"Guilty": Part Two

[H2O Man]

6. Thank you.

The increase in violent crime in our region -- no matter what the FBI's national statistics indicate -- is a troubling feature of life in the upstate area over the past few decades. I am pleased that the justice system has worked properly in this particular case. It has been of the high-quality that everyone should have available.

I'm not a huge fan of our prison system. Yet, this case illustrates exactly why our society needs prisons. When I think of the basic goodness of people -- because friends and strangers have been so supportive of my extended family, as people are in tragic circumstances -- it is fully apparent that violent, aggressive individuals have to be separated from the larger community.

We know of three very similar road rage incidents instigated by this thug, where he threatened others with one of his guns. We know that a few months before shooting my relatives, he shot in the direction of two teens who were riding 4-wheelers on their parents' property (when police responded, he told them he was merely target-shooting). He was a time-bomb, set to go off. I have no doubt that he has murdered before, but left no witness alive. I'm glad he will be in a place where he poses no threat to innocent people.