by Tom Blair
Columnist

A police officer hauls someone into the slammer after being caught “red handed” committing a crime. There are several witnesses and blood still dripping from the knife, then the guy says “I don’t know why I just killed her; I have been planning this for years.”

This is a pretty good case huh? But, WE hire an attorney for him and after months of justice system wrangling he either gets blessed with a plea deal or a judge gives him 20 years instead of life. And, he is still eligible for parole after a few years.

This stuff happens all the time, THAT’S why our courts are jammed up, the bad guy’s just keep coming back.

What ever happened to a “speedy” trial? The bad guys have a right to a speedy trial, but we the people have nothing to say about how long trials drag out.

I saw a case recently where someone was selling drugs (hard stuff) to kids in Fargo. He was found guilty and received a “few” years in jail, and of course there is always that early parole thing that goes with it. I think the citizens in Fargo deserve to be known for more than just a flooding Red River and cold weather. Yes Sir, I vote if you get caught selling drugs in Fargo (or Moorhead) you do REAL HARD TIME. Automatic 10 years and no parole! Especially like this dude from Minneapolis running drugs up here and carrying a pretty good load with him each time.

Judges like to have latitude in sentencing and that’s fine, AFTER the mandatory time served. We’re not talking about some kid selling another kid a joint; we are talking about distributing as a profession!

I have talked about this in the past. Child molesters: Nearly every time you hear about some pervert killing a child in abduction, he has a past history of repeat offending. Nonsense! There should be NO three strikes crap, just serious jail time for the first offense. They know right from wrong and continue anyway, ruining innocent lives.

I really like Arizona Sheriff Joes approach. “My job isn’t to rehabilitate anyone, I put them in jail for punishment.”

Of course, even this issue gets made political by calling it a liberal or conservative justice system but remember: It’s called a JUSTICE system and justice is what victims need. Our children, elderly and everyone in between.

Put some responsibility on parole board members or get rid of them and hold judges that make stupid decisions accountable.

Take the case of the Joseph Edward Duncan III released in Minnesota. Duncan’s past was littered with arrests and prison time for crimes ranging from car theft to rape and molestation. He is suspected in the 1996 slayings of two half-sisters from Seattle and is charged with the 1997 killing of a young boy in Riverside County, Calif. and who knows how many more crimes. Shasta Groene was sexually assaulted many times after her parents were killed by Duncan and her brother was sexually assaulted and murdered in front of her. She was found with Duncan in a café by an alert waitress and saved. She later testified at Duncan’s trial.

I am sure there are many like him on the streets that some parole board kicked loose, after rehab of course.

I think our justice system should go back and read the good old books that talk about an “eye for an eye.” If that’s being conservative, sign me up!

Tom “Road” Blair

road742@aol.com

www.tomroadblair.com