Law Helps Repay Lawman’s Sacrifice
Finally, America has remembered the forgotten man on Ruby Ridge - with something more substantial than a hero’s funeral and a medal.
On Thursday, President Bill Clinton signed legislation that requires the government to pay for the college education of spouses and children of federal agents killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty.
The late U.S. Marshal William Degan’s younger son, now a high school senior, will be among the first to benefit from the new law. It’s only fair.
After all, his father died in a 1992 firefight because Randy Weaver refused to surrender to federal authorities on a relatively minor gun charge. As a result of mistakes made by U.S. Marshals that day and by federal agents during the siege that followed, Weaver received a $100,000 settlement from the federal government. His daughters were given $1 million apiece.
Meanwhile, Degan’s grief-stricken widow, Karen, was left to pick up the pieces while struggling to put her sons through school.
No wonder law enforcement supporters were furious.
Sure, Degan’s reconnaissance unit erred when it stumbled into the shootout that killed Degan and Sam Weaver, 14. We criticized the marshal’s service earlier this year for awarding medals to its six-man team when no one - but those involved - knows which side shot first.
Heroes aren’t made when 14-year-olds die.
Our support for the new law, however, isn’t about who was right or wrong at Ruby Ridge. Both sides blundered.
This is about a respected U.S. Marshal who left his New England home in August 1992 intending to capture a fugitive considered by his superiors to be very dangerous. He didn’t know that Randy Weaver was no more than a petty criminal with a head full of goofy separatist ideas.
Degan was one of the U.S. Marshal Service’s most decorated officers. He received the U.S. Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award for outstanding leadership as commander of the Special Operations Group in the Virgin Islands after Hurricane Hugo. He was honored for his role in rounding up fugitives during a drug crackdown in Washington, D.C. He also served with the Marine reserves during Operation Desert Storm.
When duty called him to Ruby Ridge, 2,500 miles from home, he put his life on the line again. Tragically, this time his life was taken.
His country is obligated to make sure that his dream of a college education for both his children is fulfilled. He would have been proud to know that his older son, William Sr., graduated this year from Boston College.
, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = D.F. Oliveria/For the editorial board