Pleas? Oh, please
A guy shoots into a group of 10 guys playing basketball because he’s mad (“Alford plea deal reached,” March 17). He didn’t make online, phone or written threats or even wave a gun around first, like we see killers did after the fact. This guy is not just a potential threat. He actually shot at these guys right off. He’s the poster boy for “Guns don’t shoot people – people shoot people.”
No one is dead or paralyzed or otherwise wounded, only because his bullet fired in anger didn’t actually hit anyone (this time).
To me, he absolutely crossed the line that separates the people that get to be free in society from the people that need to be locked up to protect the rest of us. So our justice system lets him plead 10 counts of drive-by shooting and attempted first-degree murder (life sentence) all the way down to one count of second-degree assault (60 days).
The contrast is outrageous and it shows again how unfair, random and ineffective our criminal justice system is when common sense isn’t used. No thank you, Mr. Prosecutor, and whatever lawmakers and judges allow these travesties to occur. You’re supposed to protect us from the bad guys.
Paul Unger
Spokane