jailed for more than a year in 2005 for punching another girl in school; she was emotionally distraught by the incarceration and today has permanent scars from self-mutilation.

They are among the victims cited in a class-action suit by the Philadelphia-based Juvenile Law Center against two former Luzerne County judges who, federal prosecutors say, conspired to send thousands of teenagers off to detention after denying them basic constitutional rights.

As a result of their incarcerations, the JLC says, many of the teenagers suffered emotional damage, were unable to attend school, lost scholarships, were refused military enlistment, or attempted suicide. In addition, they and their parents were forced to pay probation fees and evaluation costs and had their wages garnisheed by the court. Some still owe the court money.