An example of what is wrong with our legal system

[TMF]

Clarksville triple shooting case settles in court | The Leaf Chronicle – Clarksville, Tenn., and Fort Campbell | theleafchronicle.com

This peice of garbage shot three people in an attempt to murder each one and gets to plead out to three counts of aggravated assault. He'll be out in a few years and will certainly do something like this again. He should be in jail for the rest of his life but gets to plea down because our legal system is too lazy to prosecute. This absolutely disgusts me.

[daddyo]

I'm with you. We've come a long way from what our founders envisioned for us, and it ain't good.

[Dolomite_supafly]

This is why it is now a legal system and not a justice system.

The DA and chief prosecutors should be fired for allwoing him to plea. But that is how things are now. And it isn't that they are too lazy to prosecute. It is that the DA's want that high conviction percentage to prove they are tough on crime when in fact it often has the opposite effect. It also allows the DA to increase the numbers of cases he has tried as well as the conviction rates. That way he can say in his election bid that he has tried 25,000 cases and has a 99% conviction rate. But the fact of the matter is well over 90% of those criminal cases are cases he allowed to plea out. Yes it saves the taxpayers money but at what cost?

Like we see here, this animal should never feel grass beneath their feet but will likely be out before his 30th birthday. And this is just so a DA can put another feather in his hat. Prisons have become so overcrowded that even those convicted of murder rarely serve their original sentence. And a lot of the overcrowding is related to crimes that shouldn't be a crime at all, like marijuana use. Getting tough on drugs has lead the softening of the sentences for those who commit violent crimes like this animal.

What should happen is if a person wants to plea they should not know what their sentence will be. That will be determined by a jury or a judge if the criminal waives that right. After they have pleaded guilty then the sentence is handed down by their peers. And it can range from nothing to the max but most importantly the criminal does not know what he will serve before he/her pleas out.

And once they are convicted and sent to prison they should not be comfortable. They should be provided with food, shelter, safety and medical care. They have no consitutional right to a television. They should have no right to conjugal visits so they can produce another child I am going to have to support. No radios, drawing supplies or any commissary. And the food should meet nutrition requirements, not taste requirements. Do like what has been done with those who throw food. Blend the entire meal together into a slurry then add flour and bake like a giant bisquit. I am talking about the meats, veggies, desserts, fruits and drinks all into a single bisquit. It works well and meets the nutritional requirements. Inmates should not eat and live better than our soldiers serving overseas.

Dolomite

[Trekbike]

He'll be out in a few years and will certainly do something like this again.

Nah, you can tell by his mugshot that he looks sorry he did it. Also don't worry, when he gets out he won't be able to obtain a gun because the law says he can't.

[DaveTN]

I don’t know how it is in Tennessee, but in Illinois if you went before a Judge on a plea they would explain to you that they are not bound by any sentencing agreement you have with the DA. They would then ask if you understand that and if you still want to plead guilty. If you do, you are waving your Fifth Amendment rights and have to tell the Judge everything you did.

I don’t believe the judge was bound by this agreement and he could have refused to accept the reduction in charges.

I’m not saying what the DA did wasn’t wrong; but they can’t do it without the Judge.

[TMF]

Yeah, I blame them both. These are the same yahoos that let my neighbor go with a clean slate so long as he didn't do anything violent for 6 months. So when he does something again he'll be going before the judge without a record and they'll do the same thing. Friggin' pro-crime judges and DA.

[leroy]

I have come to believe that it's far more about the money than it is justice for those who are wronged. As others have opined; we have a legal ENTERPRISE, and not a justice system.

The attorneys on both sides, the officers of the court, and the judge will get paid no matter how many times the cases are tried. Our system of justice, designed as the best the world has ever seen, has been hijacked by the morally bankrupt, the cynical, and the money grubbers and has been turned into a joke.

Folks need to remember this when they vote to keep judges (...appointed initially by political operatives...), when they vote for District Attorneys, and when they vote for politicos in general. I

I've come to believe that the best course of action is to vote any incumbent out who has served more than two terms anywhere. I've also come to believe that we need to get rid of the bar association recommendation baloney and popularly elect all judges. That would go a long way toward cleaning up this smelly mess.

leroy

[lowbud]

The system has been screwed for well... ever since I can rememeber. So why is everyone so supprised.

[TN-popo]

Imagine doing my job.

I see these system failures all the time.

Edited December 16, 2011 by TN-popo

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Hmmm, William Shakespeare wrote of the problem a long time ago.

Aggravated assault for admitting to have shot another in the head?

Yep, that's aggravated alright.

[Guest WyattEarp]

I don’t know how it is in Tennessee, but in Illinois if you went before a Judge on a plea they would explain to you that they are not bound by any sentencing agreement you have with the DA. They would then ask if you understand that and if you still want to plead guilty. If you do, you are waving your Fifth Amendment rights and have to tell the Judge everything you did.

I don’t believe the judge was bound by this agreement and he could have refused to accept the reduction in charges.

I’m not saying what the DA did wasn’t wrong; but they can’t do it without the Judge.

I could be wrong, but if you agreed to a plea deal with the prosecutor, and then you told the Judge everything you did, and he turns around screws you over on the plea deal, wouldn't your guilty plea and the testimony of what you did, then be considered inadmissible because it was given under the pretense you had agreed to the plea deal???

If that was the case, then I doubt many people would be taking plea deals, because the prosecutors and Judges could just be manipulating offenders, and then throwing out plea agreements and throwing the book at them.

It would seem to me there has to be some checks and balances, I.E. the judge saying he's not accepting the plea deal prior to the admission of gulity and testimony, and at least giving the accused the chance to not say anything else from that point on.

just seems to me like this would void the integrity (I know, don't scoff or laugh, the entire system has become a farce) of the system.

[TMF]

Imagine doing my job.

I see these system failures all the time.

I honestly don't know how you or any other LEO does it. I would lose my mind.

[TN-popo]

I honestly don't know how you or any other LEO does it. I would lose my mind.

Other benefits.

I get 8 hours of "Jerry Springer" everyday.

Think someone is stupid enough to play Russian Roulette with a semi-auto? Yep.

Why did mother (turd) throw her kid (also a turd) through a picture window? He didn't give her the TV remote fast enough, of course.

What did the burglar steal from the home? Nothing, but both cantaloupes had holes cut out and were raped (yes, physical evidence was present).

"Ma'am, why did you call 911 and hang up?" "I have a hornet's nest in my garage."

Those are all real dispatched calls.

Heh, heh...I got a bunch of these.

More seriously, yeah some of the system breakdowns and calls (usually involving young kids) can be frustrating and break your heart.

Try having a hysterical mother hand you her baby, while begging you to help, and you realizing it's already dead (SIDS).

That's a ****ty day you won't forget.

Overall though, I still like my job after 18ish years.

On the days that blow, I tell myself to suck it up and press on because there's a lot of men and women overseas dealing with things a lot worse.

Edited December 18, 2011 by TN-popo

[TN-popo]

.

Edited December 17, 2011 by TN-popo

[Dolomite_supafly]

I honestly don't know how you or any other LEO does it. I would lose my mind.

This is one of the reasons I left, not the biggest but definitely towards top. And you will see stuff everyday that absoutely drags you down mentally. It also changes you as a person. You either need to become numb to it or it will eat you alive. This is why officers drink, commit suicide and get divorced.

I went from being a person who felt man, as a whole, were good to a person who always asked "whats their angle" anytime someone was trying to be nice to me. I thought to myself that someone would not do something nice for nothing. I got to where I did't trust anyone including some of my fellow officers.

The sentencing thing really upset me. There is one in particular that got me upset. He had been charged and went to trial for aggravated rape of a child. He had been convicted before for a slew of crimes including drug possession, robberies, assaults. He had made threats that if he ever saw me outside he would kill my family and I. He was sentenced to 9 years in a state prison. About 6 months after he left I was walking out of East Towne Mall and we met face to face. He recognized me but didn't say anything. I immediately called in to find out if he had escaped. Turns out he had been released for good behavior about 5 months into his 9 year sentence. This criminal was responsible for dozens of officer injuries while in custody as well as thousands of hours of overtime to deal with him and his antics. And now, here he was, out walking freely amongst us like a normal person. It was only a matter of weeks befor ehe was back in custody on another charge involving sexual contact with a minor.

It literally took me years before I started to trust people as a whole. Still not 100% which is how I like it. At least I am no longer acting like a paranoid freak.

Dolomite

[Guest WyattEarp]

This is one of the reasons I left, not the biggest but definitely towards top. And you will see stuff everyday that absoutely drags you down mentally. It also changes you as a person. You either need to become numb to it or it will eat you alive. This is why officers drink, commit suicide and get divorced.

I went from being a person who felt man, as a whole, were good to a person who always asked "whats their angle" anytime someone was trying to be nice to me. I thought to myself that someone would not do something nice for nothing. I got to where I did't trust anyone including some of my fellow officers.

The sentencing thing really upset me. There is one in particular that got me upset. He had been charged and went to trial for aggravated rape of a child. He had been convicted before for a slew of crimes including drug possession, robberies, assaults. He had made threats that if he ever saw me outside he would kill my family and I. He was sentenced to 9 years in a state prison. About 6 months after he left I was walking out of East Towne Mall and we met face to face. He recognized me but didn't say anything. I immediately called in to find out if he had escaped. Turns out he had been released for good behavior about 5 months into his 9 year sentence. This criminal was responsible for dozens of officer injuries while in custody as well as thousands of hours of overtime to deal with him and his antics. And now, here he was, out walking freely amongst us like a normal person. It was only a matter of weeks befor ehe was back in custody on another charge involving sexual contact with a minor.

It literally took me years before I started to trust people as a whole. Still not 100% which is how I like it. At least I am no longer acting like a paranoid freak.

Dolomite

wow, that's just nuts. 5 months into a 9 year sentence and allowed to walk for good behavior? glad it wasn't me, that guy mighta had an "accident".

[TMF]

Overall though, I still like my job after 18ish years.

On the days that blow, I tell myself to suck it up and press on because there's a lot of men and women overseas dealing with things a lot worse.

I don't know, I've seen some pretty horrible things and had to do stuff that I'm not proud of, but I think it's pretty easy to compartment things that go on downrange from the normalcy of being home. I treated it like it was two different worlds I guess. I don't know if that's something I could do; see that stuff on a shift and then come home to my family at night. I don't think I would have the ability to reconcile that reality so easily.

[TMF]

This is one of the reasons I left, not the biggest but definitely towards top. And you will see stuff everyday that absoutely drags you down mentally. It also changes you as a person. You either need to become numb to it or it will eat you alive. This is why officers drink, commit suicide and get divorced.

I went from being a person who felt man, as a whole, were good to a person who always asked "whats their angle" anytime someone was trying to be nice to me. I thought to myself that someone would not do something nice for nothing. I got to where I did't trust anyone including some of my fellow officers.

The sentencing thing really upset me. There is one in particular that got me upset. He had been charged and went to trial for aggravated rape of a child. He had been convicted before for a slew of crimes including drug possession, robberies, assaults. He had made threats that if he ever saw me outside he would kill my family and I. He was sentenced to 9 years in a state prison. About 6 months after he left I was walking out of East Towne Mall and we met face to face. He recognized me but didn't say anything. I immediately called in to find out if he had escaped. Turns out he had been released for good behavior about 5 months into his 9 year sentence. This criminal was responsible for dozens of officer injuries while in custody as well as thousands of hours of overtime to deal with him and his antics. And now, here he was, out walking freely amongst us like a normal person. It was only a matter of weeks befor ehe was back in custody on another charge involving sexual contact with a minor.

It literally took me years before I started to trust people as a whole. Still not 100% which is how I like it. At least I am no longer acting like a paranoid freak.

Dolomite

I can't even fit that into my head. Our legal system needs an enema.

[Stegall Law Firm]

Regarding the original story in this thread, there could be a lot more going on than what this article is telling us. Asst. District Attorneys have a hard job because much of the time their victims aren't much better than the defendants they are prosecuting. Victims lie, or forget, or have lengthy criminal records of their own. All of these factors and more can influence how a prosecution is handled. In this case, at least one of the victims and the defendant knew each other (in fact they are brothers). So this wasn't a random crime. Maybe it was motivated by revenge? Maybe a drug deal gone bad? So don't eulogize our justice system just yet. There could be much more to this case. I'm sure there is, considering the substantial reduction in the charges--from an A felony down to a C felony, and the state is dropping the gun charges. Trust me, they're not just doing that because they're lazy, or overworked this week, or believe the defendant can be rehabilitated. There is likely a serious weakness in the state's case that would be painfully evident come trial.

[TMF]

Regarding the original story in this thread, there could be a lot more going on than what this article is telling us. Asst. District Attorneys have a hard job because much of the time their victims aren't much better than the defendants they are prosecuting. Victims lie, or forget, or have lengthy criminal records of their own. All of these factors and more can influence how a prosecution is handled. In this case, at least one of the victims and the defendant knew each other (in fact they are brothers). So this wasn't a random crime. Maybe it was motivated by revenge? Maybe a drug deal gone bad? So don't eulogize our justice system just yet. There could be much more to this case. I'm sure there is, considering the substantial reduction in the charges--from an A felony down to a C felony, and the state is dropping the gun charges. Trust me, they're not just doing that because they're lazy, or overworked this week, or believe the defendant can be rehabilitated. There is likely a serious weakness in the state's case that would be painfully evident come trial.

Well I want to make sure to preface this by saying that I understand you're much more of a legal expert than I, however, from the law abiding citizen point of view this is how I see it:

Trust me, my heart doesn't necessarily bleed for the "victims." I remember when this story first broke and having the impression that all were engaged in some kind of felonious activity at the time of the shooting. However, it doesn't excuse his actions. Just like everyone has a right to a fair trial, everyone should be held to the same standard regardless of what the circumstances are. Justice should be blind.

I would rather the prosecution risk losing a case in an effort to see justice done than negotiate for a lesser charge. I'm a firm believer in taking the hard right over the easy wrong. His guilt or innocence should be decided by a jury, not a few lawyers doing back alley deals to avoid a dent in their conviction rate or be able to prove to their clients that they can get severe charges knocked down because they're good at negotiations.

I don't doubt that the prosecution would of had a hard time with reliable testimony. The defense would have ripped them apart, but then again, it is up to the jury to decide. Perhaps intent would have been hard to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, but it's also hard to prove it was all an accident or lacked intent considering 3 people were shot and recieved wounds in places where they were likely to be killed (head/torso). In the end the facts are what they are, and the facts are that he shot 3 people. From what I recall he admitted to shooting two and didn't know if he had shot the third. This alone is enough for illegal possession of a weapon, but those charges were dropped too.

It's safe to assume that this criminal will be back on the streets before the end of 2012. The fact that he'll be a free man after shooting three people is only going to embolden him more in his future criminal enterprise. Somehow I don't see him bothering to turn his life around and become a law abiding citizen like the rest of us. I would say there's a good chance he'll victimize people that aren't apart of his criminal community at some point down the road; normal, law abiding people like myself and my family. When this inevitably happens you can't point to a jury and say that justice was done or not done; you can only point to a few select individuals who's job it is to uphold the law or provide a defense for the charged.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Regarding the original story in this thread, there could be a lot more going on than what this article is telling us. Asst. District Attorneys have a hard job because much of the time their victims aren't much better than the defendants they are prosecuting. Victims lie, or forget, or have lengthy criminal records of their own. All of these factors and more can influence how a prosecution is handled. In this case, at least one of the victims and the defendant knew each other (in fact they are brothers). So this wasn't a random crime. Maybe it was motivated by revenge? Maybe a drug deal gone bad? So don't eulogize our justice system just yet. There could be much more to this case. I'm sure there is, considering the substantial reduction in the charges--from an A felony down to a C felony, and the state is dropping the gun charges. Trust me, they're not just doing that because they're lazy, or overworked this week, or believe the defendant can be rehabilitated. There is likely a serious weakness in the state's case that would be painfully evident come trial.

Another problem I truly have with how things are today is how the defense often villainizes the victims. Act as if it is the victims fault that they were the victims. We seen it in the Christian-Newsome murder trial and I have seen it in numerous other trials that I have followed. During the trial there should be no mention of the victim's past, only what circumstances brings them to court. Just because someone did something years, weeks or even days prior should have no bearing on whether the criminal is justified in doing what they did.

If the victim did something to warrant being shot then the criminal would not be a criminal at all and not be on trial.

The past criminal history of criminals generally can't be brought into the trail so why should the victim's past be fair game?

Dolomite

[Stegall Law Firm]

A witnesses prior convictions are admissible under the Tennessee Rules of Evidence. Not all convictions can come in, only felonies or misdemeanors involving dishonesty. Generally the conviction can't be more than 10 years old. The way it gets introduced is that the witness must be asked about it on cross exam. If the witness denies it, public records may be used. This goes for defendants too, if they choose to testify.

This is the rule in federal court also (Tennessee's rule closely resembles the federal rule) and probably most other states. It's a pretty well-settled legal concept that at least some types of convictions are relevant to a witnesses credibility.

This may not be much consolation, but don't look for the judge to go easy on him in sentencing. I do not think he'll be out by the end of next year as someone said. Let's assume he has little or no prior record and is a Range 1 offender (he's not too old so he hasn't had much time to develop an adult felony record). On a C felony, Agg Assault, that's 3-6 years per count, three counts. The judge could max him out on each and run them consecutive. 18 years. Realistically he may serve half that, maybe a little more or less. If he's Range 1 he could actually go before the parole board after serving 30%, but I doubt they'll release him then.

Edited December 18, 2011 by Stegall Law Firm