Justice? What on earth is THAT?

Let's say there is a guy who kills a woman by strangling her to death.  He then decides to get a gas can and pours gas all over her body, lighting it on fire.  He leaves the house and sits in the back yard smoking some pot watching the house burn.  Not only is the woman dead, but her two cats were also killed.  

He doesn't tell police--he just goes to someone else's house and hangs out. He is caught quickly and arrested for Arson and Murder.  After almost two years in jail and a few different defense attorneys, he pleads guilty as charged to Second Degree Murder and 1st Degree Arson.    

Oh, and he killed her because he was renting a room from her and didn't want to pay rent, because he was spending all of his money on drugs. She asked him for the rent money and he decided to kill her rather than pay the money he owed. 

What do you think his his prison sentence should be?  

If this was Texas--Life sentence without parole.  

New York--Minimum of 40 years to life.

Georgia--Death, Life without parole, or Life w/parole eligibility in 25 yrs.

Washington--13 years, with a possible 10% off for good time.  

Hearing that the defendant could be out on the streets again in a little over 10 years felt to the victim's family like a slap in the face--particularly to her 78 year old mother.  Justice?  That isn't the word that comes to mind.  

I am learning that Washington State is a great place to commit serious crimes, and I won't be surprised if I see that defendant again in the future in our court system.

 

Many more things I have seen--it has been a while!

Yesterday was a day that made me question humanity a bit.  I have been promoted and am now the lead in our unit.  I also have a bigger office with a couch in it for victims to come and rest on if they have to testify, or if they are waiting for a verdict.  

Another advocate brought a cute little 9 year old girl into my office and the girl looked very sad and upset.  She plopped onto the couch and bundled up in a blanket because she was cold.  I went and made her some hot chocolate and while I was doing that, the other advocate came out and told me what the situation was.  

The girl was had been molested by a family member who was also in a gang.  She had reported the abuse to the school counselor and resource officer.  The girl's parents didn't want the case prosecuted and were forbidding her to come and testify, until the police came to their house and told them if they didn't allow her to testify, they would both be arrested.  The parents then told the officer, "We aren't going to take her or pick her up."  The officer took the girl to the courthouse all by herself--no support from her family.

She was scared to have to testify against him, and was pretty shut down.  Thankfully the therapy dog we use was available so we got the two of them connected and that helped a lot. When she had to go up to testify, even though I am not her advocate, I asked if she would like me to come up and be with her for support and she said yes.  She was PERFECT on the stand and did a great job.  

When she was finished testifying, she came back to my office and then had to wait for the officer who brought her to the courthouse to come and take her home.  

It made me sick to my stomach to think of her going back home to a place where her parents were not supportive of her at all.  The advocate got CPS involved, but I sincerely hope she heard me when I told her how strong she is, and how she did the right thing.