You murdered five people? Sure, you can leave prison

Michigan driver who killed 5 Taylor University students in crash to leave prison

A suburban Detroit truck driver convicted in a 2006 crash that killed four Taylor University students and a staff member could be free soon, a newspaper says.

Robert F. Spencer of Wayne County's Canton Township is being released about a year after his sentencing on charges of reckless homicide and criminal recklessness, the News-Times of Hartford City reported.

A coroner misidentified one of the students killed -- Laura VanRyn, 22, of Caledonia, Mich. -- as one of the injured survivors, then-19-year-old Whitney Cerak, of Gaylord, Mich.

An official at Westville Correctional Facility could not confirm Thursday night whether Spencer was being released and said more information would be available Friday morning.

Investigators said Spencer had fallen asleep at the wheel after he had driven at least nine hours more than allowed under federal rules.

Spencer pleaded guilty last year and was given an eight-year prison sentence with four years suspended. (Detroit News link)

So the Cliff's Notes version of the story goes like this...

• Violate a federal safety standard - check
• Murder five people, injure several others, cause thousands of dollars worth of damage - check
• Plead guilty to the crimes - check
• Receive an eight year prison sentence - check
• Take a one year, all expenses paid vacation, including meals, cable TV and probably a paying job too - check
• Walk out of prison after about a year, returning to your life while five people are still dead and families throughout the MidWest have been shattered by your gross criminal negligence - sad, but true.

And people say there is nothing wrong with the American judicial system. Doh!

Maybe the Bible had it right after all

While many items in the Bible, like any text, can be taken out of context or slanted to meet a particular point of view, here is an example where "an eye for an eye" could be appropriate.

A teen who pleaded guilty to two felony charges in connection with a mob attack in Mount Clemens in May that left one victim hospitalized with severe head injuries was sentenced this morning to 19 months in a youth prison.

...under the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, a state law that allows [the currently convicted felon] to have no public criminal record if he succeeds at the youth prison for offenders ages 17 to 21.

[the judge] also ordered [the convicted felon] to earn his GED while in the youth home.

[The convicted felon] admitted last month to throwing a brick through a side passenger window of a passing vehicle on North River Road near the Gibraltar Trade Center on May 31.

A review date is set for March 2010 to determine whether [the convicted felon] will be released from the youth home.

Kauffman's wife, Angela Kauffman, cried openly as she addressed the courtroom.

"May 31 plays in my head over and over again. This was just a random act of violence," she said. "I would never have thought that driving down North River Road that it would've changed my life forever. I miss the Andy I used to know."

Angela Kauffman told the court that Andy has suffered brain injuries as a result to the beating he received when he got out of the car the night of the incident. She said their three boys, ages 9, 7, and 3, are upset that their dad can't do the things he once did with them.

"[The convicted felon] sentenced Andy to his confinement ... his brain injury," she said. "No one knows when that sentence will end."

From the Detroit News (link)

While I'm not suggesting that the American justice system should sentence [the convicted felon] to having a brick thrown at his skull, it certainly seems more fair than getting one's GED and an expunged criminal record by 2010.

Because in 2010, when Andy Kaufman's children are 11, 9, and 5 years old, they still will have lost years with the father they knew on May 30, 2008. And future years as well.

Followup: Why waving a shotgun at cops is a Bad Idea (tm)

Followup to Why waving a shotgun at cops is a Bad Idea (tm).

It was determined, as it should have been, that the "...the officers' use of deadly force was justified..." in the fatal shooting of a 12-gauge shotgun wielding man. "...[the man] refused to obey the officers' commands to drop the weapon and raised the shotgun at the two officers, who fired several shots, fatally wounding him." (link)

My rule of thumb would be that if a police officer, with weapon drawn, gives you a command to drop your double cheeseburger, it'd be a good idea to comply. Quickly, if not immediately. If you are wielding anything more lethal than something off of the McDonald's value menu and decide to hesitate, then you are about to have a very bad day. The upside? It will probably be the last bad day you ever have.

Another episode from "What's Wrong with the American Justice System?"

Someone may want to check the Constitution this one, but I'm pretty sure our founding fathers didn't think that you had a right to Internet access and blog posting after you have been convicted of a double murder and sentenced to life in prison. (CNN)

Why waving a gun at cops is a Bad Idea (tm) Part 2

Officers killed a 35-year-old man they said pulled a gun on them about 3:30 a.m. this morning on the city's west side.

The officers responded to reports of a man with a gun riding a bicycle on Buena Vista, Detroit Police Second Deputy Chief James Tate said.

Officers saw the man and approached him, Tate said. The man, who had a book bag with him, pulled a gun and the officers fatally shot the man, he said.

A gun was recovered at the scene, Tate said. (Detroit News)

Looks like the gene pool weeds another one out of the shallow end. Maybe there should be a public service announcement advertising campaign. "If you pull a gun on a cop, you are going to get shot."

Life in prison? Somehow I doubt it

I'm sure the American Legal System will somehow screw this up and these two alledged felons will either receive a lesser sentence or end ups walking on a technicality. But it would sure be nice to see them get what they deserve.

Police have arrested two men, Timothy Burg, 20, of Clinton Township, and Duane Sain, 18, of Redford, suspected of an armed robbery of a car wash at Hall Road and Romeo Plank.

Both were each charged with a count of armed robbery and a count of conspiracy to commit armed robbery. The charges each carry a penalty of life in prison.

Shrouded by hooded sweatshirts and cut-off shirt sleeves over their noses and mouths, the two men entered the carwash, brandished a handgun and stole about $1,900 dollars from the manager on Monday, [Macomb County Sheriff Mark] Hackel said. The crime happed just before 7 a.m.

Police responded to a 911 call and a witness provided a description of the car in which the thieves fled. Investigators later located a vehicle matching the description at a nearby apartment complex.

Police tracked down the owner of the vehicle, got a search warrant and then interviewed the suspects. Authorities also interviewed a 20-year-old woman who they learned was Sain's sister and Burg's girlfriend, Hackel said. The woman is not currently facing any charges, he said.

During the search of the apartment, police found $1,900 in cash, cut up shirt sleeves and a cell phone which the suspects used to take pictures of themselves with a weapon. (comment - These two clowns should get life in prison for stupidity alone.) They also found a BB gun with a laser target site hidden inside a vacuum cleaner.

Authorities also suspect the men are responsible for at least two other armed robberies -- one at a fast-food restaurant June 23 and another at gas station in the area July 3. The thieves used the same tactics -- entering at early morning hours, wearing hooded sweatshirts and brandishing a weapon, Hackel said.

"If we can connect them to the other crimes, then there will be additional charges," he said.(excerpts from Detroit News)

Oh, and by the way, with the way Mark Hackel has handled crime in Macomb County, including the Murder of Tara Lynn Grant, you bet I'm voting for him. It's not often you get to vote for someone who actually does a good job.

Why waving a shotgun at cops is a Bad Idea (tm)

The officers shot the man, about 6:45 a.m. Saturday, while responding to a domestic dispute call from his girlfriend, Sterling Heights Police Lt. Michael Reese said.

Officers were talking to the girlfriend when the man came out of an apartment in the 37000 block of the Durham, near 16 ½ Mile, east of Van Dyke, Reese said. The woman told officers the man threatened to shoot her cats, Reese said.

When officers saw the 30-year-old man was armed, they ordered him to put down the shotgun, but he refused and continued to walk toward them, Reese said. The man raised the shotgun and two Sterling Heights officers fired several shots at him, killing the man, Reese said. (Detroit News link)

Well, there was a backbone after all

Following the continuing saga of Mount Clemens High School students, see here for my previous post. It turns out that 41-B District Court Judge Sebastian Lucido has a backbone and here is what 18 of those kids get to write about in their "What I did on my summer vacation" essay: (Detroit News article)

• yearlong, non-reporting probation for the defendants. (lame)
• Each of the teens will have to pay a fine of $290 for the charge of breaking and entering. (good)
• Each must pay a $290 fine for destruction of property. (good)
• Defendants who were represented by court-appointed attorneys must reimburse the court $175 to cover those costs. (good)
• Each must perform 30 hours of community service by Sept. 1. (lame)
• Each is under a 10 p.m. curfew. They may be allowed to stay out of their homes beyond the curfew only for work and school. (good, but doubt if this will be enforced)
• The teens must pay restitution to the school district; the cost will be divided among the group. The vandals caused more than $4,000 in damage. (good)
  

So, get out your checkbooks, because you are on the hook for $977.22.