Death Recommended for KS Man: A death sentence was recommended by a jury Thursday for a man who fatally shot three adults and an 18-month-old girl on a Kansas farm in 2013. The AP reports that 30-year-old Kyle Flack was convicted of capital murder on March 23 in the shooting deaths of two adult males, an adult female and her young daughter. Flack attempted to conceal the bodies of the three adults in the eastern Kansas farmhouse and stuffed the girl's body in a suitcase that was later recovered from a creek. Prosecutors say the motive for the shootings is unclear. Deputy Attorney General Victor Braden said during the sentencing phase that the death penalty was justified by three aggravated circumstances, including a conviction for attempted second-degree murder in 2005, the killing of multiple people in the 2013 shootings, and the fact that the murder of the young mother and daughter were done in an "especially heinous, atrocious or cruel manner." There are 10 people on Kansas' death row and the state has not executed anyone since 1994.
Obama Commuting More Sentences: An announcement made by the White House Wednesday that President Barack Obama is commuting the sentences of an additional 61 criminals means that he has now commuted the sentences of more prisoners than all of the last six presidents combined. Barbara Hollingsworth of CNS News reports that, to date, Obama has commuted the sentences of 248 criminals, including 92 inmates who were serving life sentences. The White House statement emphasized that the President "considers commutations just the first step in a major overhaul of the criminal justice system, including mandatory sentencing guidelines." Commutations, while lessening the already-imposed sentence, do not affect the person's legal guilt, says a George Mason professor.
VA Trooper's Killer Hated Cops: The Virginia state trooper fatally shot Thursday during a training exercise at a Greyhound bus station was gunned down by an ex-con who reportedly hated law enforcement and "always praised those people who got into shootouts with police." Fox News reports that 37-year-old Trooper Chad Dermyer, a decorated Marine vet and married father of two, was shot and killed by 34-year-old James Brown III during an interdiction exercise involving a dozen other Virginia State Police troopers. Brown, who was also shot and killed, had previous charges in crimes ranging from domestic battery to murder and, according to his aunt, "pretty much thought he wanted to be infamous...in terms of having a showdown." Dermyer's death adds to the increasing concern among state and national law enforcement advocates of a growing anti-police climate that is putting targets on the backs on officers. The Officer Down Memorial Page shows that while overall deaths of police officers is down slightly year-to-date, the number killed by gunfire so far this year -- 15 -- is up 150%. Over the course of one week in February, five police officers were fatally shot.
Obama Commuting More Sentences: An announcement made by the White House Wednesday that President Barack Obama is commuting the sentences of an additional 61 criminals means that he has now commuted the sentences of more prisoners than all of the last six presidents combined. Barbara Hollingsworth of CNS News reports that, to date, Obama has commuted the sentences of 248 criminals, including 92 inmates who were serving life sentences. The White House statement emphasized that the President "considers commutations just the first step in a major overhaul of the criminal justice system, including mandatory sentencing guidelines." Commutations, while lessening the already-imposed sentence, do not affect the person's legal guilt, says a George Mason professor.
VA Trooper's Killer Hated Cops: The Virginia state trooper fatally shot Thursday during a training exercise at a Greyhound bus station was gunned down by an ex-con who reportedly hated law enforcement and "always praised those people who got into shootouts with police." Fox News reports that 37-year-old Trooper Chad Dermyer, a decorated Marine vet and married father of two, was shot and killed by 34-year-old James Brown III during an interdiction exercise involving a dozen other Virginia State Police troopers. Brown, who was also shot and killed, had previous charges in crimes ranging from domestic battery to murder and, according to his aunt, "pretty much thought he wanted to be infamous...in terms of having a showdown." Dermyer's death adds to the increasing concern among state and national law enforcement advocates of a growing anti-police climate that is putting targets on the backs on officers. The Officer Down Memorial Page shows that while overall deaths of police officers is down slightly year-to-date, the number killed by gunfire so far this year -- 15 -- is up 150%. Over the course of one week in February, five police officers were fatally shot.
I, of course, hope that each and every person granted clemency by the president goes on to live a productive life. I cannot help but compare and contrast all the apathy of the DoJ in protecting the rights of returning US servicemen under USERRA when those servicemen had government jobs and the resources being thrown at crackhouse proprietors like Ernest Spiller.
Just goes to show where this Administration's priorities are. And, of course, the press would never be so impolitic to ask hard questions along those lines.