Prosecutor Cuts Deal with Killer
As we mark the fourth anniversary of the death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, who died at the hands of a gunman armed with a firearm that had been intentionally "run" into Mexico under the guidelines of the U.S. Justice Department, we see another example of bureaucratic behavior that falls into the "felony stupid" category.
From the State of Washington, a state that just enacted a law (I-594) that penalizes law-abiding gun owners in order to supposedly keep guns out of the hands of miscreants, comes this story:
King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg’s office yesterday announced a plea bargain with a two-time killer that involved dropping a serious gun charge, only weeks after helping pass a gun control measure that penalizes law-abiding firearms owners.
Yesterday, Satterberg’s office announced a guilty plea from Ja’Mari Alexander-Alan Jones in the murder of DeShawn Milliken at a Bellevue Square restaurant/bar, noting that a firearms charge was dropped as part of the deal that will send Jones to prison. Had the case gone to trial and Jones been convicted of murder and the firearms charge, he could have faced a much longer prison sentence, according to published reports.
“Instead of throwing the book at Jones, Satterberg’s office dropped the gun charge. That’s outrageous, especially after Satterberg prominently campaigned for I-594, a measure that was touted as a means of keeping guns out of the wrong hands – people like Jones – when all it really seems to do is penalize and inconvenience law-abiding gun owners and criminalize perfectly legal activities.
Law-abiding gun owners are getting fed up with this kind of stuff. The National Rifle Association, and other gun-owner organizations, supports the zealous prosecution of criminals who misuse firearms in the course of their illegal activity. Instead, we see draconian laws imposed on law-abiding citizens, under the guise of cracking down on crime, while the outlaws intentionally go unpunished.
/fl